The Ancient Roman City

Rating:
Summary: Good Information Trapped in an Editor's Nightmare
Review: The bottom line is that Stambaugh offers up a lot of information in a reasonably small volume, making it interesting and accessible. The only fault, besides an overtly unapologetic Romanocentric view, is that his prose style is somewhat redundant and pejorative. With each chapter he lays out the information he plans to present, and then drifts back and forth between examples. At the end of each chapter he presents a succint and very readable summary of his findings. That is, essentially all of the information you need is available in approximately one-tenth of the text. Nevertheless, this is a fascinating account of the architecture and engineering of the ancient city of Rome; most interesting are his accounts of the representation of the city in the Hellenistic Era. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Good Information Trapped in an Editor's Nightmare
Review: The bottom line is that Stambaugh offers up a lot of information in a reasonably small volume, making it interesting and accessible. The only fault, besides an overtly unapologetic Romanocentric view, is that his prose style is somewhat redundant and pejorative. With each chapter he lays out the information he plans to present, and then drifts back and forth between examples. At the end of each chapter he presents a succint and very readable summary of his findings. That is, essentially all of the information you need is available in approximately one-tenth of the text. Nevertheless, this is a fascinating account of the architecture and engineering of the ancient city of Rome; most interesting are his accounts of the representation of the city in the Hellenistic Era. Recommended.