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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 945
EAN num: 9780140448092
ISBN number: 0140448098
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 528
Printing Date: June 25, 2002
Publishing house: Penguin Classics
Release Date: June 25, 2002
Sale Popularity Level: 40028
Studio: Penguin Classics
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
With stylistic brilliance and historical imagination, the very first five books of Livy's monumental history of Rome record events from the foundation of Rome through the history of the seven kings, the establishment of the Republic and its internal struggles, up to Rome's recovery after the fierce Gallic invasion of the fourth century bc. Livy vividly depicts the great characters, legends, and tales, including the story of Romulus and Remus. Reprinting Robert Ogilvie's lucid 1971 introduction, this highly regarded edition now boasts a new preface, examining the text in light of recent Livy scholarship, informative maps, bibliography, and an index.
Translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt with an introduction by Robert Ogilvie.
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Rated by buyers -
I'm an amateur of classical Roman history. Nothing published, no letters after my name....just a passion for all things Roman. It makes a perfect excuse for an european vacation...and when you know the back ground of the sites you are visiting, the whole thing comes alive!
One thing I really learned in this text is that history, espically ancient history, is a mixture of reality and myth. You may learn some facts about events, but moreso, you see how these events were precieved by the participants based on their world view. This book has done that perfectly.
The writting is smooth and its an easy read. In it you find the drama and passion and glory of Roman thru Roman eyes and watch as the...Culture, not just the city or the army, grows into a world power.
Its everything you will find in any TV drama.. deception, hurbris, cunning, avrice...and a the glory that was once Rome!
Rated by buyers 
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Okay, nothing bad to say about Livy, it would be like calling the sky or sun bad, but my gripe is with penguin's mercenary tactics (modern library too for that matter 1300pgs of gibbon but feel the need to split up Plutarch?), come on give us a break and start bundling these endless volumes of 250-300pgs into more affordable sets, why not have Livy in 3 vols instead of 4 or rather for 30bux instead of 40? there is no excuse for splitting up 1-10 into "early history 1-5" and "Rome and Italy 6-10" especially with Cammilus spanning both volumes (why not split up the Hannibal book too more $$$$), not to mention the excessive use of footnotes in the second of these books (6-10). Unfortunately there is no cheaper recourse, undoubtedly their excuse is that two different translators were involved, , alas this rant is more at the state of modern reading habits than penguin, thank god for them, if more people desired to read these books instead of "having" to read them for school hence the gouging, there would be more diverse editions, otherwise i love it!:P
Rated by buyers -
The book came in great condition and qucikly which is always a plus for school books.
Rated by buyers -
Livy is not one of the better stylists out there. Plutarch, Suetonius, and even Ceasar stand out beside Livy, but none comes close to the breadth of description of the rise of perhaps the greatest civilisation known to mankind. One that serves as a source of awe, wonder and inspiration to much of mankind.
What Livy is describing is really how democracy and republics form. We have been raised on the romance of the Greek Polis and its percieved benefits, but the Romans in my estimation started elemental politics in a way that we know it today. They were the very first to evolve largely from a Kingship to a republic in gradual largely non-violent internal changes. They stand in marked comparison to what are often call "less civilised" races and groups of peeople, precisely because they did not evolve institutions such as the Romans.
This process is described in intimate detail by Livy. The cut and thrust of political debate, the jockeying for position in the Senate, the addition, revision and abolishing of political institutions as a society evolves -- all are described in fairly sharp detail, but lacking the wit of Seutonius or the opinions of Plutarch.
All of the above takes place against the warring between the early Roman states and their neighbours (learn that the "Rape of the Sabine Women" was not really a "rape" in the traditional sense of the term -- it was far worse: the Romans lured the Sabines for a night of partying then surrounded them in the city walls, expelled all the men and took all their womenfold for themselves!!! This was a novel idea to end a paucity of brides inside early Rome).
Against all of the events of Livy one keeps thinking of the political machinations of the US or British Parliamentary goverments, one immediately recognises reoccuring themes. The necessity of putting down nearby barbarian tribes was a yearly exercise. The working (plebian) classes realised that they could withhold their consent to be drafted in exchange for political concessions. This lead to tough fights inside the senate with the plebians usually unbending to allow themselves to be sent to fight... until the absolute last minute. The patricians were also, when the danger passed usually likely to go back on their word to undertake some land reform.
Read and learn. The world changes, but it does not change. That is why we have classics. And this one is perhaps more of a classic with relevance for right here and now... especially if one is an American.
Rated by buyers -
first of all, amazon reviews are meant for anything, not just new releases.
the very first five of livy's books are, it is generally accepted, his most innacurate. the other 130 or so books that he wrote were far more accurate. think about it: he covers about 700 years of history in 5 books, then another 100 or so in the other 130. the inaccuracy is, however, not entirely his fault. for much of it, there was simply no history kept, and he had to go with what was available.
while most historians wrote history to glorify their families, livy was not of noble birth, and therefore had no family to glorify, which did enable him to write a more acurate history of rome than some other historians. livy wrote to escape the world in which he was living.
im not saying that this book is bad, merely that it is not as accurate as his others. it is actually quite an interesting read. but dont expect every detail of the stories to all work out - you have to take it with a grain of salt.
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