Just slightly too cute to be good. Working IX to V is an account of various professions in the Classical world, that world being roughly Periclean Athens to Imperial Rome. Jobs covered include:

* ornatrix (hairdresser; we learn that Romans were fond of bleached blondes, which was done with a mixture of pigeon manure and urine);

* popa, the guy who wacked sacrificial animals in the head with a sledgehammer just before the cultrarius cut their throats;

* stercorarius, who had the unenviable job of emptying cesspools;

* vigil, combination fireman and cop;

* alipili, who was a professional armpit plucker;

* and liturgist, who was originally a public philanthropist.

Author Vicki León writes the Outrageous Women and Uppity Women series, so it’s not surprising that she emphasizes women’s roles. Interspersed with the job descriptions are little vignettes describing various people who are known to have worked in those professions. These include Sentia Secundus, a female glass blower; Lycoris, an actress and part-time courtesan (or perhaps vice versa); and the court poetess to Hadrian, Julia Balbilla, who cut a graffiti poem into the one of the statues of Amenhotep III at Thebes (usually known by their classical name, The Colossi of Memnon).

All well and good; however, León injects an excess of sophomoric humor. Her language is consciously modern;

(describing the sandaligerula a slave whose job was to carry her mistress’s sandals)
“After the partygoers went in to diner, the shoe-schleppers enjoyed a little downtime…”

(describing the pularius, whose job was to interpret the behavior of sacred chickens)

“The Roman army had spiritual specialists, but their holy men didn’t hold services or try to boost morale among the grunts.”

The book is illustrated with line drawings copied from classical or neoclassical originals, most of which have “cute” captions; for example, Canova’s The Three Graces is used in the article on prostitution, with the caption “You didn’t win Call Girl of the Year? Awww. Group Hug”.

This might not be a bad book for a grade school or middle school student interested in Classical history; that’s who the level of writing seems pitched to. However, León doesn’t hang back when it comes to describing some of the nastier aspects of classical life, such as boy prostitutes, hookers, courtesans, and gladiatrices. Although it wouldn’t surprise me if the average sixth-grader knows more about sex than I do, it still is a bit much to explain why the plays of Aristophanes are full of radish jokes. ( )

Full of amusing tidbits about ancient life divided up into two-page entries, this is a good coffee-table book for trivia buffs. One of the rare history books that knows how to lighten up and appeal to non-scholars. Good idea-sparker for historical novelists, too - lots of odd vocations and larger-than-life characters.

I can understand why historians might scowl at the quick summaries and breezy tone. But I think the world needs more history books that make the average person think about the past with a smile. ( )

I am not going to rate this book because I would be rating based on expectations as opposed to the actual content. I was disappointed that Leon favored quantity over quality; I was hoping to find more detailed information. However, that's not the book that Leon wanted to write.

Hell, what are we all complaining about?! At least we're not Roman aquarii, fishing around down in sewers or funeral clowns (we call those preachers these days) or bath slaves ewww ewww...a lot of careers in the ancient world weren't things that DeVry or Virginia College would prepare you for.

Vicki Leon, in the course of researching the ancient world for serious books, would run across these weird or simply obscure references to jobs that no longer (thank GOODNESS) exist. She kept her notes. She patiently accumulated information. And now, in this book (called "Working IX to V" in the USA), delivers an amusing, browsable capsue description of ~150 weird and wonderful ancient jobs. I chuckled and giggled my way through this book, using it as what Jerry calls a "between" book, and thoroughly enjoyed it all.

Don't plan to sit down to a long winter's afternoon of reading, and this book will repay your purchase price. Go on, have fun, and not incidentally learn just how much our ancestors were like us...they hated their jobs too! ( )