Product Description
by Tom Holland (Author)
A vivid historical account of the social world of Julius Caesar's Rome as it moved from republic to empire, from the acclaimed author of Dynasty and co-host of the hit podcast The Rest Is History
"A fascinating picture of Roman city life . . . In every aspect of this story, Holland expertly makes the Romans, so alien and yet so familiar, relevant to us."--Los Angeles Times "Stunning . . . Holland keeps his narrative moving at chariot-race speed."--Newsday In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar crossed a small border river called the Rubicon and plunged Rome into cataclysmic civil war. Tom Holland's enthralling account tells the story of Caesar's generation, witness to the twilight of the Republic and its bloody transformation into an empire. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, Virgil, and Augustus, here are some of the most legendary figures in history brought thrillingly to life. Combining verve and freshness with scrupulous scholarship, Rubicon is not only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition.Front Jacket
In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar crossed a small border river called the Rubicon and plunged Rome into cataclysmic civil war. Tom Holland's enthralling account tells the story of Caesar's generation, witness to the twilight of the Republic and its bloody transformation into an empire. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, Virgil, and Augustus, here are some of the most legendary figures in history brought thrillingly to life. Combining verve and freshness with scrupulous scholarship, "Rubicon is not only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition.
Author Biography
Tom Holland is a historian of the ancient world and a translator. His books include Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic, Persian Fire, In the Shadow of the Sword, The Forge of Christendom, and Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar. He has adapted Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Virgil for the BBC. He is a winner of the Classical Association prize, awarded to "the individual who has done most to promote the study of the language, literature and civilization of Ancient Greece and Rome." He lives in London with his family.
