Another great book by Mary Beard. In this examination of Roman history, she looks at what it was like to be the emperor. Covering topics from travel to households to eating to death, she examines the emperors from Augustus (27 BCE) to Severus Alexander (235 CE). Some are important emperors and some so minor that their reigns barely started before they were removed, usually by assassination. But all the emperors had similar issues to face.
Ms. Beard humanizes these Caesars. Perhaps Hadrian was not as great as his reputation has made him out to be and Nero not quite as bad. She also explains how we know what we know--record keeping was haphazard because so many scrolls and tablets did not survive. Sometimes it is an inscription on a minor tomb hundreds of miles from Rome that preserved the information on a battle or imperial visit.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of the Roman Empire.