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You Wouldn't Want to Be ...
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator! (Revised Edition)
A light-hearted introduction to the life and training of a Roman gladiator.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
20 people are currently reading
561 people want to read
About the author
John Malam
413 books13 followersJohn Malam is a British historian, archaeologist, and author of numerous children's non-fiction books. He attended the University of Birmingham.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 17, 2018
I love this book. The truth is that Gladiators were famous and beloved by the Roman people, so famous that some Romans signed up to be Gladiators and fight in the arena. The Roman Empire is littered with Graffiti of Gladiators with how many battles they've won. The sign "up" and "down" with the thumb was created by Hollywood directors. We know that thumb signs were used by the emperor but we don't know how the "pressed thumb" was shown to the people.
If you were a "guallia comata" (Gual), criminal, condemned man, or bankrupt Roman you were sent to the mines, or the quarry, or the galley to row the boats, or to farm for the Roman Empire, or finally to be a gladiator. The truth is that there was a holiday every other day and that Romans didn't really work and they ate grain that the Empire provided for them. This is due to the fact that men were expected to dedicate their lives as soldiers for the Roman Empire. Some were old or injured and set up shop in Rome and ate Roman grain. BUT EVERY ROMAN EXPECTED TO BE ENTERTAINED BY THE GOVERNMENT and thus the games.
The book is awesome, we see the diet and life of solider and their lives in training and punishments at the barracks. This book shows the different weapons gladiators used and the different types of gladiators Animals were also killed by bestiarius/bestiarii in the Colosseum and Bulls continue to be killed till this day in Spain. What this book doesn't tell you is that the animals got there half dead from ships traveling from far off lands. And there is so much more in such a small book that it astounds me.
I did learn something new and that being that a person dressed like Charon finished off the dying gladiators.
I feel that parents today are a little overly sensitive and are disturbed by things that children are going to learn anyway at a Sunday class. They picked up a book about Gladiators, what did they expect, fairies?
If you were a "guallia comata" (Gual), criminal, condemned man, or bankrupt Roman you were sent to the mines, or the quarry, or the galley to row the boats, or to farm for the Roman Empire, or finally to be a gladiator. The truth is that there was a holiday every other day and that Romans didn't really work and they ate grain that the Empire provided for them. This is due to the fact that men were expected to dedicate their lives as soldiers for the Roman Empire. Some were old or injured and set up shop in Rome and ate Roman grain. BUT EVERY ROMAN EXPECTED TO BE ENTERTAINED BY THE GOVERNMENT and thus the games.
The book is awesome, we see the diet and life of solider and their lives in training and punishments at the barracks. This book shows the different weapons gladiators used and the different types of gladiators Animals were also killed by bestiarius/bestiarii in the Colosseum and Bulls continue to be killed till this day in Spain. What this book doesn't tell you is that the animals got there half dead from ships traveling from far off lands. And there is so much more in such a small book that it astounds me.
I did learn something new and that being that a person dressed like Charon finished off the dying gladiators.
I feel that parents today are a little overly sensitive and are disturbed by things that children are going to learn anyway at a Sunday class. They picked up a book about Gladiators, what did they expect, fairies?
December 19, 2016
We've read several books in the You Wouldn't Want To... series.
I like that they tackle serious historical events and show the not-so-nice side of human behavior, but in a somewhat humorous and tongue-in-cheek way.
The book puts you as the reader into the center of the story, so you can imagine what life in those times was like.
Life for a Gladiator in ancient Rome was a difficult and often dangerous existence. Torn from family and trained to fight to kill, a gladiator had few rights and often a very short life-span.
The information provided in the book gives us a glimpse into life in ancient Rome and it's a good way to show how difficult life was back then.
The narrative does touch on how brutal and bloody the fights could be, so I would recommend that parents consider whether or not a child is mature enough to handle the violence.
There are a lot of facts, but the text is arranged so that there are plenty of pictures to look at and it's not overwhelming.
We really enjoyed reading this book together and will look for more of the books in this series at our local library.
I like that they tackle serious historical events and show the not-so-nice side of human behavior, but in a somewhat humorous and tongue-in-cheek way.
The book puts you as the reader into the center of the story, so you can imagine what life in those times was like.
Life for a Gladiator in ancient Rome was a difficult and often dangerous existence. Torn from family and trained to fight to kill, a gladiator had few rights and often a very short life-span.
The information provided in the book gives us a glimpse into life in ancient Rome and it's a good way to show how difficult life was back then.
The narrative does touch on how brutal and bloody the fights could be, so I would recommend that parents consider whether or not a child is mature enough to handle the violence.
There are a lot of facts, but the text is arranged so that there are plenty of pictures to look at and it's not overwhelming.
We really enjoyed reading this book together and will look for more of the books in this series at our local library.
April 16, 2012
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator is not for kids younger than 2nd or 3rd grade, I think, but it's a very informative and engrossing way to teach history to kids in the appropriate age bracket. The book does not shy away from telling readers exactly what gladiators did, and what they experienced with their own bodies, and the book is clear that gladiator fights were battles to the death. That point, by the way, is bluntly and, for a children's book, perhaps shockingly, reinforced in the end.
All that said, my niece liked the book a lot, and I have no doubt that she got something out of this. My nephew was alternately horrified by and engrossed in You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator. This book is a little "too old" for him, so I probably shouldn't have read it in front of him just yet, but I was impressed with how well this lengthy book captured and held even his still limited attention.
All that said, my niece liked the book a lot, and I have no doubt that she got something out of this. My nephew was alternately horrified by and engrossed in You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator. This book is a little "too old" for him, so I probably shouldn't have read it in front of him just yet, but I was impressed with how well this lengthy book captured and held even his still limited attention.
June 14, 2011
I have read a bunch of these books with/along with the kids. Very informative and entertaining but not for the squeamish. I'm amazed the number of books that they have. I like how they pick subjects that have been glamorized by books/tv/movies and give a more realistic account of daily life way back when. Makes me grateful I live today with all the modern conveniences.
We have read about building the pyramids, being a servant, French Aristocrat during the revolution, passenger on the Titanic, pioneer, explorer, convicts, forbidden city...
We have read about building the pyramids, being a servant, French Aristocrat during the revolution, passenger on the Titanic, pioneer, explorer, convicts, forbidden city...
March 12, 2018
Mixed reviews. We like the series “You wouldn’t want to be...” but one child was highly disturbed by the subject matter. “It would have been fine if they had chosen to fight, but they were MADE to!” Another thought it was “Cool.” Looking forward to listening to our Adventures in Odyssey episode on Telemachus the monk.
April 24, 2018
Some of the information in this book about slavery and the crowd deciding if the gladiator lives or dies was surprising to me. I was very happy to be reading this aloud vs having handed it to my 6 yr old to read alone! The presentation worked ok despite the topic and she choose to read it multiple times before we returned it to the library.
May 31, 2018
Gladiator are very famous in Roman. They are famous, Because they are big and strong. They trained hard to became a gladiator. Once are a gladiator you can't run away from it, if you do you get punish and spend your life in jail. But If you lose in a fight, you still die. So in both you die.
Want to read
August 20, 2024Malam, John. You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Roman Gladiator! Gory Things You’d Rather Not Know. New York: Franklin Watts, 2012. $9.95. All about gladiators and the ancient Roman culture that surrounded them.
December 7, 2017
I loved this book. As a child, it gave me an idea on what it would be like if I was a roman gladiator. Romans were brutal and ruthless people who liked watching others fight for entertainment.
May 22, 2018
What happened if you lose war from Roman. Your life will change forever. Very Interesting and scary!
December 18, 2018
Informative and mildly entertaining.
April 11, 2019
Luettu suomeksi nimellä Sinustako roomalainen gladiaattori?
January 2, 2020
And here I thought they had it easier than everyone else. I really wouldn't want to be a roman gladiator.
October 13, 2020
For those people like me who want to know the dark side of history this is a great read. It is geared towards kids but gives you as it says the gory facts.
February 17, 2021
I liked it because it was funny a weird and I learned about gladiators.
March 26, 2021
Very informative and fun way to learn about Ancient Rome!
July 4, 2022
Review to come
Read
September 26, 2023amazing book
Read
February 25, 2025I forgot about these books but then a student reminded me of them, and now I need to log ALL of them for my childhood reads LOL
August 12, 2024
No way! I wouldn't want to be a Roman Gladiator!!
These illustrations make me laugh.loved the book.
These illustrations make me laugh.loved the book.
November 7, 2020
Love all the "You Wouldn't Want to Be..." books
February 2, 2013
An entertaining, historically solid book - for 4th graders and over
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator is entertaining and it contains solid, accurate history presented in a visually interesting format.
While I've been looking a few of the books from this series for my own personal entertainment, my almost 4th grade daughter has been sneaking them out of the stack and reading them without any encouragement from me. Imagine! Kids surreptitiously reading history!
The book details the life of a gladiator that is captured as a slave in battle in Gaul. We follow him to his sale in the market and what kind of jobs he might have been sent to (in the mines, as a galley slave, on the farm, etc.). The slave is sent to gladiator school and we learn about their training, what they ate, the different types of gladiators and how they were punished. We learn about different types of gladiator fights and how gladiator fights were generally organized.
Well done. It should be a welcome part of any Rome unit from 4th grade and up.
http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator is entertaining and it contains solid, accurate history presented in a visually interesting format.
While I've been looking a few of the books from this series for my own personal entertainment, my almost 4th grade daughter has been sneaking them out of the stack and reading them without any encouragement from me. Imagine! Kids surreptitiously reading history!
The book details the life of a gladiator that is captured as a slave in battle in Gaul. We follow him to his sale in the market and what kind of jobs he might have been sent to (in the mines, as a galley slave, on the farm, etc.). The slave is sent to gladiator school and we learn about their training, what they ate, the different types of gladiators and how they were punished. We learn about different types of gladiator fights and how gladiator fights were generally organized.
Well done. It should be a welcome part of any Rome unit from 4th grade and up.
http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/
April 18, 2013
A 'Mad Magazine' approach to a topic that could be gruesome indeed -- Roman Gladiators. From where gladiators came from, to how they were trained and the different types of gladiators, this is a very comprehensive, tongue-in-cheek overview of Ancient Rome's gladiator culture.
While the presentation is cartoonish and somewhat slapstick, the information contained in this book is solid, and this adult reader found herself completely engaged from start to finish. Ancient Rome is studied in several grades in the public schools, and this book would be a welcome resource for students, teachers and parents as well. The text is informative and well written, with adjacent illustrations directly correlated to the text. The approach is filled with humor, something which will aid in student understanding of the topic. The book's endpages have a timeline of the period, and an overview of life in Ancient Rome.
While the presentation is cartoonish and somewhat slapstick, the information contained in this book is solid, and this adult reader found herself completely engaged from start to finish. Ancient Rome is studied in several grades in the public schools, and this book would be a welcome resource for students, teachers and parents as well. The text is informative and well written, with adjacent illustrations directly correlated to the text. The approach is filled with humor, something which will aid in student understanding of the topic. The book's endpages have a timeline of the period, and an overview of life in Ancient Rome.
March 20, 2013
This gruesome book on Roman gladiators is very informative and entertaining. Written in a humorous way, this book gives readers an insight into the lives of Roman gladiators, in a light hearted manner.
Containing colourful images to accompany the text, readers are encapsulated by the horrors of what gladiators did, what they experienced and how gladiators fought till their death.
This book contains a wealth of information on the gladiators, presented in a simple, clear layout.
I used this book during a History lesson on the Roman gladiators; it was used as a source for pupils to locate information on gladiators and their lives. The book is also available online which is useful, as all pupils can access it.
Containing colourful images to accompany the text, readers are encapsulated by the horrors of what gladiators did, what they experienced and how gladiators fought till their death.
This book contains a wealth of information on the gladiators, presented in a simple, clear layout.
I used this book during a History lesson on the Roman gladiators; it was used as a source for pupils to locate information on gladiators and their lives. The book is also available online which is useful, as all pupils can access it.
September 24, 2013
Read by: Mary
Title: You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator!
Author: John Malam
Illustrator: David Antram
Genre: Informational
Interest Level: 3 - 5
Grade level Equivalent: 4.7
Lexile Measure®: 810L
Guided Reading: R
This book starts with talking to the reader in a first person point of view, it makes the reader a Gaul, the people of Gallia, whom Rome conquered. It puts you in the shoes of the conquered, walking the reader through being a slave and then having to be a gladiator and what the slave had to go through. The book keeps the reader engaged, as it tells of the past, along with illustrations that show old weapons and other relics that were used during that time. This book would be good for teaching about past civilizations.
Title: You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator!
Author: John Malam
Illustrator: David Antram
Genre: Informational
Interest Level: 3 - 5
Grade level Equivalent: 4.7
Lexile Measure®: 810L
Guided Reading: R
This book starts with talking to the reader in a first person point of view, it makes the reader a Gaul, the people of Gallia, whom Rome conquered. It puts you in the shoes of the conquered, walking the reader through being a slave and then having to be a gladiator and what the slave had to go through. The book keeps the reader engaged, as it tells of the past, along with illustrations that show old weapons and other relics that were used during that time. This book would be good for teaching about past civilizations.
Want to read
January 31, 2014
February 9, 2009
Cute informational book about how slaves become Roman Gladiators. Includes latin phrases and I'm thinking is a little bit fact mixed with fiction. Seeing as I took Latin in high school, I enjoyed this book.
March 2, 2009
A very good book that gives the reader plenty of information about how slaves became gladiators in Roman times. Filled with great illustrations, this book is a fun read for any age.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews