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D. Brendan Nagle, Ancient Rome: A History, Sloan Publishing, Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY, 2010; pp. xiii + 509; ISBN 1597380210; ISBN13 978-1597-38021-0; US$44.95
Writing a textbook on Ancient Rome for beginners in Ancient History is a balancing act between the grand narrative and the study of primary and secondary evidence which give that narrative validity. The narrative is very seductive and can very easily enmesh the narrator, who may forget the fact that the plethora of evidence from both literary and archaeological sources can make some of the assumptions and urban myths that surround the rise and fall of this great empire very dubious and problematic. Nagle's book falls into this trap.
The narrative ambitiously powers along - in some chapters it skims along - the timeline of Ancient Rome, occasionally acknowledging sources and associated historiographical issues. However, it does not integrate these elements into the story, so that sources and the story appear as mutually exclusive sets. This integration is essential for any student to make real sense out of the rise and fall of Rome.
Nevertheless, Nagle (?) does handle the history of Rome from its beginnings, where he looks at Rome's birth in the context of the Greek Polis and its influences, right through to the rise of the Byzantine Empire and the challenge of Islam. This is an admirable and refreshing approach, which sensitizes the reader to the influences on, and effects of this empire, and firmly places it in the context of Mediterranean culture, giving the author and subsequently the reader a clear understanding of the 'big picture': the rise, success, challenges and fall of Rome.
The beginning of the grand narrative takes on a refreshing, if somewhat positivist, approach in looking at Rome in the context of World History, attempting to explain why Rome succeeded in the way she did, contending that 'flexibility' was the key to Rome's success.
The broad brush strokes continue with an interesting approach to the particular geographic elements of the Mediterranean Sea and how they served Rome's purpose. It is here that the idea of Rome's paradox is offered: that is, that Rome ruled her empire without a heartland, a shaky foundational idea considering the importance of manpower in Rome's early experiments in imperialism, and...