Ancient Rome: An Introductory History (Hardcover)

by Paul A. Zoch (Author) "What do such languages as English, Latin, Greek (ancient and modern), German, Gaelic, Russian, Kurdish, Sanskrit, and Hindi have in common?..." (more)
Key Phrases: wild beast hunts, other consul, elected tribune, Asia Minor, Julius Caesar, Popular Assembly (more...)

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

Review
"A story-filled narrative of ancient Rome, focusing on political and military history... -- Houston Chronicle --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr; First Edition edition (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806130938
• ISBN-13: 978-0806130934
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,894,053 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 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 (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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 7 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.