The Town of Hercules - A Buried Treasure Trove by Joseph Jay Deiss (nonfiction 1995)

While this book is geared towards people who don't know much about the Romans, the best part is when the author describes the city of Herculaneum itself.  There are not enough color pictures.  The relationship between the Getty Villa and the Villa of the Papyri is explored extensively, as the book is published by the Getty Press.  There's no mention of any of the more controversial aspects of the Getty Foundation's relationship with art thieves, of course.

Odysseus The Oath (first in a mythological trilogy 2013) by Valerio Massimo Manfredi

Good enough to keep me reading a story I already know to the end.  Manfredi sticks with the Homeric Odysseus.  And Helen almost gets to be a person.

Ambition and Desire - the Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte by Kate Williams (nonfiction 2014)

The book is just OK - I wasn't excited about finishing it.  Ms. Williams does have a way of boiling down the intricacies of French politics.

Marbeck and the Privateers by John Pilkingon (historical mystery 2014)

Tight suspenseful action continues in this third book about Marbeck.  This story is set after King James takes over from Elizabeth I and begins to make peace with the Spanish.  Anyone who likes a spy or mystery novel will like this.  I'm impressed by Pilkington's three enjoyable mysteries in a row.

Augustus (nonfiction 2006) and Hadrian (2009) by Anthony Everitt

Augustus is certainly a hard nut to crack when it comes to a biography, seeing as he was the most talented propagandist in the history of the world.  He doesn't want us to know the "real" him, that's exactly the point.  But Everitt is great at creating a person for the reader, and great at telling us exactly how he comes to believe Augustus would have been as a man.

On the other hand, Hadrian never comes alive.  Maybe it's because Hadrian himself was a horse's ass and a know-it-all, but the book doesn't make you care.  More than half is mostly about how Hadrian related to Trajan, naturally because that's what we have to go on, but I didn't enjoy it as much.

Roman Dusk: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (historical fiction 2006)

I couldn't get halfway through this book in a vampire series.  It's set in Heliogabalus' Rome in the early 200s.  Every scene is a paragraph too long, every aspect of Roman life is explained a little too much.  The dreaded "letter from someone offstage" shows up too many times, and each is drawn out. A sex scene is just creepy and dumb.

Roma by Steven Saylor (historical fiction 2007)

Finally got around to this, and it is enjoyable except for minor quibbles that I always have with Saylor.  Now and again, he will add that one extra sentence that awkwardly explains what just happened.  It gets in the way.  With that said, this is a seriously fun book and the author is successful in presenting legends and myths from the founding of the city as action that happened to real people.

Robert the Bruce King of the Scots by Michael Penman (nonfiction 2014)

I think this book would be best for someone already familiar with period, someone who wants lots of detailed analysis of sources and Bruce's movements.  For me, it bristled with too many unfamiliar names and places so that I couldn't sustain it.

Tabula Rasa by Ruth Downie (historical fiction mystery 2014)

The third book in the Gaius Ruso mystery series is awesome.  My own enjoyment of these novels has been enhanced by my recent class about Hadrian's Wall and the people and things around it, but I think anyone would like this book.  The humor isn't overdone and the mystery is a tricky one.  I'm excited that the end of the book suggests that Gaius and Tilla are going to Rome.  Downie is so good at describing Britannia that I'm dying to read her version of the Eternal City.

The Summer Queen (a novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine) by Elizabeth Chadwick (historical fiction 2013)

The first in a trilogy, Chadwick gets quite imaginative.  Her characterization of Alienor is a little different from what I've read before, and welcome.

The Ides of April (2013) and Enemies at Home by Lindsey Davis (historical mystery 2014)

The Ides of April is a historical mystery masterpiece in my opinion.  It was incredibly interesting and intricate, and I had no idea what was going on.

The second book in Davis' Flavia Albia series, Enemies at Home, contains lots of obviously well-researched details about all kinds of people in the city of Rome during the time of Domitian.  The main character has to interview and interact with several different folks - slaves, upper middle class matrons, vigiles, and an aedile - to solve a double murder.  The descriptions of the city itself are also lots of fun.  While it is good entertainment, there are a few clunky spots, but enjoyable overall.

The Roman Search for Wisdom by Michael K. Kellogg (nonfiction 2014)

This lovely book was just about as wonderful as literary analysis can be.  It involved lots of storytelling, and I learned all kinds of new things about Roman society.  Not every writer the author chose to feature was a Latin speaker, but they all lived under the Empire.

The Advocate by Randy Singer (historical fiction 2014)

This book from a legal thriller writer takes us to the time of the early empire.  I always love it when a writer describes the city of Rome - here trials in the Basilica Julia are particularly evocative.  The advocate in question is a student of Seneca, and Caligula is in the classroom with him.  While the protagonist meets Jesus and becomes a Christian, the author isn't biased and criticizes the Jews, Christians and Romans.  I enjoyed the mix of gladiator action, courtroom thriller, and love story.

The Wayfaring Stranger by James Lee Burke (fiction 2014)

Burke is always good, exciting, funny, sad and crazy - with a few draggy spots where he can sometimes blab on for no reason.  This story is about a Texan who goes to fight the Germans and comes back to start an oil business.  I loved the first half so much that I forced myself to set down the book and start another one so that I could prolong the joy.

The True Herod by Geza Vermes (nonfiction 2014)

This book is spare and concise, convincing those of us who don't know Herod from anything but the Bible that he wasn't a babykiller.  Herod the Great definitely had his psychotic moments, but it turns out he was an amazing builder, a great politician.  The book does well in giving a useful context to what we're studying, such as a short account of how the king and his heirs dealt with each emperor.

Spartans at the Gates by Noble Smith (historical fiction 2014)

This second book in Noble's The Warrior Trilogy about the lead up to the Peloponnesian Wars follows Sons of Zeus, reviewed at the link.  With amazing descriptions of Athens and Plataea, non-stop ultraviolent action, and an awesome 9-year old murdering Skythian sidekick, I liked it even more than the first.  There was a short section when it seemed tired for a minute, but the climax is great.

With My Dog Eyes by Hilda Hilst (fiction originally published in 1986)

I had never heard of this Brazilian avant-garde author but recognized the "dog eyes" reference to Clytemnestra, so I tried this short book.  It's about a mathematics professor who goes crazy, and it is very very good, funny sad and weird.  The translator and author of the introduction, Adam Morris, missed her clear (to me) debt to Nabokov.

Richard III England's Black Legend by Desmond Seward (nonfiction 2014)

Seward finally writes about something he is very excited about, and sort of bowls himself over.  I wasn't able to get into another recent book of his, but was intrigued by his vehement stance against apologists and defenders of a gray or white legend.

The story is one I know, and though Seward tells it well, I realized that two things were happening.  First, he absolutely slams any whiff of a suggestion that Richard may not have been the hunchback psycho of Shakespeare, and he does it in the strongest of terms.  According to Seward, any nuance is a stretch, ludicrous, or ridiculous.  In my opinion, that very vehemence ends up weakening his argument because it is not so difficult for the average history lover to imagine a different version of the story, and it's not as if we know much for sure about what we now call the Wars of the Roses.

Second, the errors and crimes that Seward accuses Richard of are common among other kings/nobility/soldiers of the time, and Seward himself brings up several instances that do not support the Black Legend hypothesis.  Yes, infanticide is horrible, but so is killing an old lady, which Henry VIII would do 40 years later - in the open.  Seward says Richard was worse than Henry in ruthlessness. 

Seward calls Richard Machiavellian, but yet calls out several "mistakes" Richard made that Machiavelli would have helped him out with - if The Prince would have been written more than 20 years earlier.

Long story short - I got impatient with the strange attitude against anyone who might disagree with the author, though the book was very good.

The Restoration of Rome: Barbarian Popes and Imperial Pretenders by Peter Heather (nonfiction 2013)

This book mostly about Theoderic the Amal, Justinian, and Charlemagne was enjoyable and full of interesting analysis, especially about how Theodoric solidified his power base in the Italian peninsula, and the political structures in early medieval northern Europe when Charlemagne came into power.  The last part of the book is about how the Catholic church became what he calls "a new kind of Roman empire."

What he means by "Rome" in the title is the Western Roman Empire, and now and again he would have been better served to spell that out, even though it's clunky.  He does manage to avoid calling the Eastern Roman Empire "Byzantine" most of the time, which is progress in my book.

In this scholarly work, I was delighted to see the word "bullshit" three times.

Sorry for all the quotation marks in this review.

The Alpha Woman Meets her Match: how Today's Strong Woman Can Find Love and Happiness without Settling by Sonya Rhodes (nonfiction 2014)

I was highly skeptical but picked it up for the giggle factor of the title, and I found a decent advice book.  Lots of good tips on how to build the relationship you want.

The Gods of Olympus: A History by Barbara Graziosi (nonfiction 2014)

Really interesting, fun, funny, and full of learned observation.  This book follows the 12 from ancient times to the Renaissance. 

Theodora by Antony Bridge (nonfiction 1978)

Bridge purports to give Theodora the nuanced analysis she deserves, and he repeatedly castigates Procopius for his hatred of her, trying to give the real story.  And although he does that, and the story is amazing, Bridge wholeheartedly jumps on the woman-hating, salacious stories-and-all bandwagon when it comes to Antonina, the wife of Belisarius.

The Histories of Herodotus translated by Tom Holland (nonfiction 2013)

Super fun translation.  The story literally gallops along, despite Herodotus sometimes overwhelming us with place and tribe names, descriptions of rivers and such.  The notes really help.

The Last White Rose: The Secret Wars of the Tudors by Desmond Seward (nonfiction 2013)

Seward's account of the various skirmishes, intrigues, and rebellions involving Henry VII and Henry VIII against Yorkists lost me.  Usually this stuff is my favorite, but the narrative didn't grip me.

Ten for Dying: a John the Lord Chamberlain Mystery by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer (historical mystery 2014)

This series of mysteries is set in late Roman Empire times in Constantinople.  My favorite parts are the descriptions of the city (smells, architecture, sounds, weather, the imperial court) and random petty characters.  This particular book was not quite as fun and zippy as Nine for the Devil, reviewed in the link, but still worth it.

Dephi - A History of the Center of the Ancient World by Michael Scott (nonfiction 2014)

Wildly interesting since I thought I knew what Delphi was.  The book delves deeply into a political analysis that really puts Greek history in a new light for me.  Fun stuff about the archaeology too.

Edwin High King of Britain by Edoardo Albert (historical fiction 2014)

Not recommended.  I was halfway through the book and realized I still didn't care about Edwin's character.  Definitely choppy, and the characterization of the old gods' priests and Christian priests was annoying.  We all know the Christians "won" when Edwin and his household were baptized, but that's hardly a reason to portray Woden's priest as a scuttling idiot.

Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece by Robin Waterfield (nonfiction 2014)

Part of Oxford's Ancient Warfare and Civilization series, this book covers the years 229 to 146 BCE.  Although it is scholarly, it is fairly easy to follow with a mostly coherent narrative.  One quibble was the abrupt transition from a completely warlike characterization of the Roman Senate to a point when they supposedly didn't have to bother going to war, which was not fully explained.

St. Peter's Bones by Thomas J. Craughwell (nonfiction 2013)

A quick read, pretty darned interesting story of how and why the church believes that is has found the actual bones of St. Peter.  This was written by an expert in Catholic saints.

Elizabeth of York by Alison Weir (nonfiction 2013)

Ms. Weir appears to have taken to heart some criticism of her non-fiction work.  In this mostly absorbing book about Henry VIII's mother, she sticks to the primary sources and uses qualifiers when presenting her own analysis.  It was great except a few sections that were just lists of what the Queen bought, instead of conclusions that might be drawn from such.

Hild by Nicola Griffith (historical fiction 2013)

There's only a tiny bit in the record about St. Hilda, but this author has run with it, and run to a wonderful place.  I loved this book.

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood (fiction 2013)

Atwood is one of my top 5 living authors, and this one is really good.  It is the end of a trilogy starting with Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood.  I liked the first book quite a bit, felt a little lost and bored in the second, but this last book ends the trilogy on a high note.  It is funny, sad and weird.

Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath (nonfiction 2013)

It's a not so fascinating collection of really good tips about health and the author's personal experience with them.  I found it somewhat boring reading - the tips at the end of each chapter are the meat.

Raiders of the Nile by Steven Saylor (historical fiction 2014)

With some historical figures and some fictional, the book is set in Alexandria in 88 BC.  While I read the entire thing in one night, the book has some dull, over-explained moments when it seems the author doesn't give his readers credit for paying attention.  On the other hand, it's pretty fun and full of adventure.

The Queen's Bed: An Intimate History of Elizabeth's Court by Anna Whitelock (nonfiction 2013)

Very interesting and detailed account.  I consider myself something of an armchair Elizabeth expert, and I was delighted by the details, explanations, and little tidbits included about her long reign.  Whitelock doesn't shy away from the weird and less than flattering either.

The Donation of Constantine by Simon LeVay (historical fiction 2013)

This author did a lot of research about the physical and social aspects of Rome in the year 751, and I loved that it was seamlessly worked into the story.  The Lombard siege of the walls was a pretty great battle scene as well.

Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar (historical fiction 1951)

Simply the best first-person historical fiction I've ever read.  Beautiful.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (fiction 2011)

I'm late to the party but this was really good, brutally violent in some parts.  I thought I had it figured out but NOPE.  Off to get the sequels...

While the first book was tight and suspenseful, and every sentence mattered, the first half of The Girl Who Played with Fire is oddly pedantic about life in Sweden and includes way too many boring details about the characters' lives.  It gets better, thankfully.

The third book in the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, is pretty good.  The character of Lisbeth Salander finally changes and grows after all of these crazy experiences.

The Venetian Bargain by Marina Fiorato (historical fiction 2012)

I liked this one almost as much as another I've read by the same author, The Glassblower of Murano.  It is full of adventure and romance, and really kind of sad but very exciting.

A King's Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman (historical fiction 2014)

A sequel to the author's Lionheart, this story follows Richard Lionheart as he leaves the Holy Land.  It's just as good as the others, with lots and lots of detail about life in the 1100's.  It does have corny moments and draggy bits, but taken as a whole, it is an excellent epic.

The Outlaw Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick (historical fiction 2013)

Despite a few goofy or slow spots, this is a fun romp with adventure, romance, and King John.  Lots of good sex and battle scenes, and a good story with a fair bit of information about daily life at the time.

Dying Every Day - Seneca at the Court of Nero by James Romm (nonfiction 2014)

Really really good, even for those without a background in Roman imperial history.  The author attempts to see the person behind the writings, and to understand the courtier. 

Band of Angels: The Forgotten World of Early Christian Women by Kate Cooper (nonfiction 2013)

This topic is very exciting to me, but I couldn't read the book.  Needs editing.

The Double and The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoeyvsky translated by R. Pevear and L. Volokhonsky (fiction 2005)

Two novellas in new translations are just absolutely wonderful.  The Double is a confused, wet dark and cold, frightening descent into madness.  I'm not even sure myself if there actually was a double or the protagonist made him up.  The words of the story reveal the madness of the character.  It's impressive.
As for The Gambler, I felt that the translators perfectly captured that self-knowledge of the addict and undeniable pull of the addiction.

Ancient Greece: Everyday Life in the Birthplace of Western Civilization by Robert Garland (nonfiction 2008)

The author admits up front that we know next to nothing about anyone in the ancient Greek world except Athenian men.  Even so, he managed to entertain me throughout most of the long book that is divided into sections.  I do enjoy it when historians discuss exactly what evidence they are basing their conclusions on.

The Pagan Lord by Bernard Cromwell (historical fiction 2013)

I've read historical fiction from the perspective of several other notable characters in this book, but never from Uhtred of Bebbanburg.  I thought it was slow to get going, but then ended too soon.  The battle scenes, Cromwell's bread and butter, were of course harrowing and impossible to put down.

The Shadow Queen by Sandra Gulland (historical fiction 2014)

Pretty good book about a servant girl of Athenais de Montespan, who was a mistress of Louis XIV.  This girl was an actual person, like Varvara in the book about Catherine the Great.  She came from a family of playactors, and actually bore the King a child herself.  Historical details of the palaces and clothing are great.

The Iliad of Homer translated by Stephen Mitchell (fiction 2011)

Wow, if I could translate Greek like this, I would have gotten that MA after all.  This is an amazing effort, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  It is impossible to put down the book.  This is the first time I've read ancient Greek in translation and it was a work of art in itself.

Empress of the Night by Eva Stachniak (historical fiction 2014)

I liked this author's The Winter Palace and I liked this very much.  It gives a pretty plausible and very exciting dramatization of how Catherine the Great might have experienced her unusual life.

A History of Genius - Divine Fury by Darrin M. McMahon (nonfiction 2013)

A history of genius from Plato to today's celebrities, this is a dense book.  I enjoyed the analysis of Napoleon.

The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier (fiction 2014)

This modern adventure mystery is mixed with a myth-based account of Amazons and makes for a fun read.  There's romance and exotic locations.

Girl on the Golden Coin by Marci Jefferson (historical fiction 2014)

Really good historical fiction, not too sappy, full of adventure.  I couldn't sleep until I finished it.

Tudors by Peter Ackroyd (nonfiction 2012)

I've been reading about these people for 25 years and this book is full of surprises.  Unexpected bits of primary sources, little stories, original analysis.  A great read.

Roman Italy by T.W. Potter (nonfiction 1987)

Even though it was written in the 80s, this book had a lot of information about Roman cities in Italy that I didn't know, and great pictures.  I enjoyed it.

The White Princess by Philippa Gregory (historical fiction 2013)

The story is told from the POV of Elizabeth of York, which is an interesting idea.  While Gregory does weave a good yarn, sometimes she's lazy with the words themselves, tending to repeat certain phrases and words several times.  As is the norm for most historical fiction writers, she uses a lot of gossipy "history" without evidence as the basis for her story.

428 AD - An Ordinary Year at the End of the Roman Empire by Giusto Traina (nonfiction 2009)

A wonderful and exciting look around the Mediterranean in one year.  It would seem impossible to be concise, but Traina pulls political/religious, social, economic, and military factors into a coherent narrative.

Tudor by Leanda de Lisle (nonfiction 2013)

This book kept me reading despite my familiarity with the topic.  Fresh analysis, a well-planned narrative, and just enough new ways of putting old things together.

The King's Grave by Phillipa Langley and Michael Jones (nonfiction)

Part a narrative of the amazing real-life archaelogical find, part an analysis of Richard III's life and characters, this was a fast and fascinating read.  I'd give it five stars if it wasn't for the unwelcome repetition of personal feelings about the subject.

Blood and Beauty by Sarah Dunant (historical fiction)

Since I recently read The Borgias, the enlightening analysis by Meyer, I can't get behind this thing.  The author seems to have gone out of her way to choose some of the craziest rumors about the family, so her attempt at a psychological portrait of Lucrezia in particular rang hollow to me.

Cassandra by Kerry Greenwood (fiction)

I read and loved the first book in this series, Medea, and this one is just a tiny bit less good.  It has a few moments when it gets silly or maudlin.  Maybe the Trojan War has been done to death, but I would still recommend it overall.

The Borgias by G.J. Meyer (nonfiction)

Meyer systematically dismantles the crazy rumors that pass for Borgia history, something I've been waiting for.  Even better are the explanations of the social, political, religious, and artistic trends of the times.  Five stars.

Golden Swallow, a Chang Cheh film (DVD)

A sword-fighting love triangle, there were several ludicrous plot elements.  The fake blood didn't even try to look like blood.  Meh.

Blood and Roses: One Family's Struggle and Triumph during the Tumultuous Wars of the Roses by Helen Castor (nonfiction)

It was exciting to realize there are some primary sources for "ordinary" folks' experience during this crazy time in English history.  I've loved reading about it since I was a child.  Some parts of this book are interesting and just as cool as I expected, but much of it drags on.