redrobinbookreviews

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome   Mary Beard
A “history” of Rome that is more a meditation on all the possibilities than any actual occurrences. Much more about the Roman historians such as Livy and Polybius than what they wrote. She discusses writings about the three Punic wars without any information about the wars themselves. After 200 pages, I hadn’t learned anything about Rome except what we don’t know. Deeply disappointing.