Logistics Paradox

We celebrate the emperors, but we forget the oxen. 'The Logistics Paradox' dives into the hidden engine of the ancient world. Rome did not conquer through mere bravery; it conquered through superior accounting and paving. We examine the physical limits of power—how a lack of grain could do more damage than a thousand barbarians.



It is a story of a system that became too large to feed itself. We analyze the calorie-to-distance ratio that dictated the borders of the known world. This book treats history as a technical challenge where roads were the hardware and law was the software. Discover the invisible infrastructure that allowed a single city to rule millions.



Understand the inevitable friction that eventually ground it to a halt. Power is nothing without delivery. We take you through the archives of the grain trade and the engineering of the Roman roads to show you why the empire's greatest strength became its ultimate weakness. Learn how the complexity of the supply chain created a fragile equilibrium that could not survive the first shock. This is history through the lens of physics and economics—a sober look at the rise and fall of a superpower through the things that actually kept it alive.