Description
Book SynopsisIn this unconventional and accessible history, Italian best-seller Alberto Angela literally follows the money to map the reach and power of the Roman Empire. To see a map of the Roman Empire at the height of its territorial expansion is to be struck by its size, stretching from Scotland to Kuwait, from the Sahara to the North Sea. What was life like in the Empire, and how were such diverse peoples and places united under one rule? The Reach of Rome explores these questions through an ingenious lens: the path of a single coin as it changes hands and traverses the vast realms of the empire in the year 115. Admired in his native Italy for his ability to bring history to life through narrative, Alberto Angela opens up the ancient world to readers who have felt intimidated by the category or put off by dry historical tomes. By focusing on aspects of daily life so often overlooked in more academic treatments, The Reach of Rome travels back in time and shows us a world that was perhaps not
Trade Review“Though tracing a coin is a rather unconventional way to outline the history of an empire, author Alberto Angela had good reason to do so. Admired in his native Italy for his ability to bring history to life through narrative, Alberto Angela opens up the ancient world to readers who have felt intimidated by the category or put off by dry historical tomes. By focusing on aspects of daily life so often overlooked in more academic treatments,
The Reach of Rome travels back in time and shows us a world that was perhaps not very different from our own.” -
Italian Tribune"Using a coin to map the reach and power of the Roman Empire, Alberto Angela introduces readers to the ancient world, offering new insights into its people and territories, and deciphering what it really meant to live in the empire. The author examines aspects of daily life through the lens of a single coin...bringing us face-to-face with the real people of that era
." -i-ItalyNY“This lovely rendering of history is a hearty companion across the ancient empire “from Scotland to Kuwait, from Portugal to Armenia.” Our excursion follows a coin across the Empire for a few years as it passes through many hands, generating a payload of priceless information about day-to-day life in a world long gone. Be sure to join this glorious expedition by an author who shows us the money on the march!”
–Celtic Connection
