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Ancient Rome

The Rise and Fall of An Empire

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Ancient Rome

By: Simon Baker
Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
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About this listen

This is the story of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Simon Baker charts the rise and fall of the world's first superpower, focusing on six momentous turning points that shaped Roman history. Welcome to Rome as you've never seen it before - awesome and splendid, gritty and squalid.

From the conquest of the Mediterranean beginning in the third century BC to the destruction of the Roman Empire at the hands of barbarian invaders some seven centuries later, we discover the most critical episodes in Roman history: the spectacular collapse of the "free" republic, the birth of the age of the "Caesars", the violent suppression of the strongest rebellion against Roman power, and the bloody civil war that launched Christianity as a world religion.

At the heart of this account are the dynamic, complex, and flawed characters of some of the most powerful rulers in history: men such as Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nero, and Constantine. Putting flesh on the bones of these distant, legendary figures, Baker looks beyond the dusty, toga-clad caricatures and explores their real motivations and ambitions.

©2006 Simon Baker; foreword by Mary Beard copyright 2006 by Woodlands Books Ltd (P)2016 Tantor Ancient Europe Rome World Ancient History Italy War Ancient Greece

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Critic reviews

"Well written, clear, and succinct." ( Library Journal)
All stars
Most relevant  
A history with a broad sweep, yet with fascinating details and strong connecting themes. Clear reading with some minor irritations over some disruptive metric:imperial conversions, which are a bit clunky - more a function of the text than the narration.

Comprehensive yet eminently listenable

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Very good introductory summary of the most important leaders and events from the early Republic to 476AD. The reigns are covered in engaging but concise detail, told in a way that really brings the figures to life, almost like a novelette. Though there are sizeable gaps between each selected emperor with many notables left out, the format fits the breadth well. Excellent for those with only a cursory knowledge and wanting a solid introduction and overview before going into greater depth. Very well narrated.

Very good overview,

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A very good history of six key periods in the history of the Roman Republic and Empire. I understand from its preface that it accompanied a BBC TV series but I must have missed it. I am not sure that that I would have picked the same periods but that is a personal choice; the corollary and benefit to this is that I learned something new in some of them.

The six periods are: the agrarian reforms of Tiberius Gracchus; Caesar vs Pompey; the rule of Nero; the Jewish revolt (Tiberius, Josephus); Constantine and Christianity; and the decline and fall (Stilicho, Alaric, Attila).

Whilst not as detailed and, perhaps, less thrilling, as Tom Holland where they overlap (Caesar, Nero) this is good and very readable/listenable narrative history

Great Narrative History

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A concise, yet comprehensive overview of the history of Rome. Does not dwell too long on a particular era and offers balanced views and assessment of the sources available. Well read. I will definitely be listening to it again in full, in the future, having just completed it.

Worth more than one listen

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If you are interested in this subject then look no further. This book gives you the entire history from start to finish without a dull moment. The story is written in the feel of a novel, instead of it being a boring history lesson. It certainly provides all the information you could need, whilst simultaneously making these people from thousands of years ago feel alive and humanises them.

I would fully recommend this to anyone interested in this.

A fantastic history of Rome

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While the content was interesting I found the narration dull and soporific - great if you have trouble falling asleep!

Dull narration

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