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Book Review by Marc Ollard I have always been woefully ignorant of the Celts. In a desperate attempt to remedy that malady, I bought Ellis' book. There is also a certain overlap between Celtic and Roman histories, and I felt as a Romanophile I needed to know something about the other side. Ellis first tackles the subject of the Celt's alleged illiteracy. He then outlines several sectors of Celtic society. He then offers some examples of Celtic high cultural achievements. Finally, he gives us a sketch of Celtic history from distant origins to Christian conversion. Ellis writes in a clear and organized manner, and I had no problem digesting all the unfamiliar information he was throwing at me. There are times when he goes unncessarily the extra mile to drive home a point, but I stop far short of calling his style pedantic. Indeed, he manages to cram much information in a book that is suprisingly short and light. There are also some pictures and illustrations buried throughout the book, and suggestions for further reading. I am now better acquainted with the Celts, and more respectful of their achievements which have been underrated by society. I have even developed an interest in furthering my studies on the matter. In that sense, Ellis achieved his aims, at least with this reader. However, I am not going to bestow this work with an unqualified rating. There are some serious issues in the manner in which it is presented. For one thing, since most writings on the Celts come to us from Greco-Roman sources, there has always been an issue of how much we can trust the alleged biases of a people who were often at war with the Celts. For Ellis, there seems to be a double standard. When the classical authors say something about the Celts that make them seem smart and cool, he readily embraces their views. When the Classical authors say the slightest negative thing about the Celts, Ellis dismisses them as evil propagandists. How convenient. The author waxes eloquent about the achievements of the Celts and is always comparing them to other ancient societies, usually the Romans for whom Ellis seems to sneer in high contempt. As a Romanophile, I can see Ellis' own biases and prejudices against Roman society. Does being a good Celtophile mean despising the Romans? I don't think so, but then I'm admittedly biased myself as a Romanophile. I would have loved Ellis to devote more time to the fascinating subject of Celto-Roman society, where the cultures and the religions of the conquerers and conquered co-existed more or less peacefully and the Celts became valued members of Romans society. Ellis seems to largely gloss over these centuries of history. Again, conveniently. Let's take the Celtic achievements in perspective. The Celts did build roads and buildings. But they built them with wood, which is prone to rotting. This is why few Celtic constructions have survived today, and why most people don't associate Celts with engineering feats. The Romans, on the other hand, built with stone and marble, which is why many of their creations are still around and why we marvel at their works. Ellis points out the Celts could write when they had to, but otherwise frowned on doing so as the Druidic caste did not want to lose its intellectual control over the people, or have its knowledge stolen by enemies. Fine. But the fact remains that the ancient Celts didn't write things down. Which means most of their legacy necessarily comes to us through the eyes of hostile Greek and Roman contacts. Let's not complain that Caesar slandered the Celts in his writings; if the Druidic caste had not been so paranoid and parochial, they could have let the Celts speak for themselves, and we wouldn't have to rely on Caesar's biased accounts for our knowledge of Celtic society. The image the Romans left us of the Celts as being illiterate, savage warriors may not be totally accurate. But all in all I do find that Ellis overstates his case in trying to correct the image. The basic theme of the Celts being less advanced than their Mediterranean and Oriental peers is I think still deserved on the whole. The contributions that the Celtic peoples made within the framework of Romanization would make a fascinating subject, but neither Ellis nor many other Celtophiles seem especially interested in the subject. Ellis dissmisses academics critical of Celtic society as having an agenda against modern Celtic nationalism. I wonder if Ellis has his own agenda in the opposite direction. As I said, I have a greater appreciation for the Celts and am inspired to learn more about them, and I thank the author for that. But I do feel there is some sort of agenda here to make the Celts the greatest thing since sliced bread, and conversely to turn Rome into the boogeyman of the Ancient World. The Celts lost the war with Caesar; get over it already. ...more Book Reviews! The Ancient Celts by B. Cunliffe Roman Gaul and Germany The Conquest of Gaul Peter Berresford Ellis (born 10 March 1943) is a historian, literary biographer, and novelist who has published over 98 books to date either under his own name or his pseudonyms Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. He has also published 100 short stories. Under Peter Tremayne, he is the author of the international bestselling Sister Fidelma historical mystery series. His work has appeared in 25 languages. He was given an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of East London in 2006 in recognition of his work. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1996) and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (1998). He was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd (1987) for his work on the history of the Cornish language — The Cornish Language and its Literature (published in 1974). He received an Irish Post Award (1989) for his work on Celtic history, and the French Prix Historia (2010) for best historical crime novel of 2010. As well, he was made Honorary Life President of the Scottish 1820 Society (1989), and Honorary Life Member of the Irish Literary Society (2002). Tell us your opinion - Submit your Review - Buy the book! Book Review of The Celts: A History - Related Topic: Gallia Bibliography Get it now! The Celts: A History for the UK ________________________________ Archive

Book Review by Ursus Rubicon surveys the dying decades of the Roman Republic, from the great civil war with Rome's Italian allies to the reign of August Caesar. It traces the events and characters that sealed the fate of the five hundred year old Republican government. The book begins with a short prologue of Julius Caesar's famous hesitation before the now infamous river. We are then treated to a general survey of the Roman Republic and its mores. The first major event described is the Social War between Rome and its Italian client states. We are then treated to the prophecies of the Sibyl and a looming threat of unrest through the Roman world. The book then surveys in turn the usual events: The Grachhi Brothers; Marius and Sulla and the Mithradates War; Cicero and Crassus, Pompei and Caesar, Antony and Octavian. Rubicon concludes with the peaceful death of Augustus after decades of turbulence. Tom Holland manages to give a fresh new spin on a very old subject. His prose mercifully reads like a novel more than a historical lecture. The author imbues his work with a keen eye for cynical humor, and the quirks of Roman culture are paraded with dripping poignancy. Holland never shrinks from depicting the gritty side of the late Roman Republic and its chief statesmen. Through it all, though, there is a sense of wonder regarding those traits that made Rome noble and descent - qualities that were passed through a crucible in the warlords' quest for an imperial throne. Holland is not unbiased, however. He shares many authors' prejudices in portraying the Republic as a civil virtue on display while painting the Empire with shades of Oriental despotism. While there is some truth in this, it's an old and all too easy cliche. Roman citizenship - whatever that ultimately came to mean - did not become universal until well after the Republic's death. While there were a variety of means by which a Roman subject could become a full citizen, it was left to the Empire to make this a more working reality. The civil virtues of the Republic, therefore, were fairly constrained. It is under the Empire that Rome is gradually transformed from a city-state into a cultural ideal with broader appeal. It is also under the Empire initiated by Augustus that Romans know their fullest measure of peace for several generations. The old government of divided powers between annually elected magistrates simply couldn't marshal the resources necessary to defend so vast a territory. As an example: once Pompei was finally given full command of the Roman fleet, the pirates that had heretofore been terrorizing the Mediterranean were defeated in a matter of months. There could have been no clearer indication of the weaknesses of the Republic and the relative virtues of a "strong man" government. If Rome were to survive in face of its enemies, a singular and pronounced will would have to helm the State. The Republican bias notwithstanding, Holland's book is an enjoyable and educational read, both to beginners and to those already familiar with the subject matter. Obviously some people will try to draw connections between Rome's late Republic and modern day America. The efficiency of a stronger executive power in the face of adversity, balanced against the perceived loss of liberties accruing from increased executive power, is a timeless theme. Those who would argue on either side of the debate need a good grounding in history. On that level - and on many others - Rubicon succeeds quite nicely. ...more Book Reviews! Gladiator Manual by P. Matyszak Scipio Africanus by B. H. Liddell Hart Mediterranean Anarchy by Eckstein Thomas "Tom" Holland (born 1968) is an English writer, who has published several popular works on classical and medieval history as well as creating two TV documentaries. He has adapted Herodotus, Homer, Thucydides and Virgil for BBC Radio 4. His novels are set in the past, and generally include a supernatural/horror element. He is the author of several non-fiction books about the ancient world. In 2004, he was awarded the Hessell-Tiltman Prize, awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content, for his book Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic. In 2005, James Buchan reviewed Persian Fire positively for The Guardian newspaper, while Paul Cartledge, a professor of Greek history at Cambridge University recommended it for The Independent thus: "If Persian Fire does not win the Samuel Johnson Prize, there is no justice in this world." Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, historian Dominic Sandbrook reported it as "riveting" and praised the "enormous strengths" of the author. Tell us your opinion - Submit your Review - Buy the book! Book Review of Rubicon by Tom Holland - Related Topic: Roman Timeline 1st Century BC Bibliography Get it now! Rubicon for the UK ________________________________ Archive

Book Review by Ursus Wells offers a general survey of the Roman Empire from the rise of Augustus to the reign of Caracalla. The book is novel in adopting an alternating view between center-periphery relations. That is to say, one chapter will adhere to the traditional focus of Roman history by exploring the political machinations of the imperial court as well as the major military initiatives of the legions during a given time frame. The successive chapter, however, will attempt to provide a broader view of Roman society by highlighting the social and economic affairs of the provinces during the same time frame. In effect the book flips back and forth between the history shaking events of Rome, and the more mundane reality of the territories which Rome controlled. Where possible, the author tries to provide a direct link between the two, demonstrating how the policies of the imperial court affected the provincials and vice versa. As far as the chapters dealing with the usual political and military events, there is not a great deal of novelty here. Given that many Romanophones already concentrate on these aspects of Roman society, they will probably not find much in the way of groundbreaking research. The half of the book dealing with the broader social realities of the Roman provinces is where the real worth lies. The more political and military minded readers may find these chapters boring, but others may appreciate the attempt to analyze deeper issues in Roman society. One of the major encompassing themes of the survey is inclusion and exclusion in Roman society. Wells makes it clear that imperial Romans had little concept of ethnicity or nationality that we moderns do, which facilitated the incorporation of the provincials into the greater empire. The provincial elites, for their part, usually assimilated into imperial society as Roman law favored the propertied classes. For example, most of the Gallic tribes had fiercely resisted the incursions of Julius Caesar. However, a 150 years after conquest we find many Gallic notables, many of them having named themselves after Julius Caesar, gleefully embracing Romanization. Provincials who had enough money became Roman Senators. Those who had the proper support of the legions might even find themselves moving into the imperial court in Rome. Major revolts against imperial control were in fact rare in the early empire as provincials raced to stake a claim in the new economy. The small oligarchy that had ruled Rome in Republican times soon faded away, to be replaced with "new men" from both Italy and the provinces. The major division in the new order was not a cultural but an economic one, with the dividing line placed between rich and poor. Even there, however, there was a certain fluidity. The rich often lost their fortunes in political shenanigans, while many an enterprising slave or freeman moved up the socio-economic ranks. Wells hints that the real success of the empire lay in the universal allegiance of the upper classes to maintain order and make profit. If there is a central theme that unites the alternating perspective between the Roman court and the provinces, it would be this. Wells is not a Marxist and does not approach the subject from any antiquated or narrow-minded orthodoxy. He breaks ranks with many heretofore cherished assumptions. On the matter of Gibbons painting the rise of Christianity as the decline of the empire, Wells scoffs. To Wells, the "decline" of later Roman society was merely a transition to a new cultural reality with its own particular list of triumphs and failures. There are some problems with this book. The first is that is was written by a British academic for a particularly British audience. Much of the cultural references and idiosyncratic humor is lost on this Yankee, and might be to other readers outside the UK. Another problem lies in its focus. Only the early empire is studied in detail. The later half of the Western empire is largely devoid of analysis, and thus Wells' treatise feels incomplete. The Roman Empire is still worth reading. There are those who say the world is building for itself on a global scale what the Roman Empire accomplished in part: a society where tribal and cultural distinctions pale before a new universal economic reality. Modern day barbarians crash airplanes into buildings to protest the new imperial order. Somehow the study of the Roman Empire never seemed more relevant. ...more Book Reviews! We're All Romans by C. Richard Oxford History by Boardman Roman World by H.Scullard Colin Michael Wells (15 November 1933 in West Bridgford - 11 March 2010 in North Wales) was a British historian of ancient Rome, as well as scholar and archaeologist of classical antiquities. His fields of interest includes social and economic history of ancient Rome, with particular regard to military matters, Roman Africa and the transition of the Islamic North Africa, Germany and the Roman geopolitical issues pertaining to the Roman Limes, for which there was interest from the earliest publications. Wells also had an active role as an archaeologist of the ancient Punic and Roman antiquities of provinces: at Carthage from 1976 to 1986, he directed the excavations made by the second Canadian team, under the "Save Carthage" promoted by UNESCO, a task which he continued under the auspices of Trinity University, and of which he was director since 1991. Tell us your opinion - Submit your Review - Buy the book! Book Review of Roman Empire by C. M. Wells - Related Topic: Roman Religion Bibliography Get it now! Roman Empire for the UK ________________________________ Archive