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.
