Man of High Empire

A reader who comes to Man of High Empire for a conventional biography--for relevant evidence gathered and scrupulously weighed, anecdotes vividly relayed, the evocation of a fascinating era and the significance of a life considered--will certainly not be disappointed. Yet the book offers much more, reflecting in part on the art of biography itself.... A wise and humane biography, it is finely crafted and deserves sustained attentiveness from the reader to match the patient skill of its author. Gibson writes beautifully, with gentle wit, and his insights are so grounded in vivid landscapes as to linger in the mind long after the book has been laid aside. -- Times Literary Supplement Gibson suggests that this book requires a great deal of specialist knowledge before it can be appreciated. He does himself a disservice because the background descriptions of the various milieus that he provides are so comprehensive and lucid that even someone with a moderate knowledge of the classical world can enjoy the book. At such a modest price it is highly recommended for the regular Classics for All reader -- not least for its perceptive analysis of the role of the biographer. -- Roger Barnes, Classics for All This innovative biography of Pliny the Younger, written by a renowned authority on his letters,Aoffers a complex, updated and clear-sighted portrait not only of the man, but also of his times.... Insight, perspicacity, wittiness, an eye for landscape are, in my judgement, the main assets of this enjoyable and evocative book, which will certainly be a source of inspiration. -- Rosario Moreno Soldevila, Bryn Mawr Classical Review The background descriptions of the various milieus that he provides are so comprehensive and lucid that even someone with a moderate knowledge of the classical world can enjoy the book. At such a modest price it is highly recommended for the regular Classics for All reader DL not least for its perceptive analysis of the role of the biographer. -- Classics for All In this modern and methodologically savvy biography, Gibson takes us on a tour of the places of Pliny's life, with Cicero, Tacitus, Epictetus, and Augustine as color commentators. Like Pliny himself we move from Como to the Italian countryside and on to Rome and Rome's Black Sea province of Bithynia, watching him grow into the roles available in each imperial context. A tour de force! -- Cynthia Damon, University of Pennsylvania Roy Gibson expertly brings the younger Pliny to life in this lucid and accessible biography--a state-of-the-art production that meticulously recounts and reconstructs what is known and can be inferred about this storied man of letters. -- Gareth Williams, Columbia University