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Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire Paperback – July 3, 2007

by Simon Baker (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,437 ratings
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Ancient Rome is the story of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Focusing on six turning points in Roman history, Simon Baker's absorbing narrative charts the rise and fall of a political machine unmatched in its brutality, genius, and lust for power. From the conquest of the Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC to the destruction of the empire at the hands of barbarian invaders 700 years later, we discover the pivotal episodes in Roman history. At the heart of this account are some of the most powerful rulers in history—men like Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nero, and Constantine. Putting flesh on the bones of these legendary figures, Baker looks beyond the dusty caricatures to explore their real motivations, ambitions, intrigues, and rivalries. The superb narrative, full of energy and imagination, is a brilliant distillation of the latest scholarship and a wonderfully evocative account of ancient Rome.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    448 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    BBC Physical Audio
  4. Publication date
    July 3, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 1.2 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1846072840
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1846072840
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review


"Effectively profiles several important figures from Rome's history . . . recommended for public libraries." —Library Journal

About the Author

Simon Baker is a member of the BBC's award-winning History Unit where he has worked on a wide range of programs about the classical world. He was the development producer on the series Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ BBC Physical Audio; Reprint edition (July 3, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1846072840
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1846072840
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.2 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,437 ratings

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Simon Baker

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,437 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

PeaceBee
5.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious, informative, entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2014
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An amazing piece of work on part of the author. The breadth of the subject covered within a short span of 420 pages is nothing short of spectacular. The book reads like a fiction novel. At many places it reminded me of the Game of Throne series of books and I am quite sure much of that series is inspired by Rome's true events.

What has survived rome to this day is truly remarkable - the Formula One car race tracks (now cars instead of chariots) are inspired from Rome, as are the Baseball and football events in their massive stadiums. The Voting system, the religious tolerance, senators, counselors, the idea of a republic, the certification and establishment of Christianity as a formal and widely accepted religion of the masses, the architectural layout of cities, and more.

The Roman history, as is history of most great empires of that time (Greeks, Mongols, Mughals, etc) is full of blood, gore, treachery, deceit, and politics. It can feel quite depressing actually. The rule of Emperor Nero is mind boggling - killing countless people for money, murdering one's own mother, draining the kingdom of its riches for personal gain, etc.

The Roman history also has many lessons to teach - how it is easy to slip away from Republic to an autocracy if the public and government is not vigilant; how lip service to righteousness does not serve kingdoms; how ruthlessness can bring power and fame but not really happiness or peace of mind; how minor vents can set the stage for major catastrophes and change the course of entire history (Constantipole's victory under the cross, refusal of refuge to barbarians, etc); the implications of surrendering power in hands of the weak or the unwise.

I had minimal, if any, knowledge of the Roman history before I started reading this book. Now I feel I can have some conversations at great length with someone who may be more familiar with the subject. Highly recommended to any history buffs, those looking for a great read, or for those who are afraid to read fiction for wasting time but miss the thrill of it :)
16 people found this helpful
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ElevenDozen
4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good for layman reading
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2023
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I see a lot of folks have criticized the author for this or that.... perhaps they are right, i don't know. I'm not a scholar. I thought this was a good read, especially if you are new to ancient Roman history. I actually enjoyed the author's attempt at making it a narrative, otherwise you might get bored with historical anecdotes and analysis. Its a good mix of story telling and research. Well done!
4 people found this helpful
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Edward Karlson
5.0 out of 5 stars closest to the real story
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2013
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I'll agree with the many reviews that say it reads like a good novel, in modern but not dumbed-down language. Baker picked the key peaks in Roman history and ascended them in little known detail, getting into the mentalities and motives of the main figures, what I consider most important, the 'why' of history. My only objection was his usual treatment of Augustus as entirely devious in his layering of a ruthless empire with republican facades. I believe he had no realistic alternative but to rise above the aristocracy and its packed Senate with a layer of imperial power. The aristocracy, the unfettered capitalists of their time, were the cause of the republic's demise beginning with the Gracchi in 133 BC and it was necessary to cap them with imperium. That is the 'why' of Augustus' policy. Julius Caesar, the most misunderstood and maligned man of history was a populari-people's man against the optimates and his lack of a problem with self-esteem, a requirement among the overachiever leading Romans, is used to misrepresent him as a megalomaniac. He was what he had to be and so was Augustus. Notwithstanding, Baker's treatment of successive developments and figures of the history is excellent, especially that of Constantine, also much misunderstood. For a half-barbarian and Sol Invictus devotee he got more right than many express Christian rulers leading up to Charlemagne. The end of the empire is treated very objectively and with great detail, especially the circumstances leading up to the sack of Rome in 410 by Alaric, the best account I've seen. The very end, with the economic breakdown, is very well described in detail. Getting back to Augustus, he re-invented the republic by capping its otherwise irreconcilable corruption, and prolonged it by nearly five centuries. Not a bad lifetime's work. Baker is forgiven for miscasting him and deserves praise for the best history of Rome that I have yet seen.
6 people found this helpful
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tim wood
5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic read
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2014
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I love Roman history and actually slogged through the entire "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," by Edward Gibbon. But it took me years, and I remember little due to the plethora of detail. On the other hand, this highly readable book gets right to the meat of the matter, time and time again. Here you can actually get a vivid sense of every phase of Roman evolution, from the earliest tribal days to the glory of the Republic, to the descent into darkness arguably foreshadowed by the brutal sack of Carthage in about 150 BC . . . .

Insightful, superbly written, and gripping, this book is a real page turner. You will not be able to put it down. I keep waking up late at night with the darned thing laying on my chest, my glasses still on my head -- it's that spellbinding.

My only complaint is not with the book, but with human nature. Damn our conflictive and contrary tendencies! This book illustrates the exact same battles being waged then as now: conservatives arguing for trickle down economics to help the "plebes," while the peoples' advocates seek more equitable distributions of wealth, power, and prestige.

And that is why it is so important to read and understand history: it's a window into our very own state of affairs. I just wish we would all pay attention -- before it's too late, and the next historian is writing about our own rise and sudden fall.
12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

SuperdanTech
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!
Reviewed in Canada on April 18, 2017
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One of the best books I have read on Rome. The author concentrates on the more important emperors with their main achievements. The writing style is very interesting, between a novel and a documentary so to speak. Quite unique. A must read for fans of the ancient Rome!
One person found this helpful
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Stephen Webb
5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific and easy read
Reviewed in Australia on February 7, 2024
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After watching a Netflix series about the Roman Empire I wanted to know a bit more. This book gave me that bit more focussing on a few more of the the high points, a little bit of extra detail with the main leaders without going into intricate detail of every moment in the history of the empire. (I could not imagine reading a 3 volume series which one person wrote - I really don't need to know what they ate for dinner every night)
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sid
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended
Reviewed in India on April 16, 2018
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I had a trivial notion but immense curiosity about the great ancient Roman civilisation that succeeded the Greek Hellenistic and preceeded the Arab Islamic civilisation. This more or less a hiatus of 500 years , from second century BC to third century AD of the Roman era when Rome dominated the western world, spreading it fangs into Africa and upto Asia. However due to several reason, both internal and external, the western Roman civilisation imploded and the eastern Roman, although would continue for another millenia, would be a mere rump of what the ancient Romans were and would utmost attain a status of a trivial regional power during some periods of that millenia but more or less it would be fighting for revival rather than dominate the known world like ancient Romans.

Having said that, this tome encompasses a wide span including the glorious era of Roman domination, the era of Roman republic, the fueds of Julius Caesaer and Pompei, the serene period of Augustus, the madness of Nero, the subjugation of Judea by father son duo of vesopasian-Titus, tetrarchy of Diocletan, and the later downfall era under Honorious.

Altogether, it provides the incense and enough fuel to fire a desire to seek more knowledge of that era and one will not be disappointed by reading this book, being a fast pace turner, devoid of panegryics or statistics, it is highly recommended for a history bluff and those seeking that vicarious pleasure in a real life story line .
8 people found this helpful
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Edu
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good
Reviewed in Spain on December 22, 2015
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Giver you a global vision of the Roman Empire, helping to put everyone in their place in time. Easy Reading, an important thing to consider when dealing with History
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Chris Wood
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2015
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I am interested, like many others, in this period of history and was looking for a book that wasn't too learned but still informative. This book is certainly very accessible to the ordinary reader and provides a lot of insights into some of the main protagonists and the events in which they were involved. Some of the facts/opinions presented are surprising and likely to overturn many of the preconceptions we have, mainly created by Hollywood, regarding the Roman Empire, it's people and it's leaders. An example being Nero, he who fiddled while Rome burned, according to the author he didn't, in fact was venerated by the people and did all he could to provide relief and aid during and after the fire. There are occasional moments of dry humour usually at the expense of legendary figures and their doings and the things they said as apposed to the things they did. The author though obviously having a great knowledge of and love for the period is not overawed by the momentous events he describes nor is he unduly reverential when discussing the towering main characters. This has the effect of humanising the characters and giving a perspective on their doings that is accessible to the modern mind.
I had one regret with the book - it is not a massive tome and therefore does not go into quite as much detail as I would have liked, for example the destruction of Rome's traditional and long standing enemy, Carthage, is dealt with in a short chapter without going into the gory military details, the battle of Cannae is more or less dealt with in a paragraph. To be fair this was not the authors intention which was to provide an overview of the historic events. It left me wanting to read more on the subject especially the military details of some of the world changing conflicts that occurred.
I recommend this book as an excellent, enjoyable and informative read
20 people found this helpful
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