The Classical World by Robin Lane Fox - Sep 2007

Penguin, Sep 2007. Paperback. I first came across Robin Lane Fox's work when I read his brilliant biography of Alexander the Great. In this book, Lane Fox takes a broader brush to paint a picture of the Classical worlds of Greece and Rome, from the age of Homer to the reign of the Emperor Hadrian.\r\n\r\nThe early sections on the Archaic Greek World are a bit of struggle. Most of our evidence for this period comes from the archaeological record, leaving a lot of speculation about the events of the age, which only comes down to us in fragments from later Greek writers. These chapters help set the scene, but they are not as exciting as the later sections simply because they lack the human dimension. Lane Fox is at his finest when he describes the struggles and achievements of the individual, and not the physical remains of the Classical World.\r\n\r\nIt is in when the book reaches the period of the 5th century BC that the book really starts to shine. Lane Fox gives us a vivid view of men like Socrates and Pericles, and also the everyday lives of the classical Athenians, including a look at the lives of the Greek women and children.\r\n\r\nHe also provides brilliant chapters on the Julio-Claudians, the Punic Wars, and the Hellenistic World. Yet he also covers subjects as diverse as the Roman Army, diplomacy, Greek philosophy, technology, sports and a dozen other subjects. \r\n\r\nOne of the strengths of this book is Robin Lane Fox's text, which is lucid and very readable. He is a great writer who is able to impart a lot of information in short chunks. Most chapters only run for a few pages ( on average 13 pages) which makes them readable and accessible, and especially good if you want to read a few chapters at a time. I found this book both good to read from cover to cover, and also good to just pick up and select a random chapter.\r\n\r\nSome have argued that Lane Fox's book is rather old fashioned in that it does not cover the Persians, Celts, or other classical peoples. I personally don't find this much of a problem, as I only expected to read about the Greeks and Romans when I picked this book up, but others might be disappointed by these omissions. What I did find odd was Lane Fox's rather politically incorrect asides, for instance he mentions that the Emperor Claudius was a 'susceptible spastic'. \r\n\r\nWith a number of excellent and well selected photographs of busts, coins and paintings, as well as a few good maps, this book is definately worth getting. This book should give you a broad, although not detailed overview of the greatest achievements and failures of the Classical World. It might be heavy going at first, but the deeper you get into it the more readable and rewarding it gets. One of the finest books on the Classical World that I have ever read. Highly Recommended!