Description: A sweeping, revisionist history of the Roman Empire from one of our foremost classicists.
Brief description: Mary Beard is the author of the best-selling The Fires of Vesuvius and the National Book Critics Circle Award-nominated Confronting the Classics and SPQR. A popular blogger and television personality, Beard is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. She lives in England.
Review Quotes: [Beard] is no myth builder; she is a scholar who reaches down-to-earth conclusions based on her years of dedication to her subject.... She is able to step back to see the entire Roman world.... She shows us how to engage with the history, culture, and controversies that made Rome--and why it still matters. Beard's enthusiasm for her subject is infectious.... Lovers of Roman history will revel in this work, and new students will quickly become devotees.-- "Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review"