For The Glory Of Rome

A riveting and all-action historical page-turner from bestselling author Douglas Jackson that will have you gripped from page one! Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane. Readers are loving Gaius Valerius Verrens! "The best Roman historical series I've yet read. Just pips Ben Kane and Conn Iggulden." - 5 STARS "I found this one hard to put down as there was action and intrigue from start to finish" - 5 STARS "Fantastic story and character creation" - 5 STARS "A simple plot but pace never lets up and keeps you wanting to "just read the next chapter before I put it down" - 5 STARS ************************************* 77AD. Gaius Valerius Verrens is an honoured member of Emperor Vespasian's inner circle, but the enmity between him and Vespasian's son Domitian means that, even in Rome, danger is never far away. Meanwhile, in the outer reaches of the Empire, in Britannia, trouble is brewing. The governor, Agricola is preparing to march his legions north and Valerius is Agricola's chief legal adviser and deputy governor. It's the opportunity he seeks to move his wife and son out of reach of Domitian's wrath. The massacre of a Roman garrison and suspicious death throw Agricola's preparations into confusion. Now his eyes turn west to Mona and the Druids, who still harbour hopes of ridding Britannia of Roman rule. But to deal with them, Agricola needs a soldier he can trust to lead the legion. Only one man in the province has the experience and the ability . . . So a reluctant Valerius picks up his sword once more. He soon comes to understand that any glory his new legion wins is likely to be fleeting and tainted - and that he has placed his family in deadly peril. Gaius Valerius Verrens's adventures conclude in Hammer of Rome.

Looks at the history and discoveries of Rome, discussing the importance of the forum, the life of the emperor Hadrian, and colonial expansion

Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane, this heart-stopping historical thriller from bestselling author Douglas Jackson will have you on the edge of your seat! "Rightly hailed as one of the best historical novelists writing today" -- DAILY EXPRESS Readers are loving Gaius Valerius Verrens! "This was probably the best book that I have read of this genre." - 5 STARS. "As good as Scarrow, Riches or Scott." - 5 STARS. "Valerius is quite addictive..." - 5 STARS . ************************************************************** AD 59: Rome's grip on Britain is weakening. Roman cruelty and exploitation has angered their British subjects; the Druids are on the rise; the warrior queen Boudicca will lead the tribes to war. The Roman Tribune, Gaius Valerius Verrens must lead the veteran legions at Colonia in a last stand against the rising tide of rebellion and the unstoppable horde of Boudicca's rebel army. Can he defend his honour and the Empire he represents? Hero of Rome is the first in Douglas Jackson's Gaius Valerius Verrens series. His story continues in Defender of Rome.

The Glory of the Empire is the rich and absorbing history of an extraordinary empire, at one point a rival to Rome. Rulers such as Basil the Great of Onessa, who founded the Empire but whose treacherous ways made him a byword for infamy, and the romantic Alexis the bastard, who dallied in the fleshpots of Egypt, studied Taoism and Buddhism, returned to save the Empire from civil war, and then retired “to learn to die,” come alive in The Glory of the Empire, along with generals, politicians, prophets, scoundrels, and others. Jean d’Ormesson also goes into the daily life of the Empire, its popular customs, and its contribution to the arts and the sciences, which, as he demonstrates, exercised an influence on the world as a whole, from the East to the West, and whose repercussions are still felt today. But it is all fiction, a thought experiment worthy of Jorge Luis Borges, and in the end The Glory of the Empire emerges as a great shimmering mirage, filling us with wonder even as it makes us wonder at the fugitive nature of power and the meaning of history itself.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE KANSAS CITY STAR From Anthony Everitt, the bestselling author of acclaimed biographies of Cicero, Augustus, and Hadrian, comes a riveting, magisterial account of Rome and its remarkable ascent from an obscure agrarian backwater to the greatest empire the world has ever known. Emerging as a market town from a cluster of hill villages in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., Rome grew to become the ancient world’s preeminent power. Everitt fashions the story of Rome’s rise to glory into an erudite page-turner filled with lasting lessons for our time. He chronicles the clash between patricians and plebeians that defined the politics of the Republic. He shows how Rome’s shrewd strategy of offering citizenship to her defeated subjects was instrumental in expanding the reach of her burgeoning empire. And he outlines the corrosion of constitutional norms that accompanied Rome’s imperial expansion, as old habits of political compromise gave way, leading to violence and civil war. In the end, unimaginable wealth and power corrupted the traditional virtues of the Republic, and Rome was left triumphant everywhere except within its own borders. Everitt paints indelible portraits of the great Romans—and non-Romans—who left their mark on the world out of which the mighty empire grew: Cincinnatus, Rome’s George Washington, the very model of the patrician warrior/aristocrat; the brilliant general Scipio Africanus, who turned back a challenge from the Carthaginian legend Hannibal; and Alexander the Great, the invincible Macedonian conqueror who became a role model for generations of would-be Roman rulers. Here also are the intellectual and philosophical leaders whose observations on the art of government and “the good life” have inspired every Western power from antiquity to the present: Cato the Elder, the famously incorruptible statesman who spoke out against the decadence of his times, and Cicero, the consummate orator whose championing of republican institutions put him on a collision course with Julius Caesar and whose writings on justice and liberty continue to inform our political discourse today. Rome’s decline and fall have long fascinated historians, but the story of how the empire was won is every bit as compelling. With The Rise of Rome, one of our most revered chroniclers of the ancient world tells that tale in a way that will galvanize, inform, and enlighten modern readers. Praise for The Rise of Rome “Fascinating history and a great read.”—Chicago Sun-Times “An engrossing history of a relentlessly pugnacious city’s 500-year rise to empire.”—Kirkus Reviews “Rome’s history abounds with remarkable figures. . . . Everitt writes for the informed and the uninformed general reader alike, in a brisk, conversational style, with a modern attitude of skepticism and realism.”—The Dallas Morning News “[A] lively and readable account . . . Roman history has an uncanny ability to resonate with contemporary events.”—Maclean’s “Elegant, swift and faultless as an introduction to his subject.”—The Spectator “[An] engaging work that will captivate and inform from beginning to end.”—Booklist

An entertaining and informative look at the unique culture of crime, punishment, and killing in Ancient Rome In Ancient Rome, all the best stories have one thing in common—murder. Romulus killed Remus to found the city, Caesar was assassinated to save the Republic. Caligula was butchered in the theater, Claudius was poisoned at dinner, and Galba was beheaded in the Forum. In one 50-year period, 26 emperors were murdered. But what did killing mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd? In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Emma Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture, including how perpetrator, victim, and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people. Inside Ancient Rome's darkly fascinating history, we see how the Romans viewed life, death, and what it means to be human.