Genealogy Books - Livy: The Early History of Rome, Books I-V (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 1-5)

Back to Livy: The Early History of Rome, Books I-V (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 1-5)

Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: excellant primary source
Comment: I'm an amateur of classical Roman history. Nothing published, no letters after my name....just a
passion for all things Roman. It makes a perfect excuse for an european vacation...and when you know
the back ground of the sites you are visiting, the whole thing comes alive!

One thing I
really learned in this text is that history, espically ancient history, is a mixture of reality and
myth. You may learn some facts about events, but moreso, you see how these events were precieved by
the participants based on their world view. This book has done that perfectly.

The
writting is smooth and its an easy read. In it you find the drama and passion and glory of Roman
thru Roman eyes and watch as the...Culture, not just the city or the army, grows into a world
power.
Its everything you will find in any TV drama.. deception, hurbris, cunning,
avrice...and a the glory that was once Rome!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Overcharged!
Comment: Okay, nothing bad to say about Livy, it would be like calling the sky or sun bad, but my gripe is
with penguin's mercenary tactics (modern library too for that matter 1300pgs of gibbon but feel the
need to split up Plutarch?), come on give us a break and start bundling these endless volumes of
250-300pgs into more affordable sets, why not have Livy in 3 vols instead of 4 or rather for 30bux
instead of 40? there is no excuse for splitting up 1-10 into "early history 1-5" and "Rome and Italy
6-10" especially with Cammilus spanning both volumes (why not split up the Hannibal book too more
$$$$), not to mention the excessive use of footnotes in the second of these books (6-10).
Unfortunately there is no cheaper recourse, undoubtedly their excuse is that two different
translators were involved, , alas this rant is more at the state of modern reading habits than
penguin, thank god for them, if more people desired to read these books instead of "having" to read
them for school hence the gouging, there would be more diverse editions, otherwise i love it!:P

Customer Rating:

Summary: Livy shipment
Comment: The book came in great condition and qucikly which is always a plus for school books.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Want to Understand the World? Start with Livy!
Comment: Livy is not one of the better stylists out there. Plutarch, Suetonius, and even Ceasar stand out
beside Livy, but none comes close to the breadth of description of the rise of perhaps the greatest
civilisation known to mankind. One that serves as a source of awe, wonder and inspiration to much of
mankind.

What Livy is describing is really how democracy and republics form. We have
been raised on the romance of the Greek Polis and its percieved benefits, but the Romans in my
estimation started elemental politics in a way that we know it today. They were the first to evolve
largely from a Kingship to a republic in gradual largely non-violent internal changes. They stand in
marked comparison to what are often call "less civilised" races and groups of peeople, precisely
because they did not evolve institutions such as the Romans.

This process is described
in intimate detail by Livy. The cut and thrust of political debate, the jockeying for position in
the Senate, the addition, revision and abolishing of political institutions as a society evolves --
all are described in fairly sharp detail, but lacking the wit of Seutonius or the opinions of
Plutarch.

All of the above takes place against the warring between the early Roman
states and their neighbours (learn that the "Rape of the Sabine Women" was not really a "rape" in
the traditional sense of the term -- it was far worse: the Romans lured the Sabines for a night of
partying then surrounded them in the city walls, expelled all the men and took all their womenfold
for themselves!!! This was a novel idea to end a paucity of brides inside early Rome).
/>Against all of the events of Livy one keeps thinking of the political machinations of the US or
British Parliamentary goverments, one immediately recognises reoccuring themes. The necessity of
putting down nearby barbarian tribes was a yearly exercise. The working (plebian) classes realised
that they could withhold their consent to be drafted in exchange for political concessions. This
lead to tough fights inside the senate with the plebians usually unbending to allow themselves to be
sent to fight... until the absolute last minute. The patricians were also, when the danger passed
usually likely to go back on their word to undertake some land reform.

Read and learn.
The world changes, but it does not change. That is why we have classics. And this one is perhaps
more of a classic with relevance for right here and now... especially if one is an American.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Good, but not his most accurate
Comment: first of all, amazon reviews are meant for anything, not just new releases.
the first five of
livy's books are, it is generally accepted, his most innacurate. the other 130 or so books that he
wrote were far more accurate. think about it: he covers about 700 years of history in 5 books, then
another 100 or so in the other 130. the inaccuracy is, however, not entirely his fault. for much of
it, there was simply no history kept, and he had to go with what was available.
while most
historians wrote history to glorify their families, livy was not of noble birth, and therefore had
no family to glorify, which did enable him to write a more acurate history of rome than some other
historians. livy wrote to escape the world in which he was living.
im not saying that this
book is bad, merely that it is not as accurate as his others. it is actually quite an interesting
read. but dont expect every detail of the stories to all work out - you have to take it with a grain
of salt.

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