A nice addition to the literature about ancient Rome.
A new biography of the notorious emperor who, though hardly a saint, “was a more effective ruler than he has been given credit for.”
Everitt, prolific British historian of the ancient world, and journalist Ashworth write that few Romans regretted the collapse of the republic, a ramshackle system that dissolved in civil war. Almost everyone, the authors included, agrees that the winner, Octavian, later Augustus, began the empire on a high note. His rule, from 31 B.C.E. to 14 C.E., was absolute but largely peaceful and not terribly corrupt. His successors did not live up to his standards, and his bloodline ended with the widely reviled Nero and another civil war. The authors admit that none of the half-dozen Roman historians on whom modern scholars rely were contemporaries, and most portray Nero as an incompetent despot with an “exotic” sex life. However, Everitt and Ashworth add that not all of this is false and that he never wanted to be emperor. “Given the choice,” they write, “he would much rather have been a poet and professional musician.” He became emperor because of his fiercely ambitious mother, Agrippina, wife of his predecessor, Claudius, who also (according to contemporaries) poisoned her husband. Aside from the usual debauchery, Nero seems to have begun as a tolerable ruler, cultivating the Senate and army and allowing administrators to run the empire. Five years into his reign, he murdered Agrippina, a threat to his growing power. This seemed to mark the beginning of his decline, after which his behavior became more erratic, cruel, and extravagant. A revolt in the provinces spread to Rome, from which Nero fled and later committed suicide. The authors present a portrait that is decidedly less skeptical of the ancient historians than many other similar histories, and it makes for page-turning, informative reading for students of the era.
A nice addition to the literature about ancient Rome.Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-13320-0
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.
An insider’s chronicle of a pivotal presidential campaign.
Several months into the mounting political upheaval of Donald Trump’s second term and following a wave of bestselling political exposés, most notably Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s Original Sin on Joe Biden’s health and late decision to step down, former Vice President Harris offers her own account of the consequential months surrounding Biden’s withdrawal and her swift campaign for the presidency. Structured as brief chapters with countdown headers from 107 days to Election Day, the book recounts the campaign’s daily rigors: vetting a running mate, navigating back-to-back rallies, preparing for the convention and the debate with Trump, and deflecting obstacles in the form of both Trump’s camp and Biden’s faltering team. Harris aims to set the record straight on issues that have remained hotly debated. While acknowledging Biden’s advancing decline, she also highlights his foreign-policy steadiness: “His years of experience in foreign policy clearly showed….He was always focused, always commander in chief in that room.” More blame is placed on his inner circle, especially Jill Biden, whom Harris faults for pushing him beyond his limits—“the people who knew him best, should have realized that any campaign was a bridge too far.” Throughout, she highlights her own qualifications and dismisses suggestions that an open contest might have better served the party: “If they thought I was down with a mini primary or some other half-baked procedure, I was quick to disabuse them.” Facing Trump’s increasingly unhinged behavior, Harris never openly doubts her ability to confront him. Yet she doesn’t fully persuade the reader that she had the capacity to counter his dominance, suggesting instead that her defeat stemmed from a lack of time—a theme underscored by the urgency of the book’s title. If not entirely sanguine about the future, she maintains a clear-eyed view of the damage already done: “Perhaps so much damage that we will have to re-create our government…something leaner, swifter, and much more efficient.”
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781668211656
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An erudite guide to the biblical world.
Revelations from the Old Testament.
“The Bible has no rivals when it comes to the art of omission, of not saying what everyone would like to know,” observes Calasso (1941-2021), the acclaimed Italian publisher, translator, and explorer of myth, gods, and sacred ritual. In this probing inquiry into biblical mysteries, the author meditates on the complexities and contradictions of key events and figures. He examines the “enigmatic nature” of original sin in Genesis, an anomaly occurring in no other creation myth; God’s mandate of circumcision for all Jewish men; and theomorphism in the form of Adam: a man created in the image of the god who made him. Among the individuals Calasso attends to in an abundantly populated volume are Saul, the first king of Israel; the handsome shepherd David, his successor; David’s son Solomon, whose relatively peaceful reign allowed him “to look at the world and study it”; Moses, steeped in “law and vengeance,” who incited the slaughter of firstborn sons; and powerful women, including the Queen of Sheba (“very beautiful and probably a witch”), Jezebel, and the “prophetess” Miriam, Moses’ sister. Raging throughout is Yahweh, a vengeful God who demands unquestioned obedience to his commandments. “Yahweh was a god who wanted to defeat other gods,” Calasso writes. “I am a jealous God,” Yahweh proclaims, “who punishes the children for the sins of their fathers, as far as the third and fourth generations.” Conflicts seemed endless: During the reigns of Saul and David, “war was constant, war without and war within.” Terse exchanges between David and Yahweh were, above all, “military decisions.” David’s 40-year reign was “harrowing and glorious,” marked by recurring battles with the Philistines. Calasso makes palpable schisms and rivalries, persecutions and retributions, holocausts and sacrifices as tribal groups battled one another to form “a single entity”—the people of Israel.
An erudite guide to the biblical world.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-374-60189-8
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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