Tag Archives: classical world

The War that Made the Roman Empire

Posted on October 26, 2021 by smellincoffee

The War that Made the Roman Empire: Anthony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium© 2022 Bary Strauss368 pages Rome, at the death of Julius Caesar, was no stranger to internal war.  A functioning, healthy republic had long vanished,  torn in pieces … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants

Posted on September 7, 2021 by smellincoffee

Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans© Garrett Ryan 288 pages For those interested in the life of Greece and Rome beyond senatorial politics and agricultural policy, Naked States offers an … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Antiquity

Posted on September 10, 2018 by smellincoffee

Antiquity: The Civilization of the Ancient World© 2003 Norman F. Cantor256 pages Perhaps western history is all Greek to you. In that case, Norman Cantor’s Antiquity may shed a little light on the subject. It is a brief work, scarcely over … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Romans Without Laurels

Posted on August 23, 2017 by smellincoffee

Romans Without Laurels© 1962  Indro Montanelli352 pages In Romans Without Laurels, Indro Montanelli delivers an affectionate history of the Roman Republic and the empire which followed. Although a work in translation, it succeeds wonderfully as narrative history, reminding and entertaining … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Greeks

Posted on November 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Greeks© 1950 HDF Kitto256 pages HDF Kitto’s history of the Greeks came highly recommended to me by another author, and I found it utterly delightful.  Here we have history written not by an archaeologist, but by a classicist whose … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

When the Eagle Hunts

Posted on April 15, 2016 by smellincoffee

When the Eagle Hunts© 2002 Simon Scarrow274 pages The Emperor Claudius is determined to make good the conquest of Britain, but his supply fleet sleeps with the fishes. The only Romans to survive a wintry crossing of the (English) channel … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lost to the West

Posted on February 14, 2016 by smellincoffee

Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire that Rescued Western Civilization© 2009 Lars Brownsworth329 pages The Roman empire not not fade quietly into history in 474, when a Gothic warlord decided to run the city of Rome directly instead through a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Egyptians

Posted on September 26, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Egyptians© 1997 Barbara Watterson368 pages “We stand where Caesar and Napoleon stood, and remember that fifty centuries look down upon us; where the Father of History came four hundred years before Caesar, and heard the tales that were to … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Eagle’s Conquest

Posted on September 10, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Eagle’s Conquest© 2002 Simon Scarrow320 pages In Under the Eagle,  Simon Scarrow introduced readers to two legionnaires:  Macro, a grizzled veteran, and Cato, a young bookish sort straight from Rome , a boy made an officer  because of his … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Devil Knows Latin

Posted on August 22, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition© 1999 E. Christian Kopf327 pages Earlier in the week I read The Devil Knows Latin, which like Who Killed Homer? contends for the value of a classical education to western civilization.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 5 Comments