Tag Archives: Rome

A History of the World in Six Glasses

Posted on May 24, 2012 by smellincoffee

A History of the World in Six Glasses© 2006 Tom Standage311 pages A toast to human enterprise! Pick your poison — beer, wine, rum, tea, coffee, or Coca-Cola. Three are alcoholic, three are caffienated: all were the stuff of empires, … Continue reading →

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Salt

Posted on April 24, 2012 by smellincoffee

Salt: A World History© 2003 Mark Kurlansky498 pages Last Autumn, my doctor advised me to start watching the amount of salt in my diet, and so I did. That this was a concern surprised me: I was never one to … Continue reading →

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The Lost Hero

Posted on October 31, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Lost Hero© 2010 Rick Riordian557 pages Rick Riordian’s debut novels introduced us to Percy Jackson, a half-mortal half-divine Demigod destined to save the world. Now the hero of heroes has vanished — and three new demigods have come into … Continue reading →

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Marcus Aurelius

Posted on September 27, 2011 by smellincoffee

Marcus Aurelius: A Life© 2009 Frank McLynn684 pages Few figures in history can compare to Marcus Aurelius, and fewer still favorably.  Adopted into the royal family, this last of the Five Good Emperors has sat in silent judgment of politicians … Continue reading →

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The Roman Way

Posted on October 17, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Roman Way© 1932 Edith Hamilton281 pages                                         Slave: He saw the girl.                    … Continue reading →

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Caesar and Christ

Posted on October 12, 2010 by smellincoffee

Caesar and Christ© 1944 Will Durant752 pages Ave, Caesar! Athens’ grip on my imagination is rivaled only by Rome — Rome, navel of the world; Rome, which established the languages laws, and religion of western Europe. Like Our Oriental Heritage … Continue reading →

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Empire

Posted on September 4, 2010 by smellincoffee

Empire: the Novel of Imperial Rome© 2010 Steven Saylor589 pages Last summer — strangely enough about a year ago last week —  I had the pleasure of reading Roma: the Novel of Ancient Rome. The novel was a thousand-year epic, … Continue reading →

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Working IX to V

Posted on August 18, 2010 by smellincoffee

Working IX to V: Orgy Planners, Funeral Clowns, and Other Prized Professions of the Ancient World© 2007 Vicki Leon312 pages This amusingly-titled volume caught my eye more than a few times in the past, and with an itching to read … Continue reading →

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Give Me Back My Legions!

Posted on August 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

Give Me Back my Legions!© 2009 Harry Turtledove320 pages Give Me Back My Legions! is a piece of historical fiction by Harry Turtledove, detailing the why and how of Rome’s savage defeat at the hands of German tribesmen in the … Continue reading →

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Conspirata

Posted on March 18, 2010 by smellincoffee

Conspirata© 2009/2010 Robert Harris340 pages “Until this moment, gentlemen, I did not realize the extent to which there were two conspiracies I had to fight. There was the conspiracy which I destroyed, and then there was the conspiracy behind that … Continue reading →

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