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The Roman RevolutionBook

by Ronald Syme

Who uses, recommends or left The Roman Revolution, in their own words: each a verbatim quote with a link to where it was said.

2 people

Dietrich Vollrath
Economist at the University of Houston; wrote Fully Grown, on why a slow-growing economy is a sign of success, and blogs at Growth Economics.
loved

Ronald Syme's The Roman Revolution is a classic in this area. Written in 1939, it is one of those books that presumes the reader is already educated in classical history. So I'd suggest trying some of the others first before you tackle this one, unless of course you graduated from Oxford in 1917. For all that, it is an excellent book, albeit quite grim.

A personal reading list on the fall of the Roman Republic and rise of Augustus, posted as a break from his usual economic-growth blogging.

2015-12-10·growthecon.com ↗

Tom Holland
British historian, translator and broadcaster; author of Rubicon and Dominion and co-host of The Rest Is History podcast.
recommended

This again is an absolute classic which is completely informed by Tacitus. It has that very mordant take on the way that power works and operates.

Five Books interview on the best books about ancient Rome

2011-09-13·fivebooks.com ↗

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