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Pompeii
- The Life of a Roman Town
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
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Pompeii
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Summary
Winner of the Wolfson History Prize 2008.
The ruins of Pompeii, buried by an explosion of Vesuvius in 79 CE, offer the best evidence we have of everyday life in the Roman empire. This remarkable book rises to the challenge of making sense of those remains, as well as exploding many myths: the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought, or the hygiene of the baths that must have been hotbeds of germs, or the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one, or the massive death count, maybe less than 10 per cent of the population.
An extraordinary and involving portrait of an ancient town, its life and its continuing rediscovery, by Britain's favourite classicist.
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Critic reviews
"The world's most controversial classicist debunks our movie-style myths about the Roman town with meticulous scholarship and propulsive energy." (Laura Silverman, Daily Mail)
What listeners say about Pompeii
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tiddlypoo
- 12-04-24
Fantastic
Interesting and addictive. The author can impart information in such an entertaining way that you learn lots of facts without realising.. Time flew past when i listened.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- David Briggs
- 29-03-23
A Expertly Guided Tour of Pompeii
Professor Mary Beard's text, well read by Phyllida Nash, gives an excellent account of the history, life and times of Pompeii before and at the time of its destruction in AD79. Professor Beard is not afraid to contradict the opinions of other learned writers on Pompeii, using her own very extensive knowledge of Roman and Greek customs and writings. I would advise the listener to this audio edition to take the trouble of obtaining a map of the city to be able to follow the narration and locate the various buildings being discussed.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- brian j poulson
- 11-12-21
Loved it
Loved this book it was so informative and the narrator was brilliant. I would deffinatley recommend for anyone interested in Pompeii
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nicola
- 29-09-23
NOT boring
Always a risk with non-fiction - but I liked the way this one was divided up - and so informative.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 16-09-22
Great read
Mary Beard is by far my favourite historian. Knowledgeable, accessible and inciteful in equal measure. A great read
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- krissi
- 29-01-22
In put down able....
I have this book by Mary Beard and am so pleased it is even more enjoyable on audio.
Having been there it's made me wish to return with Mary as the guide..... She makes it real even though there are still many puzzles re roman life.
I wish Mary had read her own book, I always find Ms Nash's overemphasis and preciceness, rather jarring.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-06-24
Peeping through the door of our past.
Mary Beard tells a well-researched tail of a town life in Roman times. She does not always follow the well-trodden path of previous historians, and gives us her own very interesting interpretation of events. Chilling reminder of a tragic end of Pompey, and the might of Roman Empire built on slavery. Excellent narration. Recommend to all: lovers of history or just curious ones.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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- austin duffield
- 19-11-23
Interesting stuff, nothing mind blowing
This book dispels some myths and contains many interesting nuggets of information. both the writer and narrator have an interesting and amusing style about them! Certainly enjoyable, especially if you like history, but not life changing.
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