Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Divisive inequality of wealth; rising unemployment and inflation; anarchist riots on the streets of Europe; rise of extremist political parties. 2012? No, 5th Century AD. What can fall of the Roman empire tell us about euro crisis?
New biography of Caligula presents more nuanced view. Yes, he was extravagant and cruel. But his reign started relatively well. Shades of King Canute: He did extreme things—ennoble his horse—to test the limits of his power
Archaeological dig has revealed a Samaritan temple at Mount Gerizim, 50 miles from Jerusalem. It suggests a struggle for supremacy between Jews and Samaritans in the Holy Land that's been hidden from history. Here's what we now know
Holland takes us on a quick tour of late antiquity and finds a link between Gibbon's great history, Asimov's "Foundation" and Battlestar Galactica. At times rambling, sometimes fast and loose with the history, but an enjoyable read
"Like the death of Stalin, to which it is sometimes compared, the death of Alexander poses a mystery that is perhaps insoluble but nonetheless irresistible." Murdered by his generals? Died of natural causes? Or poisoned by his wife?
Archaeologists challenge prevailing wisdom that first North American settlers came by land from Asia to Alaska. Comparison of stone tools suggests first settlers came across the Atlantic, from western Europe, 24,000 years ago
Marcus Cicero's younger brother wrote a manual for winning Roman elections in 64BC. His advice still holds good. "Every day, as you go down to the Forum, you should say to yourself: 'I am an outsider. I want to be Consul'."
Short history of currency unions. France and America discussed it. (What a thought.) Britain stood apart. (What a surprise.) Ancient Greeks were quite good at it; modern Greece always bad. Expelled from Latin Monetary Union in 1908
"Debt: The First 5,000 Years" is brilliant but daunting. Starts in social anthropology, advances across economics and finance, law, history, classics, sociology, history of ideas. You probably need some readers' notes. Here they are
"Athens, with its brilliant intellectual and cultural achievements, enjoyed a free market in education. Sparta, an intellectual and cultural wasteland, was dominated by a system of state education." One which was to influence many
Not exactly a rehabilitation, but let's call it a reconsideration. Unimpressed by luxury; drank from a wooden cup. A man of his word, on the whole; respected loyalty; and a cool political head capable of mercy when it suited him
Many have tried to write about Jerusalem; few have really succeeded. Too often the result is either partisanship or pallid tact. Not so with Simon Sebag Montefiore, whose recent biography receives Thubron's admiring attention
Unidentified Artist. Ulysses Killing the Suitors
Potted history of Diocletian, who brought stability to an empire in crisis in the third century AD
