Boris answers “Two questions: 1) does this book read like...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome:

Two questions: 1) does this book read like a textbook? And 2) how unbiased is it? Eurocentric? AntiEurocentric? I want neither.

Boris I think the book is quite Eurocentric. The source material is almost exclusively Roman. Mary Beard aims to answer the question on how Rome became such…moreI think the book is quite Eurocentric. The source material is almost exclusively Roman. Mary Beard aims to answer the question on how Rome became such a succesfull empire. I do not believe you can answer this question correctly if you do not compare with other ancient empires. Other than that, with the sources she uses, she goes out of her way to provide a balanced view of Roman history.(less)

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