A HISTORY OF ROME

Great civilizations don't just rise and fall; they ebb and flow, like a large animal breathing in and out. So while Rome begins as a small market town, and Robinson traces its thousand-year history through kingdom, republic, empire, and eventual decline, it is less a story than a large organism coming to life, thriving, and eventually expiring. Charlton Griffin's scholarly narration enlivens this production. At once thoughtful and professorial, it is also energetic, even impassioned. The history itself is burly and muscular, driven by armies and great movements of people across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It almost requires the vigorous sounds of drumbeats and large crowds heard from time to time in the audio text, suggesting these forces at work. This background, coupled with Griffin's scholarly but energetic tone, fittingly presents the most renowned classical historian of our century. P.E.F. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB / MAR 03]