11-14-2014, 03:09 PM
Pat Southern's new tome was dragged to my door by my long-suffering postman today and, although I don't do academic reviews as such (the very quintessence of onanistic futility, to my very open mind), I thought you lot might like to know what's in it.
The dust jacket (and Amazon) call it The Roman Army: A History 753 BC-AD 476 but the title page just says The Roman Army (so somebody has had a change of heart at the last minute; been there, done it, tick ;-) )
Vast softwood forests have been felled to ensure that there are more than 500 pages of words on the processed dead trees, but no references (either notes or in-text, Harvard style), just a bibliography divided across the chapters). As a publisher, Amberley don't seem to like references and don't twig that one of their biggest potential markets - re-enactors - want as much solid detail and authority as possible. But hey, they're publishers and they know best!
The text does what it says on the dust jacket and runs through history from the foundation of Rome to its end (the dates on aforementioned dust jacket will have told you that much, so I don't view that as too much of a spoiler) and it is divided into three sections: kings & Republic, Imperial, Late Empire. There is a glossary and an index (too often absent from books these days).
There are line drawings (which is where I make frequent appearances, in my guise as 'After M. C. Bishop' - not sure why people do that, as I'll let them use the originals if they only ask me) and a chunk of colour plates in the centre where all the usual suspects turn up (as one Amazon 'reviewer' dismissively remarked of one of my books 'looks like his holiday snaps'; no sh*t Sherlock!). If you get bored, you can always colour in the line drawings with big chunky wax crayons ... or is just me that does that?!
The ISBN is 9781445620893 if anybody wants to pursue it further.
Mike Bishop
The dust jacket (and Amazon) call it The Roman Army: A History 753 BC-AD 476 but the title page just says The Roman Army (so somebody has had a change of heart at the last minute; been there, done it, tick ;-) )
Vast softwood forests have been felled to ensure that there are more than 500 pages of words on the processed dead trees, but no references (either notes or in-text, Harvard style), just a bibliography divided across the chapters). As a publisher, Amberley don't seem to like references and don't twig that one of their biggest potential markets - re-enactors - want as much solid detail and authority as possible. But hey, they're publishers and they know best!
The text does what it says on the dust jacket and runs through history from the foundation of Rome to its end (the dates on aforementioned dust jacket will have told you that much, so I don't view that as too much of a spoiler) and it is divided into three sections: kings & Republic, Imperial, Late Empire. There is a glossary and an index (too often absent from books these days).
There are line drawings (which is where I make frequent appearances, in my guise as 'After M. C. Bishop' - not sure why people do that, as I'll let them use the originals if they only ask me) and a chunk of colour plates in the centre where all the usual suspects turn up (as one Amazon 'reviewer' dismissively remarked of one of my books 'looks like his holiday snaps'; no sh*t Sherlock!). If you get bored, you can always colour in the line drawings with big chunky wax crayons ... or is just me that does that?!
The ISBN is 9781445620893 if anybody wants to pursue it further.
Mike Bishop
