Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic

Buy this book if you want to learn how all those great Romans you have have seen in films and TV series and heard about at school lived, died and influenced their world. Buy it if you want to be royally entertained. But buy it also if you want to understand the world of ancient Rome and the mind set of the people that made it supreme and enabled them to dominate the known world for centuries. This is a great book , but then it does tell a great story that will sometimes, literally, make your jaw drop. 2000 years is a long time, but reading this, somehow, it seems like yesterday.

Trust me, you won't be able to turn the pages quickly enough, and you'll find yourself thinking about Sulla, Cicero, Pompey, Crassus, Ceaser, the gladiators, the slaves and the unbelieveably savage bloody battles that the legions fought across thousands of miles of Europe and Asia. Holland brings it all alive and you'll love it.

Enjoyable ramble through Roman History up to Augustus' principate (4/4 people found this helpful)

Narrative History usually gives a one dimensional view of events and eschews argument or controversy in the interests of clarity and readability. This volume following the history of the Roman Republic from the Gracci brothers to the elevation of Octavian (Augustus) as the first emperor is no exception. As an example of popular history it is superb, it achieves what it sets out to do ,which is to give a clear and above all extremely entertaining account of that period. It also achieves a nice balance of detail and narrative clarity. It covers quite an expanse of time and returns frequently to an exposition of the values and ideals of the Republic' putting the sucession of momentus events into that context.Highly recommended as an introduction to the period. For a more traditionally scholarly but possibly less detailed account of the period see Scullard's "From the Gracchi to Nero".

A brilliant account of the fall of the Roman republic (6/7 people found this helpful)

Brilliant account of the period of the fall of the Roman republic. A serious (but not difficult) read infused with wit and insights. The narrative takes us from 140 BC to the death of Octavian (Caesar Augustus) in AD 14. A fascinating period of history that left me wanting to know more about lots of the characters - such as Sulla, Cato and Cicero. There are obvious parallels with modern societies but these are not laboured.

He creates a vibrant picture of Rome and its wonderful ideals that were never quite lived up to. Also has brilliant illustrations, maps and timeline.

Rubicon - Tom Holland (4/7 people found this helpful)

I thought this was a lively, colourful, yet scholarly account of the fall of the Roman Republic. The end of the Republic is a difficult period to study, let alone explain to the layperson (like me), yet Holland does this superbly. We come face to face with the key protagonists of the period - Caesar, Pompey, Cato, Cicero, Mark Antony, Sulla and Octavian (later Augustus) among others. On the down side, I don't think there is any need to compare Rome to the modern USA even if history does repeat itself. Reading this you could not but help think that the fall of the Republic was inevitable.

Especially good in this work was the description of Rome, from the splendour of the patricians to the squalor of the masses, with waste-ridden streets and unemployed masses, the bedlam of daily life in a major city. The bibliography is also good, with a clear distinction made between the primary and secondary sources used.

All in all a recommended read for all Roman history fans.

Superb Narrative History (3/4 people found this helpful)

The final years of the Roman Republic present such a spectacle of violence and bloodshed, all intermingled with astounding military conquests and truly fascinating individuals, that in one sense it's difficult for a writer to go too far wrong with it. The drama, pathos, achievement and spectacle are all there and all the author has to do is simply write down the events. Of course, it isn't that easy, and it's to Tom Holland's immense credit that he takes the events he describes and pulls them together into a coherent and beautifully explained narrative.

The great figures from the final years of the Roman Republic are all there and all are given due respect and attention in Holland's book. From Sulla - with the hairstyle of a playboy and the focused ambition of a man on the make - to the slightly nervous Cicero, the militarily brilliant Pompey, the powerfully charismatic Julius Caesar and the wayward but talented Mark Anthony. This is history that focuses on the elite, but then the Roman Republic was brought down from the top so this is exactly as it should be, but colour and detail are added with excellent accounts of the tastes and fashions prevalent in Rome at the time, whether they be a fascination with the art of keeping fish; the rituals and rites of the festival of the Good Goddess; the spectacle of chariot races and gladiatorial combat or the military victories in Spain and Gaul of Pompey and Caesar.

This is narrative history at its very best, taking the reader through the events from Sulla's rocking of the Republic, through to the moment when Julius Caesar brought it crashing down, and carrying on through the events concerning Cleopatra, Mark Anthony and the first true Emperor Caesar Augustus. Holland details the events in a lucid and exciting fashion but never loses sight of the reasons behind the actions. Everything is explained so the reader never loses sight of just why the events he is describing occured in the fashion they did but, and this is where the book really succeeds, the exposition never gets in the way of what is one of the most dramatic stories in human history.

This is a fabulous account of a fascinating period. Highly recommended.

Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic

Tom Holland

Reader Reviews:

Magnificent (0/0 people found this helpful)

Enjoyable ramble through Roman History up to Augustus' principate (4/4 people found this helpful)

A brilliant account of the fall of the Roman republic (6/7 people found this helpful)

Rubicon - Tom Holland (4/7 people found this helpful)

Superb Narrative History (3/4 people found this helpful)

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