Description
Sketches from Roman History
By Thomas E. Watson. We’ve all read dreary, lengthy and complicated tomes on Roman history from what Harry Elmer Barnes called the “court historians.” But in this fascinating volume you’ll read Roman history through the eyes of one of America’s great populist heroes, Thomas E. Watson, the celebrated senator from Georgia.
Watson—a champion of poor farmers and the working class—had a real knack for writing for the common man, cutting through the propaganda and presenting history from a truly human perspective.
In this volume you’ll read eight short essays on some very well-known and also some obscure Roman leaders including Marius, the Gracchus brothers, Pompey and of course Julius Caesar and Octavius. Caesar is one of the most misunderstood men in history, and Tom Watson sets the record straight on this great leader.
You’ll learn, too, about King Jugurtha of Numidia, who made a study of Roman corruption and famously described Rome as “urbem venalem et mature perituram, si emptorem invenerit” (“a city for sale and doomed to quick destruction, if it should find a buyer”).
You’ll also get Watson’s unique take on the saga of Antony and Cleopatra.
(As a bonus, there is an “alternative history” sidebar on the fate of the doomed lovers.) You will find Sketches in Roman History to be an enjoyable and educational read indeed.
Softcover, 132 pages.
