Review: The Romans: From Village to Empire: A History of Rome from Earliest Times to the End of the Western Empire

The Romans: From Village to Empire: A History of Rome from Earliest Times to the End of the Western Empire by Mary T. Boatwright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a good, university level textbook which covers the history of the Roman Empire from its foundation to its end. Written by a team of first-rate scholars, this book provides a strong overview for the Romans and is an excellent place to start the study of the Romans. This edition is the second edition, so it has presumably been updated from the first (I hadn't read the first edition, so I can't comment on improvements).

What I enjoyed about this text is its blend of political and social/cultural history for each period. It makes interesting connections to cultures around it, as well as giving a good view of what was going on internally which influenced the development of the Roman state and culture. For me, it was a good review and, as I had intended it, a good general resource for my teaching, when I need to remind myself about something. That makes it a quite useful text.

Like any textbook, the view is general and there's always nuances that one might want to make, but for which there isn't space. However, this book gives a strong sense of the field and deserves a place on the shelf for anyone interested in Roman history.

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