Scullard is still the baseline for all academic books written involving this time period. Most of them are compared to Scullard. I have the 4th edition of this book, but with the exception of a few expanded end notes it is the same as the 5th edition. First published in 1959 it is still the standard text for early Roman history classes. It is pretty easy to follow, but like any textbook for this period it does not cover much of anything in depth. It covers the big events from the Gracchi to Nero. The Gracchi are covered pretty well here and that is why I bought this book. Books on the Gracchi brothers are hard to find and when you do they are quite expensive. He of course covers the… Read more
This is a very academic book, but readable. Hadrian spent most of his 20 or so years as emperor out and about in the provinces. Boatwright does a very good job emphasizing the importance of Hadrian's reign and the impact he had in the cities scattered around the Roman Empire. Everywhere Hadrian went he commissioned works. These were in the form of roads, basilicas, arches, forums, columns, and estates. Subsequently it seems everywhere you go to see Roman ruins to this day you see some remnants of Hadrian. Hadrian completely transformed the Roman city. Boatwright does a good job explaining this in chapters titled "Changes of City Status and Their Impact on City Life" and… Read more
This is the first biography I've read on Caligula. I have read several other books that touched on him, but this is the first full-length book I've read on him. This is the first case of reading a biography on anyone from the ancient world where I felt like I really didn't need to read it. I got plenty of info on Caligula from Michael Grant's books or biographies on Tiberious (Caligula's predecessor). I once read an article on Caligula in a journal that discussed the theory where the reason behind his madness was due to Interictal Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Barrett's book starts out great with a lot of background information on Caligula's family and his struggle to move into the number… Read more
