• The Rise of Rome

  • The Making of the World's Greatest Empire
  • By: Anthony Everitt
  • Narrated by: Clive Chafer
  • Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (473 ratings)

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The Rise of Rome  By  cover art

The Rise of Rome

By: Anthony Everitt
Narrated by: Clive Chafer
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Publisher's summary

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 book 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 listeners.

©2012 Anthony Everitt (P)2012 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"Everitt takes [listeners] on a remarkable journey into the creation of the great civilization's political institutions, cultural traditions, and social hierarchy.... [E]ngaging work that will captivate and inform from beginning to end." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about The Rise of Rome

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Well played

Not only is it well written and a cool, organized story, but the narrator is also great, especially for me to fall asleep to, and I really mean that in a good way!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not a pea of fact beneth a mattres of invention

This book is thorough, and it gives you a feeling for the people and their lives. I highly recommend this book.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great Listen

A great condensed read. very well written, especially for the amateur historian. Loved it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

epic read great history great time period it must

makes history fun we are still learning new things about early Rome that wasn't known even five years ago !!

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Only if you're a history major!

What disappointed you about The Rise of Rome?

I thought this book was very educational. That being said, it made it incredibly BORING!!! Only listen to if you're a history major. It was cool that I learned some things about Rome and the surrounding areas, but not worth it.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing comparative of fact, fiction and myth

An intersecting perspective of how fact and fiction have blended to create the Roman mystique that still fascinates us.

The main downfall is the narrator; despite the fascinating content, it is rolled out in a pedantic drone that is uninspiring at best.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Deadly booring

What disappointed you about The Rise of Rome?

All in passive tense, very dull. Basic writing says you show dont tell. This was a snoozefest. I could not finish it.

Has The Rise of Rome turned you off from other books in this genre?

yes

Would you be willing to try another one of Clive Chafer’s performances?

Meh

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Rise of Rome?

All passive scenes

Any additional comments?

Snore

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great Insights Amid Details

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I read great insights in-between long stretches of filler text. I would have accepted more bottom line facts and less line item reporting. I got bored while listening to passages describing the political play-by-plays that didn't serve to make the insights any clearer. It would have been better to highlight the original content and annotate details that amount to [paraphrasing] "...so and so met but didn't have quorum".

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The reader is articulate with a marvelous voice. Still, he tended to report the text like it was in a teleprompter. His pace and narrow dynamic range disappointed my expectations for a new presentation of the rise of Rome. He was very understandable, quick, and authoritative but would like to have heard some more wonder in the storytelling.

Was The Rise of Rome worth the listening time?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Everitt's insights and original content is superb. The history goes in and out of scope and detail with some irregularity. Sometimes there were long sections of history that didn't seem necessary in such exhaustive detail. There is no detail too precise so long as it is followed with an insight that required that detail. I'm glad to have read it, though I might be wary of another long read by Chafer.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating tale of the sad decay of the Republic

Did Clive Chafer do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

This perhaps could have been done a little more effectively, It may just have been a bit hard for me because they are Latin names that becuase it is an audiobook, you never see written out.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found they book upsetting. Rome goes from a virtuous outpost city to a domineering power by the Third Punic War, then constitutional order slips away culminating in Caesar and the loss of the Republic.

Any additional comments?

At first I was very turned off by the Narrator but was fine after getting used to his voice.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very instructive and entertaining

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This author does a good job in combining the legend of Rome with the reality.He portrays what the Romans felt about themselves and their environment. Enjoyed listening to the story.

What other book might you compare The Rise of Rome to and why?

?

What does Clive Chafer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He brings an air of intellectualism to the story

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

?

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