The Fires of Vesuvius

I read Mary's book The Fires Of Vesuvius a while ago and thought it was fantastic! It took me a while to realise that the lady on the t.v series that I have just watched about ancient Rome was the same person, I should have known because I was immediately gripped with her wonderful descriptions of the Roman world of the common man and she left me wanting to learn more.
I would love her to have a regular history program on t.v. She is a great lady.

I only recently(August 2012) made Mary Beard's aquaintance through the 3 part TV series "Meet The Romans" which was absolutely fascinating.I've never read or heard anything before which really nails what most history enthusiasts REALLY want to know "WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO LIVE BACK THEN???Mary did it through the tombstones which read like mini-diary entries.
A Revelation!!!

The following assortment of adages about Rome and its magnificence, portrays its stunning architectural and aesthetic brilliance as a city

A fool is one who admires other cities without visiting Rome. Rome was a poem pressed into service as a city. Rome was not built in a day. In Rome, it seems as if there were so many things which are more wanted in the world than pictures. I hope we would say and believe in the same in 2075, when humans would have evolved exponentially due to their auxiliary enhancements of mind and body. Take for example AI and self aware machines. Will we as humans be aware of our characteristics that make us human e.g. love, empathy, romance and many other virtues? What would it mean to be a human in 2075? This exciting sci-fi novel: They loved in 2075, delves into these aspects of human strife in 2075.