The author makes her intentions very clear; this is not a linear, chronological narrative, but an examination of the institution of one-man rule in Rome as it was experienced by the men who occupied the post during the first and second centuries. It concentrates on how the office functioned, the men's quotidian lives, and how they were chosen (and, often, deposed). Beard writes in an informal, breezy, sometimes salty style which is quite winning, and the information here is pretty unique, to my knowledge. The closest thing to a criticism I would have is that, in her close examinations of the mundane, sometimes the topics get a little, well, mundane; I particularly could have dome without the longish chapter on palace architecture, not exactly on topic and which made a pretty long book even longer. Still, I enjoyed this throughout and gained a great deal from her approach. ( )

I loved SPQR so I was excited to see another book by Beard on the topic. This time focusing on the leadership rather than the citizens. I loved that this is broken into sections such as food, religion, entertainment, rather than a dry chronology of each emperor. She even says not to worry who did what, they're all very similar and can be thought of as one in many cases. ( )

¿Fanáticos del control, adictos al trabajo o adolescentes malcriados? ¿Cómo eran realmente los emperadores de Roma? En este nuevo libro Mary Beard centra su atención en los emperadores que gobernaron el Imperio romano para darnos una versión matizada y más precisa de estas glorificadas figuras clásicas. Desde Julio César (asesinado en el 44 a.C.) hasta Alejandro Severo (asesinado en el 235 d.C.), pasando por el loco de Calígula, el monstruoso Nerón y el filósofo Marco Aurelio, Mary Beard recorre la vida y los mitos de los grandes gobernantes romanos y nos plantea grandes preguntas: ¿qué poder real ostentaban los emperadores?, ¿quién movía los hilos entre bambalinas?, ¿cómo se gobernaba un imperio tan vasto?, ¿realmente estaban las paredes de palacio tan manchadas de sangre?


Para darnos respuesta y acercarnos un poco más a la realidad imperial, Mary Beard sigue los pasos del emperador de cerca: en su hogar y en las carreras, en sus viajes e, incluso, de camino hacia el cielo; nos presenta a sus esposas y amantes, a sus rivales y esclavos, a los bufones y soldados de la corte y a la gente corriente que le entregaba cartas de súplica. Emperador de Roma nos lleva directamente hasta el corazón de Roma, y de nuestras fantasías sobre lo que era ser romano, a través de un relato como nunca antes se había contado.

This book, while well written, is not one of the author's best. The premise--histories of Roman emperors have something to offer, even though many are obviously false, because they demonstrate the public's anxieties about empire--feels like a flimsy excuse just to recount some fun stories. Recommended only for readers with a strong interest in ancient Roman history. ( )

Great fun and highly informative. Maybe not quite as good as SPQR, but well worth reading. ( )