Litsy

The Fall of Egypt and the Rise of Rome: A History of the Ptolemies | Guy de la B�doy�re

so-so

The Fall of Egypt and the Rise of Rome, by Guy de la Bedoyere (2024)
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Premise: A history of the Ptolomaic Empire, from its beginnings in the aftermath of Alexander the Great‘s death to its end under the famed queen Cleopatra

Review: There‘s a lot of excellent content here and I was excited for a volume focusing on one of the great Hellenistic kingdoms. ⬇️

Mattsbookaday But there‘s a high degree of difficulty involved in telling a three hundred year history in which most of the characters are named either Ptolemy (14 of them) or Cleopatra (6), and I don‘t think Bedoyere succeeded in telling that story in a clear and interesting way.

Bookish Pair: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, by Toby Wilkinson (2010) 5d

Suet624 Ummmm… why weren‘t they more original with their names? 4d

13 likes2 comments

Lcsmcat

The History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Volume 1. The Turn of the Tide | Edward Gibbon

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This is just the 1st of 8 volumes. I went in expecting to learn a lot (and I did) but not expecting the humor and the quality of the prose. I‘m not jumping right in to volume 2, but I do hope to finish the whole thing by the end of 2026. Pic is the map on the endpapers of my edition.

CaitlinR What a great goal! 3w

TheBookHippie I love a good goal. Looks fascinating. 3w

Lcsmcat @CaitlinR @thebookhippie Now I just have to stick to it. 😂 3w

Suet624 Good luck!!! 3w

janeycanuck I have tried and failed to read this so many times. You are an inspiration. 2w

35 likes5 comments

Lcsmcat

The History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Volume 1. The Turn of the Tide | Edward Gibbon

And the relevance to our current situation keeps coming. Sigh.

AmyG Every day there is another truth. 3w

TheBookHippie Every day. 3w

28 likes2 comments

Lcsmcat

The History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Volume 1. The Turn of the Tide | Edward Gibbon

I have a hard time taking these names seriously. 😀

Ruthiella That makes me think of that scene on Life of Brian where the Roman soldier can‘t keep a straight face. 😆 3w

Lcsmcat @Ruthiella Exactly! 3w

18 likes2 comments

Lcsmcat

The History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Volume 1. The Turn of the Tide | Edward Gibbon

Gibbon‘s prejudices are always on display, and sometimes humorous. 🍺

LeahBergen 😂 3w

19 likes1 comment

Lcsmcat

The History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Volume 1. The Turn of the Tide | Edward Gibbon

Let‘s hope it‘s not irrevocable. And this was written in 1776. Do we never learn?

dabbe Sadly, no. 😢 1mo

AmyG Apparently not. 1mo

28 likes2 comments

Lcsmcat

The History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Volume 1. The Turn of the Tide | Edward Gibbon

I always thought of this as something I “should” read, but didn‘t look forward to it (so it languished on my shelves for decades) but he‘s actually amusing. Just barely into Chapter 2 and I‘ve read at least four quotes out to my ever-suffering husband.

28 likes1 stack add

Mattsbookaday

After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations | Eric H. Cline

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After 1177 BC, by Eric Cline (2024)
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Premise: An exploration of the latest evidence on the recovery of the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, and Mespotamian worlds in the aftermath of the Late Bronze Age Collapse.

Review: I am a big fan of Cline‘s book 1177 BC, which documented the disappearance within a single generation of a centuries-old network of civilizations. ⬇️

Mattsbookaday This book is both his attempt at looking at how these civilizations recovered in the centuries that followed, and a response to some of his more vocal critics. I was particularly fascinated by his analysis of the data through the lens of resilience theory. If you‘re someone who doesn‘t appreciate ‘broad strokes‘ history surveys, this probably won‘t be for you, but I found this to be excellent, and with just the right amount of academic humility. 4mo

9 likes1 comment

danx

The Abduction of Sita | R. K. Narayan

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Another mini Penguin for a short trip. Thoroughly enjoyed this, my introduction to the Ramayanam - an abridged version of R. K. Narayan‘s 1972 prose - I think this is from just one section. The cover is beautiful too, this image doesn‘t do it justice. I do now have a bunch of tabs open with writing on patriarchy and the Ramayana due to Sita‘s ordeal by fire…

7 likes

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