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We are very excited to announce that Prometheus Books is giving away two copies of Tiberius Julius Alexander: A Historical Novel by Daniel M. Friedenberg! If you would like to win, reply to newsletter@unrv.com that you'd like to enter the lucky draw and don't forget to include your shipping address!! Premium members have an additional chance to get a third copy that will be signed by the author Daniel M. Friedenberg himself! ! Two winners will be chosen randomly from all replies, and the author signed copy from all premium members entries, deadline is the 17th of October 2010. The winner will be notified by e-mail. About the Book: In this vividly told historical novel, Friedenberg reconstructs the conflicted life of one of the most paradoxical figures of ancient Jewish history—Tiberius Julius Alexander, an apostate who helped lead the Roman army that laid siege to Jerusalem in 70 CE. He was the nephew of the renowned philosopher Philo Judaeus and the son of the wealthiest man in Alexandria. Piecing together the historical evidence for the life of Tiberius, Friedenberg creates a fascinating fictional memoir based on the facts known about the real historical figure. He skillfully brings to life Roman society in the Near East of the first century, with all its luxurious refinements, brutal realities, competing religious cults, and social unrest... About the Author: Daniel M. Friedenberg is the president of John-Platt Enterprises. A recipient of the Heath Literary Award for Distinguished Numismatic Achievement, he is the former curator of coins and medals for the Jewish Museum, New York. His books include Great Jewish Portraits in Metal and Medieval Jewish Seals from Europe.

This ain't your grandfather's Spartacus! What happens when HBO:Rome meets The 300? Some ass kicking action, that's what. Everyone remembers Kubrick's 1960 masterpiece starring Kirk Douglas as an impossibly idealistic proto-Communist leading a proletarian uprising against the establishment. And almost no one, fortunately, remembers a god awful made-for-TV-movie that aired on the USA network a few years back. Blood and Sand is neither of these things. It is adventurous and gritty, a tour de force of pretty people and special effects acted with raw talent and written with savvy... ...read the full review of Spartacus: Blood and Sand - The Complete First Season

"Oh no! Not another book about Hadrian's Wall" - I was given The Wall: Rome`s Greatest Frontier by Alistair Moffat by my wife as a birthday present and, through slightly gritted teeth I thanked her, trying desperately to inject some degree of sincerity that I didn`t particularly feel. Just what I needed, yet another book on Hadrian`s Wall. So I squeezed it onto my "Hadrian`s Wall" bookshelf (along with all the others), and for a couple of weeks, forgot all about it. But, as the days passed, guilt started to get the better of me, and eventually I decided to let it jump to the front of my long, long queue of unread books, and give it a go. How glad I am that I did... ...read the full book review of The Wall - Rome`s Greatest Frontier by Alistair Moffat