i'm such a big fan of dr. beard's work. she turns the "history is written by the victors" phrase on its ear and uses it to inform a perspective of the "losers" and the people. this work is no different. 

Very interesting, broad, accessible.

Really interesting look into the lives of Rome’s emperors. I think one of the most interesting takeaway I had from this one is the prevalence of propaganda throughout history. Emperors were constantly being assassinated. The next emperor then would want to denounce the last guy to basically excuse the murder. Oh that emperor was so bad we had to kill him. On the flip side, when a son (a lot of them were adopted just to ensure succession) inherited the throne they would prop up their father. Historians themselves seem to have trouble sorting through old texts and deciding how much is actually true. Overall a solid and enjoyable read.