Rubicon Book Review

922 Words4 Pages
If society does not learn the past, history is doomed to repeat itself. Tom Holland, author of “Rubicon” understands this. Published in 2005 by First Anchor Books, Holland’s purpose is informative. He does not want to persuade anyone but to keep the story of the old Rome alive. Holland’s tells the story of Rome in a way that brings back the republic. With a variety of sources, “Rubicon” is a reliable source of information. Although Holland has a bias, it does not affect the content of the book. “Rubicon” is a thorough examination of the Roman republic starting with its beginnings all the way to Augustus and the end of the republic. “Rubicon” includes a bibliography with over 3 pages of sources. Holland certainly did his research before writing this book. Although the information is taken from other places, this work is an original piece. Holland compiles the information and presents it in a new way. The only bias Holland has is that he supports the Roman republic. This bias does not skew the information in any direction. He does not directly state the bias but it is implied by the way he writes. Holland studied at Cambridge and received degrees in English and Latin. Although he is not a historian, he is able to summarize the history of the Roman republic in fewer than four hundred pages. He may not have had much schooling Ryan 2 in history, but he has written other historical works. In addition to 3 other books, he won the Classical Association prize for “Rubicon.” Holland uses imagery that brings the words to life. He discusses the social inequality between the plebs and the patricians in a way that makes the problems now look like nothing. He tells the story of Romulus and Remus. Patricians are proud of where they live because that is where Romulus won the competition with his brother. The gods chose the Palatine. Because

More about Rubicon Book Review

Open Document