Robert Payne (1) (1911–1983)

An opulent, at the same time erudite and content-rich, account of the best period of the Roman Empire of the dictators and proconsuls. There are good accounts of the greatest of the emperors, starting with Julius Caeser, and ending with the overrunning of Rome by the northern tribes like the Goths and Vandals, and just touching on the final eclipse by the taking of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire' is relegated to the end, so this book provides a good counter-weight to Gibbon's scasting, if scholarly, account of demise and doom. The author gives a fine assessment (that reads like a peroration!) of the longer-lasting bequest of the Roman civilization, such as the rule of law, equality of citizens, administrative framework including the maintenance of a competent bureaucracy, and of course their astonishing prowess with public constructions like roads, canals, harbours, citi planning, and so on. The fatal weaknesses are also well brought out, such as the inordinate dependence on mercenary armed forces, the intractable problem of succession (for which, ironically, one of the greatest, Marcus Aurelius, is held responsible for starting the hereditary line of succession with disastrous results), and the self-absorption of the rich. This story surely has important lessons for the regimes of the present day.… (més)

I came across this book by complete accident. It has no writing on the spine and I picked it up simply to see what it was. I read the back, then opened it and read the first couple of pages and decided from that, I just had to read it!

I'm not a scholar, have no interest in archeology or history. I rarely read biographies but this book just took a hold of me.

Schliemann led a fascinating life and this book is written in such a way that I absorbed the facts and history very easily. It was almost like reading a novel in that I did not want to put it down, I had to know the next stage of this mans life.

A truly absorbing and fascinating read.… (més)