isbn-13: 9781631492228
Audible
SPQR takes its title from another famous Roman catchphrase, Senatus PopulusQue Romanus, ‘The Senate and People of Rome’.
Interesting enough history of Rome up 212 CE. It does flit back and forth rather than move through the chronology in a strictly linear fashion. Compared to Mike Duncan’s The Storm Before The Storm, Beard spends more time on what life was like for the average Roman at various points in Rome’s history. It has a much broader range than Duncan’s book, so seems to gloss over many of the events that Duncan discusses in great detail. I also found Duncan to be a more engaging writer.
The message is clear: however far back you go, the inhabitants of Rome were always already from somewhere else.
Publisher’s Description: New York Times Bestseller National Book Critics Circle Finalist Wall Street Journal Best Books of 2015 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2015 Economist Books of the Year 2015 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books of 2015 A sweeping, “magisterial” history of the Roman Empire from one of our foremost classicists shows why Rome remains “relevant to people many centuries later” (Atlantic).