Kirjahaku

A lively portrait of the quintessential Roman politician describes the life and times of the ancient statesman, based on the witty and candid letters that Cicero wrote to his friend Atticus in which he described the events and personalities that shaped the final days of Republican Rome. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.

What can we learn from the stunning rise and mysterious death of the ancient world's greatest conqueror? An acclaimed biographer reconstructs the life of Alexander the Great in this magisterial revisionist portrait. " An] infectious sense of narrative momentum . . . Its energy is unflagging, including the verve with which it tackles that teased final mystery about the specific cause of Alexander's death."--The Christian Science Monitor More than two millennia have passed since Alexander the Great built an empire that stretched to every corner of the ancient world, from the backwater kingdom of Macedonia to the Hellenic world, Persia, and ultimately to India--all before his untimely death at age thirty-three. Alexander believed that his empire would stop only when he reached the Pacific Ocean. But stories of both real and legendary events from his life have kept him evergreen in our imaginations with a legacy that has meant something different to every era: in the Middle Ages he became an exemplar of knightly chivalry, he was a star of Renaissance paintings, and by the early twentieth century he'd even come to resemble an English gentleman. But who was he in his own time? In Alexander the Great, Anthony Everitt judges Alexander's life against the criteria of his own age and considers all his contradictions. We meet the Macedonian prince who was naturally inquisitive and fascinated by science and exploration, as well as the man who enjoyed the arts and used Homer's great epic the Iliad as a bible. As his empire grew, Alexander exhibited respect for the traditions of his new subjects and careful judgment in administering rule over his vast territory. But his career also had a dark side. An inveterate conqueror who in his short life built the largest empire up to that point in history, Alexander glorified war and was known to commit acts of remarkable cruelty. As debate continues about the meaning of his life, Alexander's death remains a mystery. Did he die of natural causes--felled by a fever--or did his marshals, angered by his tyrannical behavior, kill him? An explanation of his death can lie only in what we know of his life, and Everitt ventures to solve that puzzle, offering an ending to Alexander's story that has eluded so many for so long.

He found Rome made of clay and left it made of marble. As Rome's first emperor, Augustus transformed the unruly Republic into the greatest empire the world had ever seen. His consolidation and expansion of Roman power two thousand years ago laid the foundations, for all of Western history to follow. Yet, despite Augustus's accomplishments, very few biographers have concentrated on the man himself, instead choosing to chronicle the age in which he lived. Here, Anthony Everitt, the bestselling author of Cicero, gives a spellbinding and intimate account of his illustrious subject. Augustus began his career as an inexperienced teenager plucked from his studies to take center stage in the drama of Roman politics, assisted by two school friends, Agrippa and Maecenas. Augustus's rise to power began with the assassination of his great-uncle and adoptive father, Julius Caesar, and culminated in the titanic duel with Mark Antony and Cleopatra.The world that made Augustus-and that he himself later remade-was driven by intrigue, sex, ceremony, violence, scandal, and naked ambition. Everitt has taken some of the household names of history-Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Cleopatra-whom few know the full truth about, and turned them into flesh-and-blood human beings. At a time when many consider America an empire, this stunning portrait of the greatest emperor who ever lived makes for enlightening and engrossing reading. Everitt brings to life the world of a giant, rendered faithfully and sympathetically in human scale. A study of power and political genius, Augustus is a vivid, compelling biography of one of the most important rulers in history.

"A fascinating insight into the mind of the Roman emperor."--Sunday Telegraph (London) Born in A.D. 76, Hadrian lived through and ruled during a tempestuous era, a time when the Colosseum was opened to the public and Pompeii was buried under a mountain of lava and ash. Acclaimed author Anthony Everitt vividly recounts Hadrian's thrilling life, in which the emperor brings a century of disorder and costly warfare to a peaceful conclusion while demonstrating how a monarchy can be compatible with good governance. What distinguished Hadrian's rule, according to Everitt, were two insights that inevitably ensured the empire's long and prosperous future: He ended Rome's territorial expansion, which had become strategically and economically untenable, by fortifying her boundaries (the many famed Walls of Hadrian), and he effectively "Hellenized" Rome by anointing Athens the empire's cultural center, thereby making Greek learning and art vastly more prominent in Roman life. By making splendid use of recently discovered archaeological materials and his own exhaustive research, Everitt sheds new light on one of the most important figures of the ancient world.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE KANSAS CITY STAR From Anthony Everitt, the bestselling author of acclaimed biographies of Cicero, Augustus, and Hadrian, comes a riveting, magisterial account of Rome and its remarkable ascent from an obscure agrarian backwater to the greatest empire the world has ever known. Emerging as a market town from a cluster of hill villages in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., Rome grew to become the ancient world's preeminent power. Everitt fashions the story of Rome's rise to glory into an erudite page-turner filled with lasting lessons for our time. He chronicles the clash between patricians and plebeians that defined the politics of the Republic. He shows how Rome's shrewd strategy of offering citizenship to her defeated subjects was instrumental in expanding the reach of her burgeoning empire. And he outlines the corrosion of constitutional norms that accompanied Rome's imperial expansion, as old habits of political compromise gave way, leading to violence and civil war. In the end, unimaginable wealth and power corrupted the traditional virtues of the Republic, and Rome was left triumphant everywhere except within its own borders. Everitt paints indelible portraits of the great Romans--and non-Romans--who left their mark on the world out of which the mighty empire grew: Cincinnatus, Rome's George Washington, the very model of the patrician warrior/aristocrat; the brilliant general Scipio Africanus, who turned back a challenge from the Carthaginian legend Hannibal; and Alexander the Great, the invincible Macedonian conqueror who became a role model for generations of would-be Roman rulers. Here also are the intellectual and philosophical leaders whose observations on the art of government and "the good life" have inspired every Western power from antiquity to the present: Cato the Elder, the famously incorruptible statesman who spoke out against the decadence of his times, and Cicero, the consummate orator whose championing of republican institutions put him on a collision course with Julius Caesar and whose writings on justice and liberty continue to inform our political discourse today. Rome's decline and fall have long fascinated historians, but the story of how the empire was won is every bit as compelling. With The Rise of Rome, one of our most revered chroniclers of the ancient world tells that tale in a way that will galvanize, inform, and enlighten modern readers. Praise for The Rise of Rome "Fascinating history and a great read."--Chicago Sun-Times "An engrossing history of a relentlessly pugnacious city's 500-year rise to empire."--Kirkus Reviews "Rome's history abounds with remarkable figures. . . . Everitt writes for the informed and the uninformed general reader alike, in a brisk, conversational style, with a modern attitude of skepticism and realism."--The Dallas Morning News " A] lively and readable account . . . Roman history has an uncanny ability to resonate with contemporary events."--Maclean's "Elegant, swift and faultless as an introduction to his subject."--The Spectator " An] engaging work that will captivate and inform from beginning to end."--Booklist

A magisterial account of how a tiny city-state in ancient Greece became history's most influential civilization, from the bestselling author of acclaimed biographies of Cicero, Augustus, and Hadrian Filled with tales of adventure and astounding reversals of fortune, The Rise of Athens celebrates the city-state that transformed the world--from the democratic revolution that marked its beginning, through the city's political and cultural golden age, to its decline into the ancient equivalent of a modern-day university town. Anthony Everitt constructs his history with unforgettable portraits of the talented, tricky, ambitious, and unscrupulous Athenians who fueled the city's rise: Themistocles, the brilliant naval strategist who led the Greeks to a decisive victory over their Persian enemies; Pericles, arguably the greatest Athenian statesman of them all; and the wily Alcibiades, who changed his political allegiance several times during the course of the Peloponnesian War--and died in a hail of assassins' arrows. Here also are riveting you-are-there accounts of the milestone battles that defined the Hellenic world: Thermopylae, Marathon, and Salamis among them. An unparalleled storyteller, Everitt combines erudite, thoughtful historical analysis with stirring narrative set pieces that capture the colorful, dramatic, and exciting world of ancient Greece. Although the history of Athens is less well known than that of other world empires, the city-state's allure would inspire Alexander the Great, the Romans, and even America's own Founding Fathers. It's fair to say that the Athenians made possible the world in which we live today. In this peerless new work, Anthony Everitt breathes vivid life into this most ancient story. Praise for The Rise of Athens " An] invaluable history of a foundational civilization . . . combining impressive scholarship with involving narration."--Booklist "Compelling . . . a comprehensive and entertaining account of one of the most transformative societies in Western history . . . Everitt recounts the high points of Greek history with flair and aplomb."--Shelf Awareness "Highly readable . . . Everitt keeps the action moving."--Kirkus Reviews Praise for Anthony Everitt's The Rise of Rome "Rome's history abounds with remarkable figures. . . . Everitt writes for the informed and the uninformed general reader alike, in a brisk, conversational style, with a modern attitude of skepticism and realism."--The Dallas Morning News " A] lively and readable account . . . Roman history has an uncanny ability to resonate with contemporary events."--Maclean's "Elegant, swift and faultless as an introduction to his subject."--The Spectator "An engrossing history of a relentlessly pugnacious city's 500-year rise to empire."--Kirkus Reviews "Fascinating history and a great read."--Chicago Sun-Times

This study of participation in music looks at the growing movement to bridge the divide between those who make music their career and the public at large. It identifies examples of good practice and describes the challenges ahead.

The story of the modest city-state that would become the birthplace of democracy

A gripping account of the ascent of Rome – from agrarian backwater to capital of the world's greatest empire.'An elegant, swift and faultless introduction to the subject' The SpectatorStarting with the founding myth of Romulus and Remus, Anthony Everitt charts Rome's development from its origins as a small market town in the 8th century BC, through various forms of patrician government, up to Caesar's victory in the Civil War that defeated the Roman Republic and paved the way for Augustus to transform republican oligarchy into imperial autocracy.Using recent archaeological evidence and historical facts, and a wealth of legend and anecdote, Everitt shows how Rome grew – both internally, via ever more ambitious construction projects, and externally, through successful military campaigns.As readable and accessible as it is authoritative and scholarly, The Rise of Rome is the perfect introduction to Roman history and civilization for the general reader.

Ajalugu tunneb keiser Nerot vastuolulise tegelasena. Teda peetakse halva valitseja võrdkujuks - ebapädevaks ja verejanuliseks, edevaks ja liiderlikuks. Nero saigi keisriks ema sunnil, tõenäoliselt oleks ta ise eelistanud luuletaja või muusiku elu. Teisalt juhiti Rooma impeeriumi tema valitsemisajal täiesti ilmselt hästi.Raamat äratab ellu keiserliku õukonna, kireva ja rahvarohke Rooma linna oma kitsaste ja tuleohtlike tänavatega, keisriperekonna võimuvõitluse ja peaaegu vältimatult surmaga lõppenud poliitilised intriigid. Samas on juttu luule- ja muusikalembese keisri suurejoonelistest kunstifestivalidest, veristest kaarikute võiduajamistest ja gladiaatorietendustest ning aukartustäratavatest ehitusprojektidest.Anthony Everitt on avaldanud teoseid Euroopa ja klassikalisest kultuurist, teiste seas Augustuse, Hadrianuse, Cicero ja Aleksander Suure eluloo ning raamatud Rooma ja Ateena tõusust.Roddy Ashworth on auhinnatud uuriv ajakirjanik, omaaegne uudistetoimetaja ja Londoni City Ülikooli meediaeetika külalislektor. Mõlemad autorid elavad Colchesteri - endise Camulodunumi, Rooma Britannia esimese linna - lähedal.