Взгляд из кошелька Альберто Анджелу называют итальянским Леонидом Парфеновым — археолог и популярный телеведущий, он интересно рассказывает об истории. Пишет он, надо отметить, не менее захватывающе. Даже без иллюстраций его новую книгу о Древнем Риме не отложишь в сторону. Секретов тут несколько. Во-первых, удачный сюжетный ход: мы путешествуем по обширной империи вместе с перемещениями монеты в один сестерций. Во-вторых, это сплав самых последних научных открытий, число которых каждый год множится из-за улучшающихся технологий, и цитат из первоисточников, художественно вложенных в уста реально существовавших жителей. Монета эта ходовая, и в империи при Траяне в зените славы легионеры, купцы и чиновники заставляют ее носиться по всей Европе, как в пинболе. Древний Рим из кошелька или сжатого кулачка — с этой точки зрения нам его еще не показывали.

Questo libro dovrebbero farlo leggere a scuola.
Alberto Angela sa descrivere ogni cosa con semplicità, con questo libro ti fa entrare davvero nella Roma imperiale. ( )

An interesting walking through ancient Rome. Gives a sense of the urban form and urban life (which has a lot of similarities to some big pre-car cities) and culture and morality (which is very different from much of our world). ( )

I really enjoyed this book. As the title states, you spend a day in ancient Rome and see the city through the eyes of its inhabitants, be they slaves, plebs, or patricians. All aspects of daily life are explored, from the waking up in the morning, to going to the market, to throwing a feast. The most interesting thing I learned was probably the fact that Roman houses had hardly any kitchens — just small stoves tucked away in corners. All the more remarkable when you consider their reputation for throwing feasts!

However, as great as the content of the book was, the typesetting left much to be desired. Perhaps the publisher was facing an unbelievably short deadline and didn’t have time to proof another pass, or maybe the wrong files were sent to press, but there were just too many mistakes for them to have been missed. When words are typesettootightlylikethis or spaced out too much like this, it undeniably distracts you from the reading experience.

http://lebookshelf.tumblr.com/post/4784628708/13-a-day-in-the-life-of-ancient-ro... ( )

An absolutely fascinating book. The author made me feel like I was actually there, wandering around the bustling streets of Rome in the time of Emperor Trajan, and I learned a great deal about Roman society. WIN. ( )