Morbid Romantic

Book Review & Personal Blog

Title: A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War
Author(s): Gary Forsythe
Genre: Nonfiction – History
Finished: February 13, 2010
Rating: 3 Stars

Gary Forsythe looks at the disputed beginnings of early Rome, tracing its archaic roots through the age of kings and finally to the illustrious Republic. Evidence for much of what he recreates is scarce, and that is particularly what Forsythe wants to address in his very critical work. What we have available, as Forsythe notes, is archeology lacking context and sources such as Livy that contain as much fiction as they truth. Sifting through the sources, Forsythe weights evidence against truth, compares documents, and disputes much of what we know about early Rome.

The book is invaluable to anyone who wants to learn about Rome, and moreso, Roman historiography. However, I think that Forsythe was a bit too extreme in his critical analysis. His constant discussions of reputable sources and information leads one with a wholly unsatisfied feeling. He disputes entirely too much, yet historically we know that he must. In the end, though, as a reader and a student of history I felt like I knew nothing more about Rome. All I knew were the various interpretations and no final conclusion to sum it all up. While this without a doubt speaks to the complexity of early Roman history and the complications of sources to creating an historical narrative.

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