Rubicon
The Last Years of the Roman Republic
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4.5 • 141 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From Tom Holland, co-host of the hit podcast THE REST IS HISTORY, a vivid historical account of the social world of Rome as it moved from republic to empire.
“A fascinating picture of Roman city life. . . . In every aspect of this story, Holland expertly makes the Romans, so alien and yet so familiar, relevant to us.” –Los Angeles Times
“Stunning. . . . Holland keeps his narrative moving at chariot-race speed.” –Newsday
In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar crossed a small border river called the Rubicon and plunged Rome into cataclysmic civil war. Tom Holland’s enthralling account tells the story of Caesar’s generation, witness to the twilight of the Republic and its bloody transformation into an empire. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, Virgil, and Augustus, here are some of the most legendary figures in history brought thrillingly to life.
Combining verve and freshness with scrupulous scholarship, Rubicon is not only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After a palace coup demolished the reign of King Tarquin of Rome in 509 B.C., a republican government flourished, providing every person an opportunity to participate in political life in the name of liberty. As Holland, a novelist and adapter of Herodotus' Histories for British radio, points out in this lively re-creation of the republic's rise and fall, the seeds of destruction were planted in the very soil in which the early republic flourished. It was more often members of the patrician classes who had the resources to achieve political success. Such implicit class distinctions in an ostensibly classless society also gave rise to a new group of rulers who acted like monarchs. Holland chronicles the rise to power of such leaders as Sulla Felix, Pompey, Cicero and Julius Caesar. Some of these leaders, such as Pompey, appealed to the masses by expanding the republic through military conquest; others, like Cicero, worked to reinforce class distinctions. Holland points to the suppression of the Gracchian revolution a series of reforms in favor of the poor pushed by the Gracchus brothers in the second century B.C. as the beginning of the end of the republic, providing the context into which Julius Caesar would step with his own attempts to save the republic. As Holland points out, Caesar actually precipitated civil wars and helped to reestablish an imperial form of government in Rome. With the skill of a good novelist, Holland weaves a rip-roaring tale of political and historical intrigue as he chronicles the lively personalities and problems that led to the end of the Roman republic. Maps.
Customer Reviews
Rubicon
This book is a real tour de force. The comprehensive scope of the narrative is remarkable. It has the documentation to back up its assertions. However, the depth and breath of the author’s narrative has such a fluid feel. I particularly enjoyed his synthesis of the interplay of the foundational Roman values which underlay their traditional and deeply conservative society. I enjoyed it immensely, and recommend it highly.
Rubicon
Couldn't put it down! Well researched and well written. Thanks! Dr. James R. Appleton
Very thorough
I loved the book!