Veni, Vidi, Vici: Everything you ever wanted to know about the Romans but were afraid to ask

It takes a man profoundly soaked in a subject to treat it lightly and still be not only witty but wise. Jones has an eagle's high eye for the history of Rome from Aeneas to Augustine and a pigeon's ground-level eye for the graffiti scratcher of Pompeii. The Times A rollicking guide to the Romans and their influence on us Mail on Sunday Jones spans all 1,200 years of Roman history with seemingly unstoppable enthusiasm... Informative, casually erudite but engagingly unstuffy, he makes the classical world feel both beguiling and fresh... The book is full of fascination -- Andrew Holgate Sunday Times Delightful and instructive... There is something to relish on every page -- Allan Massie Spectator Jones's brisk demotic style makes fresh the well-covered run of despots, gladiators, volcanic explosions and filthy satirists. Those who know little about the subject and want a no-frills, entertaining introduction to its rise & fall need look no further. Literary Review