The Roman Empire: Second Edition

This is an excellent concise yet complete history of the Roman Empire from Caesar to the start of its long decline. A strength of the book is that Wells limits himself to a manageable 300 year scope. This book is very readable and excellently organized into alternating chapters of political and social history. Wells does a good job of pointing out newer scholarship and areas where there are differences of opinion - he doesn't just give you his version. He also does a good job noting his primary sources. The index is excellent there is also a very cool thematic bibliography that is very helpful to people doing research papers on this era. This book is rigorous yet readable, enjoyable yet scholarly. I would recommend it to both serious students of the Roman Empire as a handy reference book on the stuff you already know and also to any person just interested in learning about Rome as a good book to start out with.

This book is rather limited in scope, despite its generic title encapsulating a vast subject. It only covers the empire after the fall of the republic, the first four chapters are devoted exclusively to the reign of Augustus, and the book only goes up to the reign of Maximinius. On the plus side, the author is very good at reading between the lines of the works of the ancient historians. He notes, for instance, that despite the bad press given to Tiberius and Claudius, they seem on the whole to be have been very competent and conscientious emperors. This book gave me a fresh look at some things that I have studied and pondered for many years, but I would definitely not recommend it as an introduction to Roman history; it reads like a work for historians rather than laypeople. I give it a middling rating overall.

Beginning from the military take over of Rome by Julius Caesar, through Octavian and Trajan to the eventual end of centralized government in the 3rd and 4th centuries, this book neatly organizes the material chronologically while not losing the reader in a hodge-podge of names, places, and events. Dr. Colin Wells does a fantastic job of explaining the culture of the Roman Empire both in Italy and throughout the many provinces (most notably Africa, Egypt, Asia Minor, Germania and Britannia).A overtly general book on the period, this historical work is great for the reader that is unfamiliar with the time period and simply wants a thorough discussion on the Roman Empire that touches on all the major topics while not getting too bogged down in the nitty gritty details. Points of contention among researches are raised with Dr. Wells providing his opinion on the matters while still acknowledging the dissenting view.Finally, the book does a really good job of capturing the feel of Rome during this time. The more enjoyable parts of the book are when he explains the cultural aspects of the Roman Empire: what life was like as a plebian, the Bay of Naples as a senatorial resort for the very rich or life as a legionnaire on the banks of the Rhine or the Danube. While he does cater to a more British audience (this book was written while Dr. Wells was teaching as an adjunct professor at Cambridge) I highly recommend it as a great "starter" book for those interested in learning about the Roman Empire.

Prof Wells does good work in giving a panoramic view of the empire from Augustus' reign and on. This does a fine job as a refresher on the Roman Empire since Wells has incorporated the most contemporary of discoveries in his latest edition. As always it never hurts to have background knowlege of the Roman Republic before reading this, but it's not essential.What is especially great about Well's "Roman Empire" is the narrative bibliography. These are unfortunately rare today in most histories. Well's bibliography alone will point readers interested in Rome in the right direction for further reading or study.Clearly written, well researched and well done.

I loved Colin's book Sailing from Byzantium, which is why I got this. This enirely lacks the delightful writing of Sailing. It's got tedious chapters on political succession, quite boring.

This is probably the best introduction one can read about the Roman Empire, since the author not only gives the conventional information (such as the lives of the individual emperors, etc) but also provides analytical and critical comments from a broader historical perspective.

This is an adequate one volume history on the Roman Empire. I've certainly seen some surveys of this period that are better, but Colin Wells does the job. The book covers the period from 44 B.C. to 235 A.D., or roughly from the beginnings of the second triumvirate to right before the 50 years of anarchy before Diocletian. Wells takes an interesting path with his book; he alternates between standard political history and social developments. You can read about everything from Elagabalus to Arezzo pottery. Most surveys I've read stick exclusively to politics. This format allows Wells to talk about areas that interest him. He states in the forward that his concern is archeology and that he has worked in Carthage unearthing buildings and walls.Most books agree that the death of Julius Caesar and the civil wars between Octavian and Antony usher in the Imperial phase of Roman history. Wells is correct to start with these events. The book doesn't go far enough, however. Stopping at 235 A.D. leaves out an enormous amount of significant events. Leaving out Diocletian and the Tetrarchy alone is a huge mistake, as is the absence of Constantine and Christianity. Still, the book is a great refresher on Roman history. There really isn't much new here in the way of interpretation, although I did appreciate his introduction. Wells manages to do in a few pages what many fail to do: explain in a concise way the intricacies of Roman names and Roman political offices. Very helpful.This is a good book, although a serious survey of Roman history would be better served with a more comprehensive textbook. Be sure and locate a book that at least covers Rome up to 476 A.D., if not later.

Overall, a very informative book about the Roman empire, especially the earlier periods. Vast quantities of information are provided and the class and style of Colin Wells as scholar of the period shines through the work.The only negative I could think of was the convolution of some of the sections of the text and the rather unattractive layout of the text, making reading slightly tiring. The text could also be grouped into more sections to enable quicker browsing for particular material. However, both of these are only minor problems.This is a great work on Roman history and I thoroughly recommend it to enthusiast and student alike.

Good, concise book on Roman history, would recommend to anyone who wants to familiarise themselves with Roman history. The author also includes footnotes in the text to any ancient sources he uses making it very useful for students.

This is a very readable book, quite suitable for someone like myself whose sole knowledge of Roman History comes from watching I Claudius thirty odd years ago. There are plenty of references for those who need to know more background, but they do not detract from the pace of the narrative.

Bought this book for my daughter who is studying classics at university. Its a great resource for the roman empire segment of the course.

Not bad