Rome and Italy (Penguin Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but not boring
Review: This book, was very interesting! It gave wonderful insight into Roman life. Whether you study Roman History, or if you just like to try something new, this is a good book for you to try (even if you dont speak latin).

Rating:
Summary: A dated translation, but still great reading.
Review: This volume contains books VI through X of Livy's monumental 120+ volume history of Rome. It covers the time between the sack of the city by the Gauls (c. 396 BCE) and Rome's emergence as the single most powerful state in Italy (c. 293 BCE). Like other Penguin classics, the translation in this volume is just a bit dated and stuffy in tone, but the warmth and vitality of Livy's style shines through nonetheless.

One of the benefits to being interested in ancient Rome in particular is that the Romans were such a literate people, and so taken with their own perceived greatness, that they wrote a great deal, and much of this writing has survived down to our own times. Not only does this provide an invaluable window onto the remote past, it also makes for good reading. Livy (and a number of other Roman era authors) can sound remarkably modern in their sentiments, and even casual readers should be pleasantly surprised by the vigor and readability of Livy's prose.

Rating:
Summary: A dated translation, but still great reading.
Review: This volume contains books VI through X of Livy's monumental 120+ volume history of Rome. It covers the time between the sack of the city by the Gauls (c. 396 BCE) and Rome's emergence as the single most powerful state in Italy (c. 293 BCE). Like other Penguin classics, the translation in this volume is just a bit dated and stuffy in tone, but the warmth and vitality of Livy's style shines through nonetheless.

One of the benefits to being interested in ancient Rome in particular is that the Romans were such a literate people, and so taken with their own perceived greatness, that they wrote a great deal, and much of this writing has survived down to our own times. Not only does this provide an invaluable window onto the remote past, it also makes for good reading. Livy (and a number of other Roman era authors) can sound remarkably modern in their sentiments, and even casual readers should be pleasantly surprised by the vigor and readability of Livy's prose.