Ancient Rome: An Introductory History [Paperback]

Paul A. Zoch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0806132876 | ISBN-13: 978-0806132877 | Publication Date: August 15, 2000

The events and personalities of ancient Rome spring to life in this history, from its founding in 753 B.C. to the death of the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius in A.D. 180.

Paul A. Zoch presents, in contemporary language, the history of Rome and the stories of its protagonists?such as Romulus and Remus, Horatius, and Nero-which are so often omitted from more specialized studies.

With an eye detail, Zoch guides his readers through the military campaigns and political developments that shaped Rome’s rise from a small Italian city to the greatest imperial power the world had ever known. We witness the long struggle against the enemy city of Carthage. We follow Caesar as he campaigns in Britain, and we observe the ebb and flow of Rome’s fortunes in the Hellenistic East. Writing with the belief that such stories contain moral lessons that are relevant today, Zoch presents a narrative that is both entertaining and informative. An afterword takes the history to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West in A.D. 476.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Zoch, a high-school teacher of Latin and English, has written a concise, straightforward chronology of Roman history from the mythological founding of Rome to the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He effectively stresses both the political and the moral lessons we can learn from various episodes in Roman history, and he has a knack for breathing life into some of the more mundane topics in the classical period. This is not a work that history buffs will find especially informative, but it will provide the general reader, particularly at the undergraduate level, with a basic knowledge of the key events, personalities, and forces that shaped the republic and the early empire. Jay Freeman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A story-filled narrative of ancient Rome, focusing on political and military history... -- Houston Chronicle

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (August 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806132876
• ISBN-13: 978-0806132877
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction, November 12, 2000

By 

Richard A. Weaver (lawrenceville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancient Rome: An Introductory History (Paperback)

This is an excellent introduction to the history of ancient Rome. It seems to be aimed at high school students, as an adjunct to their study of Latin. Older readers will enjoy it as well. Before digging into something heavier, like Grant's history, or Dudley, or a college-level text such as Sinnigen & Boak, it's good to get an overview and a idea of the main themes; if you start out with those heavier volumes, it's easy to lose sight of the main currents, and get caught up in the details and minutiae.

It follows a fairly traditional path, and concentrates on political and military history. In style, this book reminded me of the two histories of Rome that Isaac Asimov wrote. It does not assume any previous knowledge of Rome, and the author includes many edifying and entertaining episodes from Livy, stories that are part and parcel of our Western heritage.

Note: this work is heavily weighted toward early Rome and the Republic. The author doesn't get to the Principate until page 227 out of 284. (An aside: the book has a total of 300 pages, not the 320 mentioned above.) For full information about the Empire, you'll want to supplement this book with something else.

The book could have done with some more pictures and maps, but all in all, a good value for the price, and a wonderful way to start learning about our Latin heritage.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent but basic resource for Roman history, March 16, 2000

By 

John Ingle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ancient Rome: An Introductory History (Hardcover)

Zoch has done an excellent job in bringing about an easy reading yet very informative book on the history of Rome. The author has treated the myths Rome held important to their founding and throughout their culture as key to understanding Rome and her culture, so one will get an excellent glimpse of Rome and her legendary figures. The book goes up until the time of Augustus then it slows down. He gives basically an epitome of Rome's Imperial period. It is intended for a general study and intoduction to Roman history and is written more for the high school level than anything. I will say that this is not a bad thing as it provides a good study and is very simple to read. One area that I found frustrating was, was his lack of dates. But overall the book is a good resource to have, especially if one is just starting a study of Rome, and although is written rather simple and straightfoward, is written in such a way to convey the information to an audience that ranges from jr. high on up. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a good introductory history to Rome, especially her myths.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reveals Roman history, culture, and society, February 13, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ancient Rome: An Introductory History (Paperback)

Zoch taught high school Latin to an audience which knew relatively little about the ancient Romans: his contribution is this title, which reveals Roman history, culture, and society. The introductory format makes it easy for students to quickly learn about Roman history and culture and Ancient Rome is recommended for any high school student of Latin or Roman history.