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Rating: 
Summary: Dull prose; deplorable maps
Review: I am not well-read in Roman history, and I purchased this book as an introduction to the subject. I believe that the book presented a satisfactory account of the social, political, and military trajectories of Rome from about 500 B.C. to 300 A.D., and I was happy that the authors consistently acknowledged their sources -- oftentimes, the surviving records are miniscule, contradictory, or lacking altogether, and it seems a good idea to be up-front about the limitations imposed upon the historian by ancient texts and modern archeology. At the same time, the book was rather drily written, and was a dull read throughout. Perhaps this is the inevitable result of a collaboration among three authors. What I found especially lamentable was the quality of the maps. I bought the book because the jacket copy promised over 30 new maps specially prepared for this edition. There are basically three variations of maps in this book: a series of maps presenting the evolution of the city of Rome; several maps of Italy; and several of the Mediterranian environs. While this might seem perfectly adequate for a book about ancient Rome and its empire, the maps lack information such as dates of settlements, battle sites, troop movements, and migrations. The maps never even show rough borders to illustrate the extent of the Roman frontier at a given time. For example, when discussing the career of the future-emperor Tiberius from about 20 - 6 B.C., the authors state, "His brilliant exploits during this period (see Map 9.2) have been obscured by the hatred he later aroused among senators, the authors of most Roman histories." We turn to Map 9.2, labeled "Expansion of the Empire in the Age of Augustus", and see a map roughly covering territory from Britian in the northwest to the Arabian peninsula in the southeast, with no mention of Tiberius, his conquests, troop levels, etc. In fact, aside from city and region names, no other information is given. While it is true that some of the information about Tiberius' conquests is given in the text, I cannot fathom why the authors refer you specifically to a map which for all intents and purposes is as just as germane (and just as generic too) as most of the other maps in the book. Again, given my lack of familiarity with the Roman history, I cannot comment on whether or not the authors truly did justice to the subject. But I can say that the prose is dull and the maps are deplorable.
Rating:
Summary: A sure way to discourage an interest in history
Review: I'm a history buff. Few things excite me more than learning about the past, recent and distant. The Romans, of course, are central to our culture. Almost three millennia after its founding, Roman beliefs, institutions, practices, even their language are embedded in our everyday life. Unfortunately, the three academics who authored this history appear to have little grasp of how to make the study of history interesting - and no idea of how to write in something other than a stilted academic style. In short, "The Romans" manages to make a fascinating subject dull. The facts are most certainly there, but they are rendered as nothing more than facts, one piled upon another, devoid of the humanizing spark that makes history so much fun. The relatively few maps are surprisigly amateurish with little relief to indicate what is being illustrated. These maps too are the products of academics. Apparently intended as a college text, "The Romans" is simply a failure. It may gain its authors a bit more prestige in their academic circles, but it does a disservice to students who might otherwise gain an understanding of where our culture comes from and who might also be explore history more fully and become better informed citizens as a result. Jerry
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