Rubicon

What Hacker News says

1. henrikschroderSep 2023
   > Rubicon by Tom Holland

   I'm currently listening my way through The Rest Is History, the podcast he does with Dominic Sandbrook. Very entertaning, highly recommended!

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2. Randomer003Aug 2022
   Absolutely agree with the author's idea that you shouldn't waste your time on bad books, but also wanted to highlight his idea of reading in clusters. I find that to be one way to really gain depth on a topic.

   I thought I was a bit of a buff on Ancient Roman history after finishing Mary Beard's SPQR. After reading Tom Holland's Rubicon, and some of Dan Carlin's podcasts on it, I realized how complex, and full of disagreement that world is. It really gave me a huge appreciation for the people that actually study this stuff, moreso than if I had just read the one book.

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3. arztJan 2020
   Great books to start:

   - Rubicon by Tom Holland - SPQR by Mary Beard - Dynasty by Tom Holland - Caesar by Adrian Goldsworthy (more of a bio on Julius C, a bit drier than the above, has section on Alesia)

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4. snakeboyMay 2018
   I'll second Tom Holland. I read "Rubicon" not too long ago. I would recommend pairing it with Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast series on the era for an extremely cohesive and engaging account of the Roman republic's decline.
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5. chewzSep 2017
   Rome has kept entire population on Universal Basic Income for hundreds of years. Some of best an most peaceful years in the history of Europe.

   Wars of I BC century and Roman laws that put people into slavery for debts had brought hundreds of thousands of slaves into economy bringing cost of labour close to zero. Conquest of Egypt and North Africa flooded markets with cheap grain.

   That market disruption made artisan shops and small farms unable to sustain/compete on the market with larger enterprises based on slave labour.

   Majority of citizens of lower class had been then entitled to free food and free entertainment (bread and circus). It was necessary for keeping their votes and for keeping appearances of the republic. (Even what we call Roman Empire were still nominally a Republic with Senate and elections held for various offices every year at Fields of Mars).

   I recommend everyone reading Rubicon by Tom Holland. https://www.amazon.com/Rubicon-Tom-Holland/dp/1400078970

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6. chewzSep 2017
   Rubicon by Tom Holland - https://www.amazon.com/Rubicon-Tom-Holland/dp/1400078970

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