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Book Review: Rubicon by Tom Holland

    Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic is the first in a series of books on ancient Rome by the famous popular history writer Tom Holland. The other two are Pax and Dynasty. And what a page turner Rubicon is!  My biggest complaint about this book is that I found myself reading way faster than I wanted to read.  It’s like that suspenseful novel that you race through because you need to get to that next page. And that’s despite the fact that I knew where things were going to end up.                     
                 
tom holland, rubicon, ancient rome, roman republic, fall of rome, popular history

    Check it out on Amazon here:  https://amzn.to/4uvDdxj

The book starts in 49 B.C. as Julius Caesar and his legions contemplate crossing a small border river called the Rubicon. No Roman general is allowed to cross that border without authorization and so Caeser’s move essentially plunges Rome into cataclysmic civil war. But in order to find out why Caesar decided to move his army to Rome, Holland then takes us back in time so that we understand how and why the Republic of Rome got to that point.

    It’s not so much a list of facts, dates, and places, although that's there, but a broad discussion of why. Why did the balance between individual glory seeking and maintenance of respect for fellow citizens and tradition break down?  Why did Sulla march on Rome in his competition with Marius and change the nature of the game? How were the stakes raised for men like Crassus, Pompey the Great and Caeser?

    The power and wealth that came from controlling the Mediterranean world made the fight between the giants of the Republic that much more desperate and destructive and ultimately the old order couldn’t hold. The Republic just wasn’t resilient enough to handle the imperial sized egos!

    Ultimately, Tom Holland’s Rubicon is a fantastic account of the fall of the Roman Republic, and a deep dive into Caesar’s generation. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, and Augustus, Holland introduces us to the most legendary figures of the Republic and the early days of the Empire. He also digs into some of the aspects of life in Rome, what it meant to be poor and rich, the emergence of violence in the streets, life as a slave.  

    If you have read SPQR by Mary Beard and have a good sense of the era, then take a deep dive into the fall of the Republic with Holland’s fantastic history Rubicon! 



Interested in the history of Rome? Check out my review of Nero: Matricide, Music and Murder in Imperial Rome here! 


Publication date: October 2023  | Publisher: Abicus   | Page Count:  464


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    If you are interested in checking out Book Outlet, please follow my link. I don't get paid for referrals, but I can earn credits that are applicable to my own book orders. Help me read and review books so that you can avoid things or find things that are up your alley!

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