Good overview of Roman history, each chapter ends with a "further reading" section tailored to that chapter, which is brilliant. Good as a refresher or an introduction, but because its scope is so wide it doesn't go very in depth. Recommend as a starting point, though. Read for class.

This book is great for anyone looking for an introduction into the Roman Empire. With a breakneck speed overview at the beginning of the entire history of Ancient Rome, to more detailed chapters with headings on subjects such as war, emperors and the Roman economy. An absolute must for any students of Ancient studies.

An excellent introduction to Rome as both a republic and an empire. Not a history, but a survey of the institutions required for Rome to endure, and how they changed and then slowly came undone from the fourth century onward.

After three years intensively reading everything I could about China, I feel I know more about Asian history than my own Western culture, so it was time to take a break.

This is an excellent overview of how Rome built and sustained an Empire.

Woolf considers a range of factors in turn - such as geography, climate, culture/religion, the economy, and the institutions they established - and describes how they contributed to the success of the Empire. His comparisons to other empires of similar scale were informative.

The 'further reading' sections at the end of each chapter are particularly helpful for those who want to explore a particular aspect of Roman history in more depth.

Partly because of its succinct breadth, the author sometimes favours dry details over the more interesting personalities or happenings. Occasionally a tantalisingly interesting fact is just left hanging, eg:

Signs of the seriousness with which the Senate treated Hannibal's victory at Cannae in 216 included [...] the live burial of a Gallic couple and a Greek couple in the Roman fourm. p. 73.

Why?? This is not footnoted, or explained.

The book devotes far less time to the decline of the Empire, but does consider it in relation to the factors that had driven its establishment.

Wow. This book was an incredibly comprehensive overview of Roman history, which is exactly what I wanted. As beginner to the time period, I was hoping for a more simplified approach that would give me a good foundation for further reading on the topic. Woolf's book did a great job of helping me understand the chronology of the Roman Empire's development and was well-organized in that each chapter focused on a specific theme or topic. I was intrigued and I got precisely the information I was seeking.

Many reviews mention the grammatical errors, and yes, I noticed them too. With any luck, a second edition that has been edited more closely will be published.

All in all, this was a solid foundation for my interest in the Roman Empire, and I am excited to explore the suggested further readings.