is a Marxist interpretation of late Roman Republican history. The author a political science Ph.D. grumbles continuously against "gentleman historians" while implying that they still hold sway in academia. This is disingenuous the type of social history Parenti demands has been the dominant field in North America for at least the last 20 years.Perhaps most irritating is the constant ad hominem attacks leveled against just about everybody from ancient historians through various figures including the framers of the U.S. Constitution. There are some good ideas here about class conflict in ancient Rome but it's buried under so much posturing it's hard to get at. Parenti seems to consider himself to be an iconoclast but if he actually bothered to do some research he would find that much of his argument has been made by the sort of ancient historians he so clearly detests.
Not recommended!
For more ancient history book reviews Take a look at My Ancient History bookshelf.
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