|
Taken at the
Flood (2014): UK
hardback;
UK paperback
Taken at the
Flood: US
hardback; US
paperback
This is from the
ancient Greek historian Polybius, who was there at the time: 'Is there anyone on
earth who is so narrow-minded or uninquisitive that he could fail to want to know
how ... almost the entire known world was conquered and brought under a single
empire, the empire of the Romans?' The subject
of Taken at the
Flood is that swift and brutal
takeover, and its impact on the societies involved on either
side.
Reviews
We can't find anything
actually to quote from Peter Green's New York Review of
Books piece entitled 'When the Roman Empire Didn't Stop' (5
March 2015) reviewing Robin's book among others), but it is a good
read
‘Waterfield has made himself into a living
international treasure by his lean and lucid accounts of some of the most involved
periods of ancient history ... The current story Waterfield tells clearly and
enjoyably, with a deft selection of detail and not without anecdote’ – J.E.
Lendon, Weekly
Standard
‘W. succeeds admirably
in the task he has taken on. He sets out his position on the big scholarly
controversies at the outset. ... Thereafter, the emphasis is on the narrative
of military and diplomatic events, which are related with exceptional
clarity; along the way he also pauses to discuss broader issues ... some
excellent landscape photographs’ – John
Patterson, Anglo-Hellenic
Review
‘[The asides on social and cultural matters
are] an unqualified success, providing the novice to Roman Republican history
with crucial – and fascinating – discussions of ancillary matters. Less
successful, however, is Waterfield’s claim to steer clear of controversy ...
[The review ends with criticism of Robin's position on the exceptional
aggressiveness of the Romans] ... An epic tale, engagingly told in clear,
eloquent prose. OUP is to be commended for commissioning a book on such a
world-changing series of events which ... is mostly ignored outside academic
circles today ... As long as readers are aware of and can correct for
Waterfield’s overt interpretative biases, the book is a valuable contribution to
the study of the formative years of Roman involvement in the East’ – Paul
Burton, Bryn Mawr Classical
Review
'A clear and well-paced
account ... coherent and engaging - Ben Kelly, Classical Review
'On top of producing a
traditional academic history, Waterfield has composed a stimulating and provocative
meditation on imperialism itself, both in antiquity and in our own society'
- Publishers
Weekly
'An absorbing and very
readable account of an important yet overlooked chapter of Roman history' - David
Flintham, Military
History
'Told with great verve
and pace ... very readable' - Paul Cartledge, Literary Review
‘W. details Rome’s
stomping through the Greek East clearly and with cogent arguments for his
view of Roman aggression. It is not, however, all war games, and W. fills the
reader in on the social, economic and political background to the wars. The
maps are excellent’ – Adrian Spooner, Journal of Classics
Teaching
‘The story Waterfield tells is complex, but
he tells it well, inclining to the view that Rome was an actively aggressive
imperialist force. Scholarly arguments on that point, and others, are confined
to the excellent notes at the back’ – Peter Jones, BBC History
Magazine
'It's a bit deceptive: an enormous amount of
wit and wisdom is packed into this comparatively slim volume' - Steve
Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly
Long review by Stefan Panovsky in Ziva Antika
Microsoft Word - !!10. Comptes rendus bibliographiques - Критика и библиографија
(ukim.mk)
Rights
sold
UK & US: Oxford University Press
Italy: 21 Editore
|