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Warrior of Rome: Fire in the East Pt. 1 (Warrior of Rome 1)

by: Harry Sidebottom

July 03, 2008
I really enjoyed this book, which for a first novel was well executed and lively. I acknowledge that it is over learned for some, but I personally like to read about history that has its basis in fact rather than a sumptuous piece that leads you into falsities that can be embarrassing.

The prose and plot are unceromoniously 'blokish', a nice counterbalance to some over romanticised fiction, and the characters are created from scratch or on a vague mention in history, rather than well-known historical figures. This makes their creation and believability somehow more commendable.

I will certainly be reading the next installment because this book, together with a trip to Southern France, has increased my understanding ... Read More:

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Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

by: Harry Sidebottom

November 25, 2004
This is an interesting and thought provoking book, though rather than a factual introduction - as the title might suggest - it does rather go off the point into a debate about whether or not there ever was a uniquely Western style of war. Given the contraints implied by the "Very Short Introduction", this is a shame, as there is then little room for the book's proper subject matter: discussion of how ancient wars were actually fought does not appear until chapter 5 (of 7). But it does get going, and is then worth buying for chapters 5 and 6 alone.

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Fire in the East (Warrior of Rome I)

by: Harry Sidebottom

April 02, 2009
This is an interesting and thought provoking book, though rather than a factual introduction - as the title might suggest - it does rather go off the point into a debate about whether or not there ever was a uniquely Western style of war. Given the contraints implied by the "Very Short Introduction", this is a shame, as there is then little room for the book's proper subject matter: discussion of how ancient wars were actually fought does not appear until chapter 5 (of 7). But it does get going, and is then worth buying for chapters 5 and 6 alone.

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Warrior of Rome - Part One - Fire in the East

by: Harry Sidebottom

2008
This is an interesting and thought provoking book, though rather than a factual introduction - as the title might suggest - it does rather go off the point into a debate about whether or not there ever was a uniquely Western style of war. Given the contraints implied by the "Very Short Introduction", this is a shame, as there is then little room for the book's proper subject matter: discussion of how ancient wars were actually fought does not appear until chapter 5 (of 7). But it does get going, and is then worth buying for chapters 5 and 6 alone.

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The Effect of Brake Shoe Action on Thermal Cracking and on Failure of Wrought Steel Railway Car Wheels (University of Illinois Engineering Experiment Station. Bulletin Series. no. 387.)

by: Harry Rohlfs Wetenkamp, Herman John Schrader, Omar Marion Sidebottom

1950
This is an interesting and thought provoking book, though rather than a factual introduction - as the title might suggest - it does rather go off the point into a debate about whether or not there ever was a uniquely Western style of war. Given the contraints implied by the "Very Short Introduction", this is a shame, as there is then little room for the book's proper subject matter: discussion of how ancient wars were actually fought does not appear until chapter 5 (of 7). But it does get going, and is then worth buying for chapters 5 and 6 alone.

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Der Krieg in der antiken Welt

by: Harry Sidebottom

2008
This is an interesting and thought provoking book, though rather than a factual introduction - as the title might suggest - it does rather go off the point into a debate about whether or not there ever was a uniquely Western style of war. Given the contraints implied by the "Very Short Introduction", this is a shame, as there is then little room for the book's proper subject matter: discussion of how ancient wars were actually fought does not appear until chapter 5 (of 7). But it does get going, and is then worth buying for chapters 5 and 6 alone.