Tony Spawforth

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 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.… (more)

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 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… (more)