Customer Reviews

Gladiator

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Richard Watkins' book on the gladiators of Rome is a welcome addition to the sparse literature on these most fascinating 'sports figures' and the 'games' they engaged in. Targeted principally for the younger readers, it is still an enjoyable read for anyone interested in the professional swordsmen of the arena. The illustrations are quite good, although a more colourful and detailed medium than graphite might have better served to capture the parade-like splendour of the events. Gladiator is an worthwhile companion to Michael Grant's harder to find (and more detailed) Gladiators (also highly recommended).

I wish Mr. Watkins would write and illustrate other books / this must have been a labour of love. The drawings are masterful!

I work as a children's librarian and I'm scared for the little ones to take this out. It's pretty irreplaceable/ unlike any other.

This book is not solely intended for the young reader. It contains numerous well illustrated aspects of gladiators in the arena as well as other Roman games.

Gladiators by richard watkins is a great book. It has some intresting information on what gladiators are, what they do, and how the do it. I learned from this book that not only did gladiators fight to the death, but most of the time thier lives depended on the crowd. I really enjoyed reading this book. It had alot of intresting facts in it. If your thinking about getting it I highly reccomend getting it.

I am fascinated by Republican Rome and the early empire and have read extensively about this time over the last fifteen years. I hope to pass on some of my fascination to my children; those of you with children will know that this is not always an easy thing. Stories that are riveting, compelling, and fundamental to our history, when relayed orally by me to my children only seem to garner blank stares. I am committed to doing my best to bringing them to the world of learning and reading so we go off the library fairly regularly, or as my seven year-old insists on calling it, "the lending bookstore".

My twelve year-old son spotted this book in the children's section and grabbed it. I'm not sure whether that was because I had inspired him with my incessant stories or if he did it to humor me. I have my suspicions, lol. Nevertheless, I was excited to see him take an interest in something to do with Rome, even if it was about gladiators. He is twelve after all. He read the book cover to cover and enjoyed it, learned a lot, and was able to enage in somewhat meaningful dialogue about this aspect of Roman culture afterwards. My paternal heart hopes that it will lead him in the future to a fuller exploration of the politics, culture, history, and literature of the ancient world. Whether it does or not I am grateful to Richard Watkins for producing a children's/teenager book that could trump the Xbox for awhile and provide a father and son the first of what I hope will be many enjoyable discussions about history. The book is well-written, reasonably accurate, and lavishly illustrated. The subject matter is going to appeal to boys and I am not truly worried about the violence element. This is history after all, and any means by which I can get my children interested is a boon.

Brilliantly written, beautifully illustrated, this is by far the best introduction to gladiators. While it is designated for young people, it is equally valuable to the general reader.

(Cleveland) This is so well written and about much more than gladiators. It is about human societies, "civilization", moral complexity, and the culture which gave contemporary America much of our language, values and laws. Scary, and important.

Here is a sample:

"At its height, the Roman Empire controlled all of southern Europe, Britain, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and North Aftrica. Cities were established, trade was regulated, taxes were collected. Rome built 53,000 miles of roads, bridges, aquaducts, and sewers, some ofwhich are still in use. Its laws, manners, and customs were adopted all over the empire.
But for all its glory, it's difficult to ignore the fact the the Roman Empire was won by military force and built by the labor of millions of slaves. To the average Roman citizen, life was hard, war was a contant threat, and slaves were just another piece of property. And in spite of their sophistication in government, business, and the arts, Romans had a crude taste for violence and cruelty. For almost a thousand years Roman society represented both the best and the worst of human civilization."

I guess I am going to spring for the hardcover so I can offer it to my children and their children and schools and friends.

The book is basically a pictorial book for children and not for more experienced learners. As a beginners book it gives a fair description of the Gladiators history and place in the Roman culture but, it needs much more to compete with other books on the subject.