Ancient Rome

Library Bookwatch, March, 2005

Ancient Rome

Christopher S. Mackay

Cambridge University Press

40 West 20th Street, NY, NY 10011-4211

www.cambridge.org

0521809185 $35.00 1-800-872-7423

Knowledgeably written by Christopher S. Mackay, an accomplished associate professor of history who has published numerous articles on all periods of Roman history, Ancient Rome: A Military And Political History is a comprehensive political history ancient Rome from the city's origins during the Italian Iron Age to the deposition of its last emperor in A.D. 476. From Rome's growth and conquest to pressures and invasion that eventually destroyed its empire, to how it came to adopt Christianity as its state religion and the lasting influence of that legacy, Ancient Rome is extraordinarily fascinating and compelling reading. Written in terms as engaging to the lay reader as the professional historian, Ancient Rome is a dynasty-by-dynasty account that spreads out what history tells of feuds, assassinations, war, enforced peace, and military transformations in the legendary Roman Empire.