What's the best book on Roman history?

What's the best book on Roman history?

Plutarch

I'd prefer modern books.

~ Peter Heather
>The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History

Edward Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire".

>preferring modern books to plutarch's delicious prose and philosophizing]

...

What part of Roman History, a certain aspect (military or culture), period (republic vs empire), etc.?

Thanks for the suggestions!

Mainly the Roman Republic in its entirety, and the transition from republic to monarchy.

Out of interest, can you even read Latin?

Sounds like you'd like Ancient Rome: From the early republic to the assassination of Julius Caeser by Matthew Dillon

Mary Beard's SPQR is super comfy.
But go Suetonius if you want the ancient equivalent of a gossip tabloid, it's fantastic.

I second this. She tells you how you should approach Roman history much more than just listing what happened. Oftentimes books about Rome will just regurgitate Plutarch or Livy without telling you why you should believe them. Beard does a great job detailing what we can know and what we have to guess about Ancient Rome.

>modern books

I can.

I won't understand anything though.

Also
>Plutarch
>Latin
Go to some other board.

Do not read Gibbon, or any ancient historian.
Read Gibbon for his prose and for enjoyment, gibbon will not give you an accurate history, modern writers have far more infomartion about Rome than Gibbon. Same goes with primary sources, they can be fun to read but it is bad as someone with no historical background to have his knowledge from them.

Read any general book about rome written after 1970s. I don't like marry beards spqr but there are plenty others I imagine.

Even reading a college textbook is fine, just borrow it from library

haters will say it isn't Gibbon

Any books written by Adrian Goldworthy

Is he really that good?

I'm a different guy and I really liked them as someone who was going in having podcast level knowledge

Roman People - Robert Kebric