David Abulafia – The great sea
The best parts are the details (e.g. on laws governing responsibilities at sea in medieval times), but these facts buried in a thorough, impressively complete historical overview.
The struggle to keep the legacy of the Roman empire alive has shaped much of Ravenna’s history
A front-row seat to the decline and fall of the (Western) Roman empire.
A good archeologist makes Sherlock Holmes’ deductions look rather elementary
The best feature of the book is that the author explains how archeologists infer facts about life 2000 years ago.
Seneca and his friends have a lot of practical advice for navigating life
Ward Fransworth – The practicing Stoic
there is no reason to get too excited about this book.
The history of Rome consists of a unique series of revolutionary social and political experiments
Rome was much more of a ‘social welfare state’ than I ever realized; with a people’s tribunes, food for the poor, land redistribution, and pensions for soldiers.