highly informative and a super read.October 3, 2008 20 out of 23 found this review helpful
After reading Robert Harris's novel Pompeii I was keen on gaining more knowledge about both the people and the town that was overcome by the eruption of Vesuvius , so this books publication allowed me that opportunity.
The amount of information conveyed is awesome and the life of the various citizen's of Pompeii is truly bought to life , the book is written in a scholarly way as befits a Cambridge Don but in no way does this get in the way , she paint's a fantastic picture of the place and it's culture , organisation and politics as well as spicing thing's up by many reference's to the sexual liberation of the era.
A very well written book and did everything I asked of it.
Changing views of PompeiiSeptember 22, 2008 25 out of 26 found this review helpful
There has always been, since the first discovery, conflict over the meaning of the archeological findings. Some texts are more rigid than others, for example the splendidly illustrated 'Complete Pompeii' by Berry. This new volume has a more laid back approach and all, or at least most, of ones long set assumptions are questioned. So, this is not a guide to carry round the site but a superb contemplation of how life in the town might have been, Like the "Triumph', Prof. Beard shakes the established ideas and stimulates. I found it hard to put down.
Time Travel back to 79ADSeptember 22, 2008 22 out of 23 found this review helpful
Professor Beard tells the tale of ancient Pompeii in a highly readable and authoritative way. Drawing from the work of historians and archaeologists present and past she transports the reader back to Pompeii's last days. Along the way assumptions are challenged about the number of brothels, or the date of the volcanic explosion which condemned the town into a memory. Wheel ruts and the rules of the road come alive. I suspect that a visit to Pompeii will never be the same again.
