Short, to the point biographies of Roman Emperors written in a graspable, coherent style. I wanted something in actual book form. This is it. My only knock, not enough to downgrade the rating, and which makes some sense from a certain perspective: it doesn't contain some of the hereditary emperors such as the very young who were officially made emperor by the father but who never actually exercised the role in any meaningful way (e.g., Diadumenian, son of Macrinus; Phillip II, son of Phillip the Arab). Love just being able to pick this, knock off a biography or two, and put it back down.

This book is easy to review because it is a straightforward chronology of the Roman emperorers from Augustus to the very last, hapless, Romulus. This Romulus was the son of the secretary to Atilla the Hun so you can see how far the empire had fallen at the end. In between are emperors who were Turkish, Black, Barbarians, builders, thieves, and world class leaders. This is a textbook made simple for quick reference when you get a bit confused about who was the son of whom... or what era are we set in... or, is this 'fact' in the novel I'm currently reading really true.

Michael Grant has done a wonderful job with an exhausting topic that will benefit readers of Roman fiction and literature for many years to come. I just wish he had written it sooner. It comes complete with a key to Latin terms and a very good index of Latin and Greek authors. Each emperor has a picture from a coin or a statue and the family trees are often sketched out in great detail. This book has become essential to my recreational reading

This is every single Roman emperor.

My son and dad were seemingly born with a passion for Roman history.

While I do my best to get them stuff to satisfy their appetite for all things Roman, I am virtually ignorant.

This is a great book; although I do wonder at how they gleaned all this info, and find it difficult to distinguish between one power mad ruthless bastard and another! ☺

And it is grimly amusing how mind numbingly outrageous transgressions are recounted in a dry academic tone.

And the never run out of them!

The average man was so powerless then.

Recommended read.

Not a bad book. Definitely interesting as to events leading to the ascension, during their rule and the demise of each emperor. Interedting how a few parallels can be drawn between our own (U.S.) presidential histories.

Very good historically accurate recount of each Roman emperor.

In this book, author Michael Grant tackles the daunting task of providing a biography for every man who held the imperial purple for any length of time in the Imperium Romanum, from the time of Augustus to the traditional `fall' of the Western Empire in 476. In the opinion of this reviewer, he succeeds admirably.

In this concise, simply-written guide, the great heroes (and monsters) of Rome's history, Augustus, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, Constantine, are described in only slightly more detail than the military emperors of the mid Third Century, and the host of petty imposters who drained the Empire of her power throughout the 4th and 5th Centuries. There is no jargon, and few pictures, only a few simple black-and-white photos of marble busts and coins. The book is simply what it claims to be - providing a short but thorough biography of each of these men, concluding with a summary of his reign, and a description of his personal character and temperament, and how these positively or negatively affected the eternal Empire he led.

Clean and unmarked.

Very useful for a quick bio of the Emperors. I keep this nearby when looking at the coinage of the time.

A concise potted history of all the Roman emperors, so very readable wish I had this book years ago.

One of the BRILLIANT Roman history books of its kind, of the BRILLIANT Michael Grant. A must read & must have history book.

A good reference work to have at hand for anyone with an interest in Roman History. Well written and concise.