Again, another superb history by this Tasmanian devil of a classical scholar. A must read for military history buffs. How can anyone rate this work as average? ( )

I found this to be an interesting, but wildly uneven book. Essentially, the author has done a massive amount of research to construct a timeline for a single Roman Legion over a period of a hundred years or so. It is fun to follow their movements as they intersect with great men of the era like Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Nero, etc. and the effect that petty internal political squabbles had on the legions.

Also compelling are the descriptions of the hardships and battles that the legionnaires endured from day to day and year to year as they completed their 20 year or longer service to the empire. There are some truly breathtaking battle scenes. It was a life of internal strife, constant battles, blood and guts, and fleeting honor.

Due in part to the type of source, I think, though, sometimes the author settles in to lists of names and ancient locations that are tedious and difficult to picture. "So and so went here, and met so and so, who came from there, and he had so and so with him, and they talked about going over there". The writing at these points becomes list-like and unimaginative. It would have helped if there had been more, and more detailed, maps, that could have helped put some of these episodes in context.

Overall a worthy illumination of the lives of legionnaires and the military campaigns of the time, but marred by inconsistent writing, in my opinion. ( )