Review: A Concise History of Republican Rome, by Georgina Masson

I actually finished this a couple of weeks ago but between F1 and having the short term memory of a boiled cabbage I, er, only got around to reviewing it now.

Despite the name the book actually covers the royal period too, making it just about seven centuries of history contained within fewer than 200 pages, so the concise part of the title is entirely accurate. As might be expected, there are some periods that receive significantly more attention than others, as differing historical periods vary not only according to how interesting they are but also the availability of sources.

Although I like reading of the Punic Wars I know relatively little of the latter 2^nd century BC through to Caesar’s time and the sections covering the Gracchi, Marius, Sulla, and the triumvirates were very engaging indeed, and showed a surprisingly rapid transformation of the Roman political structure (which had been absolutely rock solid during the Second Punic War). This was fascinating stuff, and I raced through it.

Probably because I was more familiar with much of the rest, I read it at a slower pace. The book’s well-suited, given its nature, to newcomers either to history or this particular (lengthy) period. Maps do not feature but there are many black and white photographs throughout. Also worth noting it’s an older book so if you go for it then second hand may be the optimal route.

This was one of many still on a literal to-read pile and I was a bit unsure how I’d like it. After a slightly slow start, the decline and fall of the republican era was very engaging indeed.

Thaddeus