RUBICON: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF THE PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

Tom Holland | 464 pages | 10 Jun 2004 | Little, Brown Book Group | 9780349115634 | English | London, United Kingdom Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic PDF Book

What do you think of the cover? Armed with the HBO series derived knowledge of ancient Rome, I always used to think myself an expert on the era. Of course, the subject helps. Next time someone asks me why they should study Roman , Rubicon will be one of the first books that I shall direct them to. This historical period is so fascinating that writing a History that reads like a novel doesn't sound like a big deal. The book won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize. Holland is quick to point out this fact and reiterates the problematic nature of pinning down the finer details with absolute certainty in his bibliography of "primary" sources at the end. Holland is right to alert us to the post-industrial chasm that separates us from the Romans, culturally, religiously and morally. Supping With Panthers. Hence the Roman's concern to refute all charges of bullying, and to insist they had won their empire purely in self-defense. The Romans had a word for such a moment Discrimen, they called it--an instant of perilous and excruciating tension, when the achievements of an entire lifetime might hang in the balance. Most popular. Holland manages to condense an enormous amount of history into a novel-sized book. The Roman attitude is the primary theme, with all its perks and pitfalls. This was the period when Rome was transformed from regional to superpower status and when the Roman elite, so proud of their regicidal heritage, ceded previously shared responsibilities and personal freedoms to an emperor. Thus he manages to avoid one of the many pitfalls that could sink a project such as this: an introduction where even the most determined reader finds their commitment sorely tested by page after stultifying page of "general background". I found this book interesting and readable though ultimately the huge cast of characters begins to be confusing. Every year guard- dogs would be crucified, a posthumous punishment of the dogs who had failed to bark on the Capitol, while Juno's geese, as an ongoing reward for their ancestors' admonitory honking, were brought to watch the spectacle on cushions of purple and gold. About Tom Holland. A great read that whets the appetite to learn more. A modern, well-paced and finely observed history which entertains as it informs. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. In 49 B. A superb history of the Roman Republic, full of passion and life. Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic Writer

It is always easy to laugh at the sheer pomposity of , who felt that his genius was never fully appreciated by his peers. , the man who paradoxically set up his one-man rule around the idea that he was restoring the republic, is dealt with too cursorily. History books Higher education reviews. The Sullan conservative aristocracy always on guard to preserve their cherished Republican constitution; the Marian demagogues who sought to manipulate the plebian hordes to expand their authority and overcome the institutional bulwarks that prevented the augmentation of their personal power - this forms the dominate theme as we meet Catulus, Lucullus, Cato, Cicero, , Crassus, Clodius, , Caesar. Breezy and brisk, Tom Holland tells the story of the early Roman Republic and the counterintuitive yet inevitable transition to a monarchy in a style that is very easy to read. Yeah right. Author Tom Holland manages to walk the very fine line between the objective scholarship and reporting that is classical history and the analysis, invention and narrative finesse of a master storyteller. After hugely enjoying the first pages, I found the final chapter a slight disappointment. Any book recounting events from antiquity suffers from a dearth of primary sources especially when compared to the record keeping of the modern age and while we may know Rubicon reads with all the taught pacing of a political and military thriller - more spectacular for the fact that it's true. One also wonders how much apocryphal information Holland ends up relating. At this point the focus starts to zoom in, and we dive into Marius and Sulla civil wars. described the book as "a modern, well-paced and finely observed history which entertains as it informs Time and again he had hazarded his future--and time and again he had emerged triumphant. For example, the patron-client model essentially institutionalized mafia social dynamics explains a lot about why the different personalities acted the way they did in the waning years of the republic and is widely accepted and understood amongst historians of antiquity, but Holland barely goes into it. Its all interesting and well written but I cannot help feeling that the inititial ambition is deftly sidetepped for the temptations of biographical titliation. Welcome back. Although the big beasts of the republican jungle dominate the book - Sulla, Pompey, Caesar et al - some of the best characterisations are of the supporting cast. He does one remarkable thing, however,he retired and relinquished his power then returned to his odd behavioral ways. When the Senate decided to try to stop the Pirate harassment of Roman citizens, which had grown substantially over the decade, they called on Pompey. They viewed sex as a weakness. Holland earned a strong Four Stars from me as well as an interest in reading his other works. The whole city has the same sort of people and the direction of the Republic was like one unwavering arrow and everyone stays true to their characters. As the book progresses we read of Sulla, Marius, Pompey and Crassus. Its citizens were obsessed by celebrity chefs, all-night dancing and exotic pets; they fought elections in law courts and were addicted to spin; they toppled foreign tyrants in the name of self-defence. Each new iteration of the championing and resurgence of some disenfranchised group veterans, non-Roman Italian allies or the poor created cults of personality, charges of demagoguery and divisions between "conservative" elites in Roman society who resented the fact that someone else was stealing the show and in the interest of preserving "freedom" champion a rival and entrust him with the power to bring down the upstart. During this period Romans were cuisine crazy and even more fish crazy. He gives himself doses of poison to build up his resistance for any future attempted assassinations. At the , Caesar is pinched between two Gaul forces, and manages to defeat both sides. Feb 04, Szplug rated it really liked it. Preview — Rubicon by Tom Holland. Sulla marched on Rome and demands his appointment back. This is a world in which Greek towns welcomed home their sailors with phallic processions, in which women paraded through the streets with large, penis-shaped dummies on sticks. Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic Reviews

Holland was born near and brought up in the village of Broadchalke near , England. There is a great sense of narrative verve and I am of two minds about this book. One of his ancestors assassinated the last king of Rome. Brilliantly constructed summary of the fall of the Republic — mainly concentrating on the period from the actions of Sulla up to the death of Octavius although with some coverage of earlier tensions such as the Gracchus brothers. Rubicon is a very different book. It would have been easy, too, to make facile comparisons with Pax Americana, as many authors have done recently. He descibes some things in ways that are, to my mind, too anachronistic and exaggerated to give an accurate picture of what was going on at this period in history. Damals in German. Readers also enjoyed. Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited. , Antony and Octavian all exist here, in a readable and understandable form. View all 5 comments. This unusual coyness can perhaps be put down to a fear that the disclosure that Holland is a man of eclectic interests would somehow detract from his new history of the late Roman republic. A great introductory text to spur curiosity and invite further exploration into a remarkable time period in world history. Then he marched on Rome and be Roman history is well documented and this book does a great job of retelling their superb history. For dramatic historical narrative, the last century of the Roman republic is a real winner. Cicero was politically marginalized, and eventually murdered on the orders of Marc Anthony the following year after Caesar's assassination. Now the trouble is if you are a senator existing under these circumstances with two very powerful men vying for your loyalty what do you do? Then he marched on Rome and became its dictator. Into the fabric of the melodrama, Holland skilfully interweaves some succinct and intelligent explanations of the different institutions that were being slowly dismantled by their own members. Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic Read Online

Narrative history is squarely in vogu Armed with the HBO series derived knowledge of ancient Rome, I always used to think myself an expert on the era. Refresh and try again. He would be as clement as his adopted father - but only after he had murdered all his opponents. In Rome he was entitled as Augustus. YES I have read and consent to Australia using my personal information or data as set out in its Privacy Policy and I understand I have the right to withdraw my consent at any time. In 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed this river with his army and marched on Rome , breaking a sacred law of the Roman Republic and throwing the nation into a civil war. More filters. And Pompey, drawing his toga over this face with both hands, endured them all, nor, did he say or do anything unworthy, only gave a faint groan. Welcome back. Any book recounting events from antiquity suffers from a dearth of primary sources especially when compared to the record keeping of the modern age and while we may know the broad strokes of the major events of an era, the finer details such as famously uttered lines at pivotal moments are almost surely the inventions of subsequent generations immortalizing key moments in the recent past. Jan 17, Arminius rated it it was amazing Shelves: nook-book , history. Tom Holland is an English historian and author. The book won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize. Tom Holland is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster. He descibes some things in ways that are, to my mind, too anachronistic and exaggerated to give an accurate picture of what was going on at this period in history. But one understands readily enough why the Romans were happy to embrace Octavian and the stability he brought, and pretend that it was just like the good old days. The Sullan conservative aristocracy always on guard to preserve their cherished Republican constitution; the Marian demagogues who sought to manipulate the plebian hordes to expand their authority and overcome the institutional bulwarks that prevented the augmentation of their personal power - this forms the dominate theme as we meet Catulus, Lucullus, Cato, Cicero, Pompey, Crassus, Clodius, Catiline, Caesar. While serving as part of the triumvirate he was appointed as governor of Gaul. Rome Roman Republic. And of course, the periods of history he chooses to write about — the High , the birth of , the Julio- Claudian dynasty in Rome and, in this book, the last days of the Roman Republic — are replete with blood and thunder. It should serve as a model of exactly how a popular history of the classical world should be written. More books by Tom Holland. Its ends with Octavian coming out of nowhere and taking the whole show over. Octavian and Antony agree to joint rule for a while. Cicero was politically marginalized, and eventually murdered on the orders of Marc Anthony the following year after Caesar's assassination. This was the century of Julius Caesar, the gambler whose addiction to glory led him to the banks of the Rubicon, and beyond; of Cicero, whose defence of freedom would make him a byword for eloquence; of Spartacus, the slave who dared to challenge a superpower; of Cleopatra, the queen who did the same. It is such a simple story, is it not? View all 9 comments. I have always had this problem with of the Republic, and I must say Holland handles the distinctions between Caelius and Clodius, or the elder and younger Gracchi, better than most. So, an easy book to write? Holland takes events which have been recounted many times over the last two thousand years or so, and makes them fresh and interesting, even to someone like myself who has read of them more times than I care to think about. The opening chapter promises so much that the rest of book falls resoundingly flat. In the politics of the late republic, Cicero had little option but to become the eloquent mouthpiece of those who worked to subvert the republic that he so revered. The story of the fall of the Republic - that institutional framework compiled by a practical and hard-working amalgamation of Tiber hill clans in the midst of an unimportant mountainous peninsula - which, as it teetered on the precipice, had risen to dominate the entire Mediterranean, should be a tale tragic in its unfolding, full of grim pathos and heroic striving. The more nitpicky historians might wish for more thorough footnoting or a presentation of multiple interpretations at some of the more critical junctures of the story by presenting the conflicting accounts and letting the reader draw conclusions, but I found Holland's assertive style and his willingness to make judgment calls about the likelihood of events rather refreshing. The speed with which the reader is whooshed through the narrative makes one worry how thorough a history can be without being stodgy and meticulous. He is on the committee of the Society of Authors and the Classical Association. Though it is not a work of amazing original research, Rubicon passes the crucial "so what? A great introductory text to spur curiosity and invite further exploration into a remarkable time period in world history. Yet alien as it was, the Republic still holds up a mirror to us. He also captures Vercingetorix. Jan 06, Nicholas rated it it was amazing Shelves: history-theme-republican-rome. Sulla is in the East kicking Mithridates rear end all over Asia. There is much about the establishment of the Republic, as far back as BC, before explaining the importance of the Republic to Romans. Holland manages to condense an enormous amount of history into a novel-sized book.

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