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  • Rubicon

  • The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic
  • By: Tom Holland
  • Narrated by: Tom Holland
  • Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (83 ratings)

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Rubicon

By: Tom Holland
Narrated by: Tom Holland
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Summary

'The book that really held me, in fact, obsessed me, was Rubicon . . . This is narrative history at its best. Bloody and labyrinthine political intrigue and struggle, brilliant oratory, amazing feats of conquest and cruelty' Ian McEwan, Books of the Year, Guardian

'Re-evaluating Rome for a new generation' Robert Harris, Sunday Times

'Marvellously readable' Niall Ferguson

The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes and hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness—the same greatness which would herald the catastrophe of its fall.

It is a story of incomparable drama. This was the century of Julius Caesar, the gambler whose addiction to glory led him to the banks of the Rubicon, and beyond; of Cicero, whose defence of freedom would make him a byword for eloquence; of Spartacus, the slave who dared to challenge a superpower; of Cleopatra, the queen who did the same.

Tom Holland brings to life this strange and unsettling civilization, with its extremes of ambition and self-sacrifice, bloodshed and desire. Yet alien as it was, the Republic still holds up a mirror to us. Its citizens were obsessed by celebrity chefs, all-night dancing and exotic pets; they fought elections in law courts and were addicted to spin; they toppled foreign tyrants in the name of self-defence. Two thousand years may have passed, but we remain the Romans' heirs.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2004 SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2003 HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS

©2011 Tom Holland (P)2024 Hachette Audio UK
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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Critic reviews

This is narrative history at its best... It really held me, in fact, obsessed me... Bloody and labyrinthine political intrigue and struggle, brilliant oratory, amazing feats of conquest and cruelty. Holland's lucid account of this alien civilisation moves at a fine pace. He makes no facile comparisons with our times, but you sense you are witnessing through him the enduring difficulty of reconciling power and peace (Guardian)
The blood-stained drama of the last decades of the Roman Republic . . . is told afresh with tremendous wit, narrative verve and insight . . . What characters there were in this drama! He resurrects them with a novelistic luminosity which illuminates not only that lost world, but our own as well (Christopher Hart)
Holland writes throughout with wonderful zest... this is a terrific read and a remarkable piece of scholarship. As an introduction to Roman history, it is unlikely to be bettered (Christopher Matthews)
A model of exactly how a popular history of the classical world should be written . . . a riveting study of the period . . . the most readable book on the later Roman republic since Ronald Syme's The Roman Revolution . . . Next time someone asks me why they should study Roman history, Rubicon will be one of the first books that I shall direct them to (Richard Miles)
Ancient history often descends to us either through impregnable academic works or the sword-and-sandal epics of the cinema. What Holland achieves is to draw from both genres to write a modern, well-paced and finely observed history which entertains as it informs (Elizabeth Speller)
A master of the telling detail . . . Rubicon is unrivalled in revealing the humbug behind the cant and stripping Julius Caesar and company of their moral finery (Frederic Raphael)
Fresh and vivid . . . Holland's strength is as a narrative historian and there is no better and clearer guide to the tangled political events of 100-44 bc . . . if a new readership is to be won for ancient history, it is books like this that will pave the way (Frank McLynn)
Rubicon . . . is no dry history: it is immensely readable, a perfect combination of authoritative scholarship and racy narrative . . . all Holland's people are real and alive. Sometimes they even talk (David Wishart)

What listeners say about Rubicon

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wonderful detailed history

Rubicon is an echo from the past being projected onto our modern times, love this book.

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wonderful narration

Tom Holland has am excellent storytelling ability. Ripping yarns, woven together by a masterful author. Rubicon is highly recommended.

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concise and interesting throughout

This is an excellent example of what can be achieved in modern scholarship. Interesting throughout and told lovingly.

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A lovely narrative history of the fall of the Republic

A lovely narrative history of the fall of the Republic. really well narrated by the author.l, no one else knows where to put emphasis quite like the original author.

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Excellent

Really enjoyed how much meaning and enthusiasm Tom Holland puts into this excellent book

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Encapsulating

Educational, yet interesting. Very well performed and I’ll be certainly listening to more of mr Hollands work

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Holland does it again!

Fantastic narrative on the beginnings of Rome through to the start of the reign of Augustus. Written and narrated in such an engaging way. Excellent!!!

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Great narration

Great narration of a truly remarkable period in world history, and the rise of Caesar and Augustus.

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Enthralling

Learned so much and it felt almost conversational. Very easy to listen to, didn’t get bored once.

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Re-published narrated by the author Tom Holland

Pretty much the same as the original book the goings-on in Rome Cicero, Cato, Caesar & Mark Anthony all the usual suspects
Political intrigue hasn't changed too much
The narration was excellent

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