How did you like the book

[Madeline]

maybe I will try it again...

[Sara]

The book was alright. I skimmed over some parts.

[Alan]

2 stars, comments exactly as message 50

[Janet]

Kim wrote: "This book was very dry, and I really had to labor through it. It wasn't difficult to read for me, and it wasn't confusing. I love history and reading about the historical figures, but this book was..."

My thoughts exactly!

[Susan]

Great book if you like history. She is such a wonderful writer that I reread pages and was constantly underlining with the underline function on my nook.

[Christie]

It has been a while since I read the book but I needed a dictionary handy while I read. It took me a while because there is a lot of detail and many people to remember, how they fit in and what they did.
I would recommend this book even though it is not what I would consider a quick read.
She definately did the best she could to rule a country that was not strong enough to keep the Romans away for long.

[Beverly]

I really enjoyed this book. This was an audio read for me. I only listen to audio books when walking and was enjoying this book so much would walk an extra mile or two so I could keep listening.
I appreciate all of the history the author presented in this book and why Cleopatra and others were/are presented to us the way they are.
This was a bookclub read and we all enjoyed the book and the discussion we had.
I understand this book has been optioned for a movie so anxious to see how this book translates to the big screen.

[Christie]

Beverly wrote: "I really enjoyed this book. This was an audio read for me. I only listen to audio books when walking and was enjoying this book so much would walk an extra mile or two so I could keep listening.
I ..."

A movie that stayed true to the actual events would be great. The Liz Taylor movie was fun to watch but didn't show Cleopatra as an intellegent ruler, she became nothing more then a frivolous girlfriend.

[Beverly]

Christie wrote: "Beverly wrote: "I really enjoyed this book. This was an audio read for me. I only listen to audio books when walking and was enjoying this book so much would walk an extra mile or two so I could ke..."

I saw the Liz Taylor movie many moons ago when it was first released. It was a school assignment. Went with a couple of girlfriends and we all thought this was a long boring movie. But what I remember most was a man in the theatre that most have fallen asleep wakes up and says a little too late to his friend - "This movie is not over yet?" and everybody laughing as we all felt the same.

[Christie]

Beverly wrote: "Christie wrote: "Beverly wrote: "I really enjoyed this book. This was an audio read for me. I only listen to audio books when walking and was enjoying this book so much would walk an extra mile or ..."

LOL That is how a lot of people feel about, "Gone With the Wind."

[MaryJo]

we read this book for our book club recently, and many of the comments about being so wordy and difficult to get into were made by the members of our club, too. however, we history buffs liked it the best, plus, everyone thought the subject matter was very well researched. also, everyone felt they got insight into the culture and other major characters of the time period. so sad, to me, how bloodthirsty and ruthless the times were. compassion was a virtue hardly recognized or considered.

[[deleted user]]

I purchased this book with a great deal of trepidation, having read so many other biographies of Cleopatra only to be sorely disappointed.

At last I found an author in Shiff who brought this dynamic leader to life and related more of her story than just her affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony (even though these events were pivitol in her life they've been well documented). This is one of my favorite biographies to date.

[Cateline]

Lori, Schiff also wrote a bio of Vladimir Nabokov's wife, Vera. It is almost equally a bio of VN himself, they were so entwined.
Truly a great one.

[Mary]

I was thrilled to get this book on CD. I listened to quite a bit before turning it back in to the library. Too much information! The story line and history intrigued me but it was just too WORDY. A more condensed version would have been great. I believe one person in our book club braved through the entire book.

[[deleted user]]

Cateline, thanks for the suggestion...sounds interesting. I like Shiff's style of writing so will have to check out Nabokov.

[Robert]

I guess I really liked the book more than most of you, which I listened to as an audio file. I had zero issue with the vocabulary so I am surprised to see this as a common thread. I really, really liked the book since it put so much detail into how the Egyptians lived and worked and fought. The global perspective helped remind us how close this was to the beginning of a brand new era (enter: Herod).

Schiff did a marvelous job with the research and details, especially the scant and conflicting accounts, reminding us who said what and what they're prejudices were. Cleopatra comes across as a complex figure, trying to do what was best for her and the Egyptians at the time. Far from perfect, she ruled and kept the country solvent despite the reality the dynasties were finally coming to a close.

[Susan]

I also really loved the book, but I love history especially Egyptian.

[Library Nymph]

Sue wrote: "I found it to have too many words that I needed to look up. I thought this would be a good book and it probably is but I just don't want to have my dictionary on hand to use all the time.
Okay, I'm..."


I enjoyed it.

[Christie]

There were quite a few words I needed to look up also. The school teacher in me says, "That's good. It will increase our vocabularies and contribute to our literacy."

I enjoyed the book because it demonstrated that Cleopatra ruled for years and that she and Anthony had a real relationship not just an affair.

[Jim]

I thought it was as balanced as it could be considering her lack of sources after so many centuries. It was well written and makes the case for Cleopatra as a significant and powerful historical figure and not just another romantic foot note. We must remember the role women played in writing ancient history.

[Madeline]

Ji i total agree, i went back and started rereading and did enjoy it better the second around.

[Erika]

This was an excellent book, and the author did a superb job dredging through primary documentation and allowing Cleopatra to come to life from a 21st Century woman's perspective (instead of an old male Roman or repressive Victorian one.) I applaud history being rewritten in this way. It was entertaining as well as informative, but perhaps required pre-knowledge of Ancient Rome and Greece - which I was obliged to sturdy in my youthful education and so was lucky in that way.

[[deleted user]]

I really liked it, considering it is a factual work, not a work of fiction, and the writer did an extreme amount of research in her endeavor to create a work packed with factual material. The mores of the time intrigue me, or the lack or morals, compared to today's standards. It's amazing how the human race rolls in peaks and undulations of societal mores. Very interesting.

[[deleted user]]

I loved it!!! The author did not write it in story form which is different. The author also debunked the myths about Cleopatra since back then no one wrote down history because they did this by word of mouth. Hence not a lot written about her back then. To me everything that was written was actual facts about that period ie B.C. and how it would of pertained to Cleopatra.

[Robin]

Marguerite wrote: "since back then no one wrote down history because they did this by word of mouth."

Huh? History was indeed written down during Cleopatra's time. "Prehistory" is what is used to refer to the period before written history - Cleopatra lived during Ancient History, the first period of written history. Records are more scarce because not everything was written down and the survival of such ancient records is less likely. But they were in indeed recording history at the time.

[☯Emily]

Robin wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "since back then no one wrote down history because they did this by word of mouth."

Huh? History was indeed written down during Cleopatra's time. "Prehistory" is what is used to ..."

In addition, many works of written history were destroyed in warfare and women and losers of war weren't important enough to write about.

[David]

An interesting presentation of the most powerful woman of her day and Cleopatra's impact on her world.

[Tony]

Remarkable. Someone whom very little was known about for thousands of years is now presented in finely focused detail & complexity. The ancient cities of Rome (a "muddy backwater") & Alexandria (a "mood-altering city") are brought vividly to life. Even though there is so much more than these things to this book, that would have been enough for me.

[Nancym]

It's been some time since I read the book but recall loving it.

[Cleopatraselene2]

Awesome book but the end is inaccurate. Science now proved that Cleopatra VII did not commit suicide. Read The Murder of Cleopatra by Pat Brown.

[Kressel]

Kelly wrote: "Have you guys read any good nonfiction books lately? I'm trying to make my self read more nonfiction books."

I read mostly non-fiction. Malcolm Gladwell's work might be a good place to start. The Tipping Point is his most famous, but my favorite was Outliers.

[Kressel]

The History Book Club read this book last year. We're the biggest non-fiction group on Goodreads. Perhaps some of you might like to join us. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[☯Emily]

Kressel wrote: "The History Book Club read this book last year. We're the biggest non-fiction group on Goodreads. Perhaps some of you might like to join us. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/..."

I was part of that group for a while but didn't appreciate the dictatorial leader, Bentley. Now I read history in peace by myself!

[Kressel]

Dictatorial? C'mon. He's a stickler for rules, but he's not a dictator. And what we members have created there is an awesome human-made card catalog. It's a better research tool than anything on the Internet, including Google and Wikipedia.

[☯Emily]

Sorry, I can't recommend the group. Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler, Bentley...

[Stephen]

I really enjoyed this ... Schiff did a terrific job, I think, disentangling Cleopatra from the myth and placing her within the context of her time and place. Humanizing her, in other words.

I also particularly liked Schiff's evoking of another important character in this book ... the city of Alexandria ...

[Kressel]

☯Emily wrote: "Sorry, I can't recommend the group. Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler, Bentley..."

Oh, please.

[Stephen]

Kressel wrote: "Dictatorial? C'mon. He's a stickler for rules, but he's not a dictator. And what we members have created there is an awesome human-made card catalog. It's a better research tool than anything on th..."

Just joined the group -- couldn't help it, I'm intrigued by this "human-made card catalog" (what is it?).

[Kressel]

Stephen wrote: "Just joined the group -- couldn't help it, I'm intrigued by this "human-made card catalog" (what is it?). "

I'm not sure if you can see this, but here's the link to the discussions at the History Group. If you scroll down past all the group reads and more chatty discussions, you'll come to topics like "Africa" and "American Civil War." Each one of those has multiple sub-topics, and inside them are members' recommendations of other books. I find it much better than a simple search.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/list_...

[Stephen]

Kressel wrote: "Stephen wrote: "Just joined the group -- couldn't help it, I'm intrigued by this "human-made card catalog" (what is it?). "

I'm not sure if you can see this, but here's the link to the discussions..."

Thanks, Kressel! Yes, I can see it ... wow, a lot of material there.

[Kressel]

Stephen wrote: "wow, a lot of material there."

It's amazing. Go to the group home page, type in a search, and you'll be led to awesome books. It's much better than a straight Goodreads search.

[Robin]

Kressel wrote: "Stephen wrote: "wow, a lot of material there."

It's amazing. Go to the group home page, type in a search, and you'll be led to awesome books. It's much better than a straight Goodreads search."

I would have thought that's what Listopia is for. You could read through their topic about Gettysburg, for example: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... - but you'd also have to scroll through the comments which aren't book recommendations. Or you could use the Listopia list of Gettysburg books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

I'm not knocking the group - I'm a member there, but I don't really participate. I just would have though that Listopia lists would have more input from more users since they're not buried within a group.

[Kressel]

Listopia looks awesome, too! How do I get there from the Goodreads homepage?

[Robin]

It's under "Explore" in the top menu.

[Kressel]

Thanks!