![]() ![]() The layout of the Roman imperial territory underlies the political geography of modern Europe and beyond. The assassination of Julius Caesar on what the Romans called the Ides of March 44 BCE has provided the template, and the sometimes awkward justification, for the killing of tyrants ever since. After 2,000 years, it continues to underpin Western culture and politics, what we write and how we see the world, and our place in it. Rome still helps to define the way we understand our world and think about ourselves, from high theory to low comedy. To ignore the Romans is not just to turn a blind eye to the distant past. I have copied it here:ĪNCIENT ROME IS important. It expresses so well what I believe about Rome and why I think every Western student should experience the Eternal City. I downloaded the book and read the first paragraph of the prologue. More immediacy.įrom the review I learned that the author, Mary Beard is “a professor of classics at Cambridge University, the author of a shelf of books, a stalwart on BBC television and radio, and the author of a witty and combative blog, “A Don’s Life,” written for the website of The Times Literary Supplement.” Impressive, indeed. I immediately went to Amazon to order it, only to see the hard cover was Temporarily out of stock. The review was very positive about the book and the author, Mary Beard. The day after I sent out the SPQR Fellowship 2015 Review to one and all, I opened the New York Times to find on the front page of the Book Review a review of SPQR: The History of Rome. ![]()
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