The Roman Way

By: Edith Hamilton

Narrated by: Nadia May

Edith Hamilton shows us Rome through the eyes of the Romans. Plautus and Terence, Cicero and Caesar, Catullus, Horace, Virgil, and Augustus come to life in their ambitions, their work, their loves and hates. In them we see reflected a picture of Roman life very different from that fixed in our minds through schoolroom days, and far livelier.

The Roman Way makes vividly interesting the contrast between Roman and Greek culture. Moreover, it reveals how surprisingly similar Roman civilization was to that of modern America, in respects ranging from an interest in good roads and good plumbing, to the popular veneration of home and mother. Our heritage from Rome includes everything from moral laws to stock characters in the drama. Skillful, witty, subtle in understanding, this audiobook shows us what the Romans were like, how they lived, what they thought, and what they accomplished.

©1932 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. (P)1994 Blackstone Audiobooks

Surprising accessible

Though I love the topic of Rome. I often find that historians make it rather boring. Edith made it fascinating.

Thoughtful Consistent Overview of Roman Values

The author weaves a logical tapestry of Roman thought over time and integrates the writers as they evolved and reacted to a changing Rome. Essential granular revelation of the essence of what Romans valued. A must listen.

Engaging and pleasant narration

Nadia May gives us another pleasant narration of Edith Hamilton’s engaging and intelligent The Roman Way. In such a way the Audible gives the book greater texture and makes it more appreciable. I listened to the Audible at 1.1 to 1.2x speed while reading the book. This is my practice. This is an outstanding book, clearly written and accessible, not stodgy at all. More than an introduction, it is like going to a dinner and being introduced to all of these significant players in Roman history from chapter to chapter.

Excellent read about how leading Romans thought

The author notices much about some of the leading figures in ancient Rome and how they viewed morality, government, slavery, the Greeks and much else.

They are, in their moral reasoning, quite distant from us in some ways but less do in others. I am surprised that the stoics were anti-slavery and I wonder how much so. What did Marcus Aurelius think about slavery? How much were Roman stoics a society set off from other Romans? I want to know more about this.

The contrast of Cicero's honest letters to his close friend Atticus versus his letters to others makes me how well we know the inner thoughts of many other ancients.

A thought provoking book that left me wanting to know more about the topics covered.

Not so bad

I was really excited to listen to this book but overall, I wasnt too impressed with this book. Though, I did enjoy learning about some of the similarities between Greece, Rome and modern times.