Rubicon, by Tom Holland

An erudite, entertaining & very readable book on the rise & fall of the Roman Republic, why it happened & who made it happen. For once the usual cover blurb in its praise & its awards were not for nothing. The book successfully captures the details of the major players' characters, as well as the shocking brutality of the times, in a concise & contemporary manner, in contrast to often dry translations of original sources. Although always an interesting subject it's no mean feat to tell the complicated story in such a readable way, a way that has seen this book win so much praise, including mine - I've only knocked off one star because I wanted it to carry on.
4/5