Tony Spawforth

I thought this book would be interesting in advance of a trip to Paris (and Versailles) next month, and it was. Spawforth arranges the book by topic, so there are chapters on the various building initiatives and additions to the palace; social structure/hierarchy; women in the palace; military; leisure activities; privacy in the palace, etc. There's also a good section on how Versailles was not just a palace, but also a government center. There's some analysis of how the decision to move the show more abode of the royalty and the center of government to Versailles helped to bring about the French revolution by further separating the royalty from the people of France.

This is a good book, but not a great one. I didn't think it was organized particularly well and it felt a little scattered. I got some good nuggets of information, but I think it could have been done better. Interesting and informative but only recommended if you're really interested. show less

As the title indicates, this work begins with earliest times of Greece through the reign of Justinian in the Roman empire. The book is well researched, thorough and objective, yet with any such survey covering over a millennium a reader may sometimes become lost in the narrative of so many names, places and events. On the other hand, by necessity much interesting information must be overlooked- a reason I generally don't prefer surveys.

I suspect those like me with a solid background in these show more eras can follow along, yet there is not much new to be learned. On the other hand, the book might be overwhelming for novices. One wonders who the target audience is. show less

Here is an old school style compilation of information, a huge volume (two separate sections per page) of ancient civilization at your fingertips. In an age where we all go flying to Wikipedia for instant information, this was the printed version and quite handy to have if you are focusing on Greece or the Roman Republic/Empire. I particularly liked the *name connotations which act as an equivalent hashtag for printed paper hyperlinking. Neat.

...stepping into the same river, we find show more different waters constantly floating by us. - (referencing Heraclitus)

This took me a very long time to complete, but it was worth it. I have even gone back already to re-read some connections between emperors and poets. It's kind of like a LinkedIn for classical studies.

Book Season = Year Round show less

The book was very promising but in the end it was lacking in original research and new insight. Primarily the book covers reigns of Louis XIV, XV, and XVI, with precious little information about the palace after the Revolution. I would say about 30% of the narrative is based on the memoirs of Duc de Saint Simon; and while it is not bad thing in itself, I would prefer to read a standalone memoir rather than its abridged version masquerading as a biography of a palace. In addition the book was show more jumping back in forth in time which made it hard to follow. Sometimes I had to come back and re-read paragraphs to clarify which of the kings author was talking about.
Overall it is an ok book to read if you never read anything about Versailles, otherwise I would not recommend it. show less