Dutch Treat

MY latest reads include Tom Holland's Rubicon - The Triumph And The Tragedy Of The Roman Republic.

It tells the story of the rise of Rome and how it changed from a republic, albeit not a democratic one, to an empire.

The book is an entertaining read, but it is important to remember it is faction rather than fact.

Rubicon - crossing from fact into fiction

The author is continually relating how protagonists in the story were thinking, even  though most of the time he cannot possibly know what he confidently states as the truth.

There is also little or no discussion of sources, and there are the usual "impregnable" strongholds, so the book is definitely for the general reader.

Nevertheless I found it fun, and there is no arguing with the fact that it received many glowing reviews, although those quoted in the book are very much from populist publications, eg the Daily Mail, BBC History magazine and The Independent On Sunday.