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Progress and Perils in Daily Life in Ancient Rome
- An Entertaining Exploration of Roman History from the Beginning of the Republic to the Fall of the Empire
- Narrated by: Veronica Ambrose
- Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
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Publisher's summary
Would you like to learn about daily life in ancient Rome, but find conventional history books a bit boring?
Would you like a more entertaining way to learn about Roman history, from the Republic to the Empire?
Then Progress and Perils in Daily Life in Ancient Rome: An Entertaining Exploration of Roman History from the Beginning of the Republic to the Fall of the Empire is just the book for you!
If you are a Monty Python fan, you will remember the most-often quoted line from the movie The Life of Brian: "What have the Romans ever done for us?"
The satirical retort to the question was: "Apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"
Using this quotation as our inspiration, we have an entertaining and sometimes irreverent look at the various forms of progress made in civilization in ancient Rome.
We have a look at Roman sanitation, medicine, education, wine, sex, bathing, dining, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system, and public health from an accessible, non-academic perspective in this book, as well as looking at some of the perils or downsides in these advances in civilization.
We discuss the developments in these aspects of daily life for the time period from 753 BC, before the beginning of the Roman Republic, through to the end of the Roman Empire around 1200 years in AD 476.
Get a more lively and interesting experience of Ancient Roman history with this great book!
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- History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them
- By: Jennifer Wright
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1518, in a small town in Alsace, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn't stop. She danced until she was carried away six days later, and soon 34 more villagers joined her. Then more. In a month more than 400 people had been stricken by the mysterious dancing plague. In late-19th-century England an eccentric gentleman founded the No Nose Club in his gracious townhome - a social club for those who had lost their noses, and other body parts, to the plague of syphilis for which there was then no cure.
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Didn't know syphilis could be so fascinating.
- By Kindle Customer on 02-09-17
By: Jennifer Wright
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The Prince of Medicine
- Galen in the Roman Empire
- By: Susan P. Mattern
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Galen of Pergamum (A.D. 129-ca. 216) began his remarkable career tending to wounded gladiators in provincial Asia Minor. Later in life he achieved great distinction as one of a small circle of court physicians to the family of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, at the very heart of Roman society. Susan Mattern's The Prince of Medicine offers the first authoritative biography in English of this brilliant, audacious, and profoundly influential figure.
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history of medicine
- By Jean on 07-27-14
By: Susan P. Mattern
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Drinking Water
- A History
- By: James Salzman
- Narrated by: Lee Hahn
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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When you turn on the tap or twist the cap, you might not give a second thought to where your drinking water comes from. But how it gets from the ground to your glass is far more complex than you might think. Is it safe to drink tap water? Should you feel guilty buying bottled water? Is your water vulnerable to terrorist attacks? With springs running dry and reservoirs emptying, where is your water going to come from in the future? In Drinking Water, Duke professor James Salzman shows how drinking water highlights the most pressing issues of our time.
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Hard not to be affected by this book
- By Neuron on 11-16-13
By: James Salzman
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Ask a Historian
- 50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know
- By: Greg Jenner
- Narrated by: Dan Schreiber, Greg Jenner, Janina Ramirez, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Responding to fifty genuine questions from the public, Greg Jenner takes you on an entertaining tour through history from the Stone Age to the Swinging Sixties, revealing the best and most surprising stories, facts and historical characters from the past. From ancient joke books, African empires and the invention of meringues, to mummies, mirrors and menstrual pads—Ask A Historian is a deliciously amusing and informative smorgasbord of historical curiosities.
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best bonus content ever!
- By Matthew K Wendelken on 03-24-22
By: Greg Jenner
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The Once and Future Sex
- Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society
- By: Eleanor Janega
- Narrated by: Samara Naeymi
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Once and Future Sex, Janega unravels the restricting expectations on medieval women and the ones on women today. She boldly questions why, if our ideas of women have changed drastically over time, we cannot reimagine them now to create a more equitable future.
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Get a Rosalie Gilbert book instead
- By Jennifer Martin on 07-11-23
By: Eleanor Janega
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A Short History of Drunkenness
- How, Why, Where, and When Humankind Has Gotten Merry from the Stone Age to the Present
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Almost every culture on Earth has drink, and where there's drink there's drunkenness. But in every age and in every place drunkenness is a little bit different. It can be religious, it can be sexual, it can be the duty of kings or the relief of peasants. It can be an offering to the ancestors, or a way of marking the end of a day's work. It can send you to sleep, or send you into battle. Making stops all over the world, A Short History of Drunkenness traces humankind's love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to the 20th century.
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Amazing
- By Sarah Tomsick on 10-30-24
By: Mark Forsyth
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Aztec History: A Captivating Guide to the Aztec Empire, Mythology, and Civilization
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: David Patton
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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For many years, the Aztecs have captured our imaginations. Stories from the original European invaders combined with unique, awe-inspiring ruins and legends that speak of palaces of gold create an image of Aztec society defined by grandeur, wealth, and splendor. But who exactly were the Aztecs? Where did they come from? How did they rise to control such a wide expanse of land? These are just some of the questions that this new captivating history audiobook will answer.
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Fascinating Book
- By H.Nathan on 09-23-18
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Plagues, Pandemics and Viruses
- From the Plague of Athens to COVID-19
- By: Heather E. Quinlan
- Narrated by: Samara Naeymi
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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It can come in waves - like tidal waves. It changes societies. It disrupts life. It ends lives. As far back as 3000 B.C.E. (the Bronze Age), plagues have stricken mankind. COVID-19 is just the latest example, but history shows that life continues. It shows that knowledge and social cooperation can save lives. Viruses are neither alive nor dead and are the closest thing we have to zombies. Their only known function is to replicate themselves, which can have devastating consequences on their hosts.
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Somewhat elemental
- By Bertha Watkins on 10-23-21
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F*ck You, I'm Irish
- Why We Irish Are Awesome
- By: Rasher Tierney
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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From battling oppression and famine in Ireland to overcoming poverty and discrimination in America, we Irish gained our fightin' moniker by standing up for our rights and earning the respect we deserve. Now, the amazing feats, astounding people and incredible facts in this fascinating book of Irish trivia will make you proudly say, “F*ck you, I'm Irish”.
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Good Short Listen
- By YtowntoCleveland on 03-23-24
By: Rasher Tierney
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24 Hours in Ancient Rome: A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There
- 24 Hours in Ancient History Series, Book 1
- By: Philip Matyszak
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In this entertaining and enlightening guide, best-selling historian Philip Matyszak introduces us to the people who lived and worked there. In each hour of the day we meet a new character - from emperor to slave girl, gladiator to astrologer, medicine woman to water-clock maker - and discover the fascinating details of their daily lives.
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Took me back to Latin class and the origin of word
- By tony harris on 05-19-20
By: Philip Matyszak
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The Sawbones Book
- The Horrifying, Hilarious Road to Modern Medicine
- By: Justin McElroy, Dr. Sydnee McElroy
- Narrated by: Justin McElroy, Dr. Sydnee McElroy
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Wondering whether eating powdered mummies might be just the thing to cure your ills? Tempted by those vintage ads suggesting you wear radioactive underpants for virility? Ever considered drilling a hole in your head to deal with those pesky headaches? Probably not. But for thousands of years, people have done things like this - and things that make radioactive underpants seem downright sensible! In their hit podcast, Sawbones, Sydnee and Justin McElroy breakdown the weird and wonderful way we got to modern healthcare. And some of the terrifying detours along the way.
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Close but no cigar . . .
- By Amanda Buffkin on 12-22-18
By: Justin McElroy, and others