S.P.Q.R. was the first book I read about Roman history —picked out by random at a used book store. The whole thing felt rushed, uninspired, and drenched in a feeling that it came from someone who was making an intensive effort to mainly debunk the reasons why anyone would find Roman history interesting. I had never encountered such terrible aftertaste from a history book before, particularly despite a very strong excitement prior to reading. I later found out how much criticism of the author existed out there, and any other time I would have thought it was faux and unjustified given its nature, but having come from someone who approached her work with both neutrality and genuine interest, I find such criticism to have much justification. @alokranj, the good news is that you will find other existing work on the subject to be superb once you get into it.

@CarMarinkovic @tszzl I’ve been trying to get through her other work “Twelve Caesars”. You just nailed the feeling I get from her writing. But I will persist and finish the book. It’s not bad per se. but I’m slowly losing interest in the history she’s going over.