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Rubicon: the Last Years of the Roman Republic Pdf, Epub, Ebook RUBICON: THE LAST YEARS OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Tom Holland | 408 pages | 08 Jan 2016 | Random House USA Inc | 9781400078974 | English | New York, United States Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic PDF Book Readers also enjoyed. But I fear that, sometimes, he is drawing the great men and events of the past smaller and more venal than they really were, because he imputes our own materialistic outlook and sophistication about the external world to our forerunners. War no longer disturbed his reckoning. My only real point of comparison is Mary Beard's SPQR , and while that may be a more well-informed work or not, I've no idea , this is certainly the more enjoyable, and consequently the more helpful when the time comes to dictate table-talk with Roman titbits. The book won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize. Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses. In all, it's a good, mostly intelligent popular history. The climax arrives, as expected, when the 13th Legion crosses the Rubicon. Yet, startling though the innovation of the consulship appeared, it was not so radical as to separate the Romans entirely from their past. A city of Semitic settlers on the North African coast, dominating the trade routes of the western Mediterranean, Carthage possessed resources at least as great as Rome's. This work definitely falls in the Trends and Forces interpretive category of history, but it reads with all the compelling decisiveness of Great Man history for there were indeed great men and women! I liked this book a great deal. Nonetheless, this does mean that much gets lost in the process, and certain key episodes are whipped through so quickly that many of the details crucial to a true understanding of how things played out are either skipped entirely or condensed to a scattering of words that fail to adequately convey their import. However, there were two other men seeking similar glory in the midst. Holland keeps his narrative moving at chariot-race speed. Welcome back. Sulla marched on Rome and demands his appointment back. In the following decades they marched north and south, crushing opposition wherever they met it. The plebeians, even the leading ones, are merely street thugs in this telling. As the book progresses we read of Sulla, Marius, Pompey and Crassus. Actually, it was probably a lot better than the Republic ever was. Every patrician worth his salt prays to the gods for someone like Mithridates to come along to advance their careers. Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic Writer Damals in German. Although predominantly a maritime power, she had indulged herself for centuries with bouts of warfare against the Greek cities of Sicily. Jul 13, Roy Lotz rated it really liked it Shelves: one-damn-thing-after-another. Mar 07, Manray9 rated it really liked it Shelves: classical- era. Admittedly, this is a relatively minor complaint, because Holland's choices of what to omit, for the most part, are quite judicious and still impart a visceral understanding of what has taken place and why it mattered. It is rare that you come across a history book which is suitable for both readers who know a fair amount about the subject and also for those who know virtually nothing, but this is one of those very unusual books. This book is a direct continuation from This time the senate declares him dictator, in an attempt in my opinion to give him what he wants, and hopefully spare their lives as well. Original Title. Caesar entered Egypt finding Egypt in the midst of a political power struggle. He famously burns down the forum. Jul 24, Katy rated it really liked it Shelves: history. The story fades out with Caesar Augustus' death. Vampire books. He gives himself doses of poison to build up his resistance for any future attempted assassinations. He paints thumbnail sketches of the principle actors Cicero, Caesar, Pompey , and also gives a kind of ethnography of Roman culture. Not my kind of history book. Cato was asked nicely to commit suicide, and he did so. I actually rather enjoyed his horror books. I think the author would also be well advised to have a quick glance at Said's Orientalism. While the manner in which the proconsuls, in alliance with business interests, ruthlessly exploited the provinces is endlessly reiterated, Holland never mentions the law and order, general peace, good roads and expanded markets, etc. And I never tire of the tales of Publius Claudius Pulcher. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Pompey rode this subscription to its highest level. Rubble left behind by the legionaries could always be distinguished by the way in which severed dogs' heads or the dismembered limbs of cattle would lie strewn among the human corpses. Lists with This Book. Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic Reviews For the generation that had lived through the civil wars, this was the consolation history gave them. Details if other :. His ancients are, in a word, too cynically modern to be quite convincing. The vast benefits of modern scholarship and hindsight certainly allow the author to drip his bemused irony and thinly-veiled scorn all over his work - but, IMO, it detracts from the very message that, presumably, he has been trying to get across: that the Republic, despite it many imperfections, was a noble and relatively free experiment in a form of representative government. Combining verve and freshness with scrupulous scholarship, Rubicon is not only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition. This book is a direct continuation from Often unnecessarily so, I think - there's a difference between describing Clodia as flirtatious and as a cocktease, for instance, and I don't think it's a word you can apply backwards to first century BC Latin with any great efficiency. What do you think of the cover? Publication date Publisher New York : Doubleday Collection inlibrary ; printdisabled ; internetarchivebooks ; delawarecountydistrictlibrary ; china ; americana Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive Contributor Internet Archive Language English. A city of Semitic settlers on the North African coast, dominating the trade routes of the western Mediterranean, Carthage possessed resources at least as great as Rome's. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. Includes bibliographical references p. I have always had this problem with histories of the Republic, and I must say Holland handles the distinctions between Caelius and Clodius, or the elder and younger Gracchi, better than most. He gives himself doses of poison to build up his resistance for any future attempted assassinations. Error rating book. And so perished Pompey the Great. Witty, literate. At the Battle of Alesia, Caesar is pinched between two Gaul forces, and manages to defeat both sides. The History Book This is where he met his first test of his military greatness by soundly defeating a united Gallic force. Sulla marched on Rome and demands his appointment back. Afterwards Rome capitulated into another civil war. Welcome back. Rumor has it, malicious maybe, that they were more attracted to each other than other people. Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic Read Online A historical thrill ride. And so perished Pompey the Great. Rubicon : the last years of the Roman Republic Item Preview. Except, of course, that one grows deaf to the fire alarm after so much ringing. When Octavian faced Antony and won, it was clear how the Citizens of Rome were grateful for peace and a restored Republic. Enlarge cover. The whole I was reminded of Sir Philip Sidney's point when def "Even three centuries later, however, memories of the Gauls remained raw. Buy at Local Store Enter your zip code below to purchase from an indie close to you. Publicly beaten and gang-raped, it was he who had been used like a whore. More blades were drawn. I am of two minds about this book. Admittedly, this is a relatively minor complaint, because Holland's choices of what to omit, for the most part, are quite judicious and still impart a visceral understanding of what has taken place and why it mattered. Overall, a wonderful achievement, and the best general history of the Roman Republic I've read to date. This book explores the development of Roman Seamless, forward-moving. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Combining verve and freshness with scrupulous scholarship, Rubicon is not only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition. Preview — Rubicon by Tom Holland. Readers also enjoyed. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. 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