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Rating: 
Summary: Great Introduction to the Roman way of life
Review: I admit other than Cesar and Augustus I knew little about the Roman Empire, but this book was a great start to my education of the Romans. It starts off with the Beginnings of the Roman Republic and goes through the eventual sucession of Emperors and their heirs. Also talks about the sexcapades and offers personal insights of each highlighted Emperor. The book concludes with the decline and fall of the empire and the Barbarian Invasions. My only complaint that fails to make it a 5 star selection is the lack of depth of each period of the Empire. But then again it is an idiots guide and a great starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about one of the greatest and most influential empires in world history.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, except for the typos
Review: I just finished this book, and found it a very good read, though the effect is somewhat undone by many typos, such as unneeded or misplaced commas, misspelled or misused words ("straights" when "straits" is meant), and the occasional outright error (a couple of references to the non-existent "Year 0"). Once the reader deciphers these mistakes, though, he or she finds a generally well thought out and organized book, that covers both political and social aspects of Roman history from the founding of the city to the fall, followed by a brief section on Byzantium and the West in the middle ages. The author translates Roman writings in sidebars using colloquial English or even slang. I liked this informal approach, though others might not. He has a penchant for puns, such as Commodus wanting to rename Rome after himself, i.e. "Commodeville". I also was brought up with a start when he said at points in Roman history women had more freedoms than at any time until the last century--by which I realized he meant the 20th! The book contains several maps and photographs. Without the typos, I would have rated the book five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: An informative, highly entertaining overview of Ancient Rome
Review: One can find any number of books on ancient Rome. Many of them deal only with one particular period, or with very specific aspects of ancient Rome. But Rome endured, in one form or another, for a quite staggering length of time. So much happened during that period that I've always found it hard to get a handle on Roman history--to place the isolated events and the strange-sounding names in some sort of context. Nelson's book provides a broad overview of the entire pageant of Roman history and culture from 800 B.C.E. through the fall of Constantinople in 1453 C.E. This book is *precisely* what I'd been seeking for the last couple of years. Besides being informative, it's quite a fun read. One gets a sense of the Romans not as mere historical archetypes, but as people, facing problems similar to those we face today--sometimes with exasperation, often with humor. I especially liked Juvenal's description of the joys of a traffic jam, circa 234 C.E.!The history and culture of Rome are long and complex. This delightful book is a great roadmap for the interested reader.
Rating:
Summary: Good summary of a very extensive topic!
Review: This is a great book to read to get an overview of Roman history, from the founding of the City, all the way up to the remnants that can still be found in modern civilizations. I bought the book being primarily interested in the history of the early emporers; while I guess I would have liked a little more detail about them, other areas would have had to be sacrificed in order to make room. Because of the necessary lack of detail, at times I got a little lost, especially during the discussions of the late Western Empire and early Byzantine Empire. This book at points requires a little more attention than some of the "Idiot's Guides." All in all, I recommend it. I was a little peeved at the author's "politically correct" use of the terms "B.C.E" and "C.E." instead of "B.C." and "A.D.," but that wasn't anything I couldn't correct as I went along. ;-)
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