My Book Review > S.P.Q.R., by Mary Beard

SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus!

What a book! Oh, it is not the easiest book that I have ever read: there are so many very interesting details… but the analysis is great, brilliant (the author is one of the best specialist of the world in this field), and it is very well written. Yes, I really (really!) enjoyed reading this six hundred pages book -especially after my (way too short) stay in Rome! And I learned so much… !

‘SPQR’ is not just history; it’s a book which helps to better understand our society and its mechanisms. We can indeed learn a lot from the Romans, from their vision of Society and Government (its institutions, the carefully orchestrated balance of power between the People, Senate, and Consuls -during the Republic- or Emperors).

It is very interesting to notice that they had to deal with the same problems as contemporary societies (such as immigration, cross cultural issues and identity crisis). More striking (and it was the key to their long-standing domination over most of the then known world: i.e. from the Middle East to Scotland) is their ability to integrate the new populations despite a sometimes brutal ‘colonization’.

In some ways, the Roman society was modern and, despite what separates us, their empire had much in common with today’s emerging Global World!