My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In this book, Alston covers the hierarchies involved in a Roman society, which were tightly integrated into Roman politics. Much of the book is based on how the hierarchies actually influenced the way politics was swayed, focusing on how the "freedom" was actually a luxury possessed by the higher levels of society.
He goes into the explanation of the word "revolution" and what it means today as opposed to what it meant at the time. Similar to what Philip Parker did in his World History book (on Goodreads), where he included a section on the exact definition of the word "history." It presents a refreshing take on how the reader approaches this section, as their own knowledge of what the word means may be very different from what the word may have met at the time, changing the context and upgrading the accuracy of the reader's understanding of the author's point.
The hierarchal analysis combined with Alston's explanation of the word revolution, makes it's clear for the reader to see that the Roman revolution wasn't one of our familiar experience of poor classes being fed up with the abuses and neglect of their rulers and nobility, but one where the higher classes, within themselves, were concerned with the method of politics and set about to change it.
Most of my updates (read notes below) were regarding the actual writing style used in this book. Alston tends to give in to a lot of sentence repetition. The book is written in a conversational tone, which is a style known for having this same issue among its writers. However, the body of this book presents a refreshing look at the subject, and Alston makes it a priority to let his readers understand the concepts he is covering.
Although this book is written with the assumption that its reader has some basic knowledge of the subject, it is not so unforgivably advanced that newcomers to Roman history may not be able to follow it.
Part of what makes a book interesting is the amount of excitement exuded by the author through the pages of his work, Alston appears to have been truly interested and passionate about this topic, which makes the reader want to know more, granting the book the privilege of their attention and time. Some writers write for the sake of just writing, with no real interest in the subject, which makes it hard for the reader to justify spending their precious time reading their production.
Would I recommend this book: yes I would. Why, because it is well written in the sense that his explanatory style is exceptional; not leaving any reader behind in unknown concepts. Alston was extremely interested in the writing of this book which is clearly visible while reading, making it an exciting story for anyone interested in Roman history. "Alston has taken the known and recycled and turned it into a classic work of its own with a fresh take on the subject"- C.J. Leger.
NOTES:
I received this book as an advanced copy from the publisher, Oxford University Press, and was very excited to read it. I tracked all of my updates and comments on Goodreads, as I do with all my books, and on CJLeger.com at the respective book post, found on the Currently Reading Tab.
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