book on Roman senate

[Vedennius]

Hi,

I'm looking for a good book on the Roman (republican) senate (since it's the time of the year again to update book lists ). Anyway, I'm looking for something that really talks about the workings, operation, procedures, habits, and so on.

Googling and Amazon don't seem to be willing to show me anything that resembles this at the moment (apart from e.g. "Senate of the Roman Republic, Its Composition and Its Attributes" which is priced at Amazon at 419 GBP hock: which sort of disqualifies it).

Does anybody have any suggestions on this? It doesn't have to be exclusively about the senate, as long as it does deal with this to reasonable detail as well ...

[Epictetus]

What about Cicero? Instead of a secondary source, you could try a primary one.

Although these are not exlusively about the Senate, you learn a lot about how things worked and what a prominent member was worried about.

Letters to Atticus

[D B Campbell]

I guess [amazon]The Senate of Imperial Rome[/amazon] is the wrong period for you. It's still pretty interesting, though.

[Theodosius the Great]

Vedennius,

How about The Constitution of the Roman Republic ? I only got through about half of it. The work is very scholarly, not targeted at a general readership. It definately isn't a 'fast read', more like a 'dense read'. After reading a few pages you feel like you read one regular book.

I think you'll find everything you want to know from this book, Daniel, including the "workings, operation, procedures, (and) habits" of the Republican Senate.

Here are some Amazon.com reviews :

[size=125:2akd0piy]"Lincott's clear presentation of the structure of the Roman government and his judicious comments will help this book achieve its goal of providing a starting point for students of ancient history."--American Historical Review

"Lintott's command of his subject is masterly, and it is nothing short of admirable that his exposition succeeds in providing the reader with a solid grasp of every institution even as it takes pains to underscore the changes in each institution that took place over time...Lintott is an acute and erudite historian. His book will serve the needs of pupils and teachers for a long time to come, and its appearance is most welcome."--The Historian

"...authoritative, incisive, and readable."--Classical Outlook

"...Lintott's introduction to the rules of the game will be extremely valuable."--Classical Outlook

"This book is the single most comprehensive treatment of its topic and essential for serious students of constitutional history and theory."--Religious Studies Review[/size]

~Theo

[Vedennius]

Guys,

thanks a lot for all the suggestions - this is why I love this place .

Theo: this indeed seems to be exactly what I was looking for, I will definitely get this one (and try to suffer through the dense read)

Duncan: even though it doesn't exactly match the time period, I do remember getting this book years ago from a public library, but I had forgotten about it - thanks a lot for reminding me about the title!

David: your comment about using a primary source is obviously a good one, and I'll probably get a print copy of the source you mention as a (possibly lighter-to-read?) supplement to the book Theo suggested