Vasta
Mariner
posted 08-29-14 04:11 PM
EDT (US)
251 / 284
Eagle, check out "Julius Caesar as Artful Reporter" edited by Kathryn Welch and Anton Powell (1998) once you've finished the BG. It's a pretty good collection of essays about Caesar as writer.
When you get to the BC, I'd also suggest the Batstone and Damon book "Caesar's Civil War." Serves as a nice introduction to the material and the study of history/quasi-history-commentaries as literature and political writing.
In the Caesar course I'm developing, I'm assigning that Batstone and Damon book and using selections from Artful Reporter. Very worth your time to read.
Vasta
Mariner
posted 08-31-14 00:37 AM
EDT (US)
254 / 284
Your local university library, of course. The best advice I got in grad school was not to buy any books until I was a professor with an office. That way I don't have to keep moving all of them around.
Also, academic books are obscenely priced and no one should ever actually but them. Except my book. When it comes out, I expect you all to buy it.
Vasta
Mariner
posted 09-01-14 02:19 PM
EDT (US)
257 / 284
Articles before books, so it'll be awhile. I'm going to take the dissertation and turn it into a few articles, then make a larger book project from it.
In very brief terms, the dissertation argued that Sallust believes the exemplary system has failed, and that the moral and political chaos following the fall of Carthage has severed the connection between past and present. Contemporary Romans are not able to imitate (or even figure out what they should imitate) from the old exempla, and new ones cannot be generated because the old black and white system of good and bad does not work anymore.
I do also have my first published article, on the Bryn Mawr Classical Review. It's a brief review of the new Sallust Loeb, and can be found on bmcr.brynmawr.edu
Vasta
Mariner
posted 10-04-14 02:29 PM
EDT (US)
262 / 284
Goldsworthy is a fine popular author, but his scholarship is pretty meh. His original monograph about the Roman army didn't exactly light the world on fire, and he's essentially transitioned into a Barnes and Noble author. Good for getting a decent survey. Or some beach reading, but you wouldn't want to use him for any actual research.
His Caesar book is essentially just retelling the Caesarian works with some Cicero thrown in for good measure, and there's no real scholarship going on in it. A major problem is that Goldsworthy acts like he's early 20th century English gentleman historian who will "find the unbiased facts" and ends up producing a hagiography of the people he likes. The field has gone long past that.
Belth
Mariner
posted 11-26-14 02:20 PM
EDT (US)
265 / 284
Just finished Eaters of the Dead by Crichton. Great read! Unfortunately, it only lasted me about 24 hours.
ripped from Wikipedia - "The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A.D. 922 is a 1976 novel by Michael Crichton. The story is about a 10th-century Muslim who travels with a group of Vikings to their settlement."
Before I start a new thread i'll try my luck here;
I wish to read more about the Norse and Vikings. I prefer narratives and stories to history books. So I'm looking for plausible stories not fantasy. Sadly, the Vikings didn't think much of writing things down. Most stuff written about them from their times was by the people they were raiding, therefore biased and such.
If you know of anything, pray share.
Also interested in a T.L. Lawrence Biography! (so many to choose from though! D: )
Speak up if you have read any and it was a good read (not too dry)!
I have not read too many bios of historical figures so notes about certain authors would be welcome too!
Last note: I will probably be reading Goldsworthy's Augustus soon. I have enjoyed a couple of his other works already so it's only a matter of time until I pick it up.