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readers_block's review against another edition
4.0
Things I learned from this book:
1. Pompeii was a hell of a lot more colorful than we think.
2. They were obsessed with ... phallic images. Everywhere.
3. Graffiti was super common and similar in messaging to what we might see today.
4. Fish sauce ("garum") was a big thing in Pompeii. Something they were best known for back in the day.
5. Pompeii was hit badly by an earthquake in the years preceding the Vesuvius eruption and may have still been in the process of rebuilding.
I loved this. So fascinating and truly gripping from start to finish. I'm obsessed with history told from the perspective of ordinary people, sans politics: what they ate, how they dressed, where they lived, what they did for leisure, etcetc. And Beard knocks it out of the park with this one. I particularly loved the chapter on what they ate, and would have even liked to hear more about it.
Beard also does a really good job of portraying just how hard it is to know anything for certain, and just how divided archaeologists still are on a huge range of things, without taking anything away from what you're actually learning in the book.
Really loved this one.
1. Pompeii was a hell of a lot more colorful than we think.
2. They were obsessed with ... phallic images. Everywhere.
3. Graffiti was super common and similar in messaging to what we might see today.
4. Fish sauce ("garum") was a big thing in Pompeii. Something they were best known for back in the day.
5. Pompeii was hit badly by an earthquake in the years preceding the Vesuvius eruption and may have still been in the process of rebuilding.
I loved this. So fascinating and truly gripping from start to finish. I'm obsessed with history told from the perspective of ordinary people, sans politics: what they ate, how they dressed, where they lived, what they did for leisure, etcetc. And Beard knocks it out of the park with this one. I particularly loved the chapter on what they ate, and would have even liked to hear more about it.
Beard also does a really good job of portraying just how hard it is to know anything for certain, and just how divided archaeologists still are on a huge range of things, without taking anything away from what you're actually learning in the book.
Really loved this one.
manoushp109's review against another edition
3.0
read the intro and the first chapter for class - very interesting - i personally don’t care about pompeiian politics but otherwise easy to read and interesting
somesuchbooks's review against another edition
3.25
The Fires of Vesuvius was a very well researched text that I read for the first quarter of Historathan 2023 (pre-history to 500 C.E.). Mary Beard does a terrific job integrating archeaology, experts' interpretation, and a wry sense of humor. I undoubtedly learned a lot about Pompeii and would love to visit someday based on my reading experience. I've come to the conclusion that the only snag to giving this book a higher rating is my own inexperience. I just don't usually reach (okay *truth time* I NEVER reach) for historical nonfiction from so long ago. So, here I am, trying to change that and The Fires of Vesuvius was a really great book to kickout this improvement campaign. I look forward to reading more of Beard's work.
unicyclegirl's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Informative and entertaining. I appreciated the skepticism of the author on various theories as well, and sharing multiple theories for the same topic to consider.
settingshadow's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't read a non-fiction book in nearly a year. This was not the right book to re-exercise that muscle. The Fires of Vesuvius is dense. Dr. Beard is a highly respected academic classicist and although here she tries to write to a lay audience, it is certainly an academic book (exhibit 1: that graphics are sorted into illustrations, figures and plates. Illustrations and figures are set into the text and numbered consecutively, but independently from each other. There are two sections of pages dedicated to plates. Each of these images which is referenced and cross-referenced from various places inside the book. Overall, there are over 200. You will spend much time searching for the right image.)
But despite the density, I did find the book a very interesting exploration about what life was like in Pompeii. I had no pre-existing knowledge: I had never taken a classics class, never been to Pompeii (or Italy) and my only real understanding of this time-period is from reading the talmud. In that context, also, it was fascinating to compare Roman culture with Talmudic culture (freeing slaves on a regular basis: universal! Having a set, primarily written canon for a religion: super abnormal!) There was also a lot to explore here about how Roman elections work, what people did for fun, and a lot, a lot of epistemology. How much can we trust the veracity graffiti and murals? What about when that conflicts with what seems likely to us?
But despite the density, I did find the book a very interesting exploration about what life was like in Pompeii. I had no pre-existing knowledge: I had never taken a classics class, never been to Pompeii (or Italy) and my only real understanding of this time-period is from reading the talmud. In that context, also, it was fascinating to compare Roman culture with Talmudic culture (freeing slaves on a regular basis: universal! Having a set, primarily written canon for a religion: super abnormal!) There was also a lot to explore here about how Roman elections work, what people did for fun, and a lot, a lot of epistemology. How much can we trust the veracity graffiti and murals? What about when that conflicts with what seems likely to us?