Why America Is Not A New Rome

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Why America Is Not a New Rome

Author : Vaclav Smil
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 239 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2010-01-29
Category : History
ISBN : 9780262288293

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Why America Is Not a New Rome by Vaclav Smil Pdf

An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles. America's post–Cold War strategic dominance and its pre-recession affluence inspired pundits to make celebratory comparisons to ancient Rome at its most powerful. Now, with America no longer perceived as invulnerable, engaged in protracted fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, comparisons are to the bloated, decadent, ineffectual later Empire. In Why America Is Not a New Rome, Vaclav Smil looks at these comparisons in detail, going deeper than the facile analogy-making of talk shows and glossy magazine articles. He finds profound differences. Smil, a scientist and a lifelong student of Roman history, focuses on several fundamental concerns: the very meaning of empire; the actual extent and nature of Roman and American power; the role of knowledge and innovation; and demographic and economic basics—population dynamics, illness, death, wealth, and misery. America is not a latter-day Rome, Smil finds, and we need to understand this in order to look ahead without the burden of counterproductive analogies. Superficial similarities do not imply long-term political, demographic, or economic outcomes identical to Rome's.

Why America Is Not a New Rome

Author : Professor of Geography Vaclav Smil,Vaclav Smil
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2014-05-09
Category : HISTORY
ISBN : 0262526859

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Why America Is Not a New Rome by Professor of Geography Vaclav Smil,Vaclav Smil Pdf

An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles. America's post-Cold War strategic dominance and its pre-recession affluence inspired pundits to make celebratory comparisons to ancient Rome at its most powerful. Now, with America no longer perceived as invulnerable, engaged in protracted fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, comparisons are to the bloated, decadent, ineffectual later Empire. In Why America Is Not a New Rome, Vaclav Smil looks at these comparisons in detail, going deeper than the facile analogy-making of talk shows and glossy magazine articles. He finds profound differences. Smil, a scientist and a lifelong student of Roman history, focuses on several fundamental concerns: the very meaning of empire; the actual extent and nature of Roman and American power; the role of knowledge and innovation; and demographic and economic basics--population dynamics, illness, death, wealth, and misery. America is not a latter-day Rome, Smil finds, and we need to understand this in order to look ahead without the burden of counterproductive analogies. Superficial similarities do not imply long-term political, demographic, or economic outcomes identical to Rome's.

Why America is Not a New Rome

Author : Vaclav Smil
Publisher : MIT Press (MA)
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2010-01
Category : History
ISBN : 0262195933

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Why America is Not a New Rome by Vaclav Smil Pdf

An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles.

Are We Rome?

Author : Cullen Murphy
Publisher : HMH
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2008-05-05
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780547527079

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Are We Rome? by Cullen Murphy Pdf

What went wrong in imperial Rome, and how we can avoid it: “If you want to understand where America stands in the world today, read this.” —Thomas E. Ricks The rise and fall of ancient Rome has been on American minds since the beginning of our republic. Depending on who’s doing the talking, the history of Rome serves as either a triumphal call to action—or a dire warning of imminent collapse. In this “provocative and lively” book, Cullen Murphy points out that today we focus less on the Roman Republic than on the empire that took its place, and reveals a wide array of similarities between the two societies (The New York Times). Looking at the blinkered, insular culture of our capitals; the debilitating effect of bribery in public life; the paradoxical issue of borders; and the weakening of the body politic through various forms of privatization, Murphy persuasively argues that we most resemble Rome in the burgeoning corruption of our government and in our arrogant ignorance of the world outside—two things that must be changed if we are to avoid Rome’s fate. “Are We Rome? is just about a perfect book. . . . I wish every politician would spend an evening with this book.” —James Fallows

Empires of Trust

Author : Thomas F. Madden
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2008-07-17
Category : History
ISBN : 9781440631399

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Empires of Trust by Thomas F. Madden Pdf

An acclaimed historian offers an optimistic view of the future of the United States in the light of Roman history Maybe the end of the American ascendancy is not upon us. Maybe the U.S. will continue to dominate the world for centuries. Now award-winning historian Thomas Madden delivers an optimistic view of our nation's future. Madden shows that the power of the ancient Roman republic and the U.S. was built on trust between allies, not the conquest of enemies. The far-reaching implications of this fact are essential reading for anyone who cares about the challenges we face now and in the years ahead. Packed with stories from Roman history that offer amazingly obvious and explicitly stated parallels to our recent history, Empires of Trust is a narrative pleasure and a hopeful inspiration.

First Principles

Author : Thomas E. Ricks
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 416 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2020-11-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9780062997470

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First Principles by Thomas E. Ricks Pdf

New York Times Bestseller Editors' Choice —New York Times Book Review "Ricks knocks it out of the park with this jewel of a book. On every page I learned something new. Read it every night if you want to restore your faith in our country." —James Mattis, General, U.S. Marines (ret.) & 26th Secretary of Defense The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author offers a revelatory new book about the founding fathers, examining their educations and, in particular, their devotion to the ancient Greek and Roman classics—and how that influence would shape their ideals and the new American nation. On the morning after the 2016 presidential election, Thomas Ricks awoke with a few questions on his mind: What kind of nation did we now have? Is it what was designed or intended by the nation’s founders? Trying to get as close to the source as he could, Ricks decided to go back and read the philosophy and literature that shaped the founders’ thinking, and the letters they wrote to each other debating these crucial works—among them the Iliad, Plutarch’s Lives, and the works of Xenophon, Epicurus, Aristotle, Cato, and Cicero. For though much attention has been paid the influence of English political philosophers, like John Locke, closer to their own era, the founders were far more immersed in the literature of the ancient world. The first four American presidents came to their classical knowledge differently. Washington absorbed it mainly from the elite culture of his day; Adams from the laws and rhetoric of Rome; Jefferson immersed himself in classical philosophy, especially Epicureanism; and Madison, both a groundbreaking researcher and a deft politician, spent years studying the ancient world like a political scientist. Each of their experiences, and distinctive learning, played an essential role in the formation of the United States. In examining how and what they studied, looking at them in the unusual light of the classical world, Ricks is able to draw arresting and fresh portraits of men we thought we knew. First Principles follows these four members of the Revolutionary generation from their youths to their adult lives, as they grappled with questions of independence, and forming and keeping a new nation. In doing so, Ricks interprets not only the effect of the ancient world on each man, and how that shaped our constitution and government, but offers startling new insights into these legendary leaders.

Rome West

Author : Brian Wood,Justin Giampaoli
Publisher : Dark Horse Comics
Page : 116 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2018-07-31
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN : 9781506704999

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Rome West by Brian Wood,Justin Giampaoli Pdf

An alt-history account of the founding of America, as a lost fleet of Roman soldiers arrives a thousand years before Columbus. In AD 323, a fleet of Roman ships is lost in a storm, and they find themselves on the shores of the New World, one thousand years before Columbus. Unable to return home, they establish a new colony, Roma Occidens, radically altering the timeline of America and subsequent world events as seen through the eyes of one family. An exploration in alternative history from Brian Wood, Justin Giampaoli, and Andrea Mutti.

Ancient Rome and Modern America

Author : Margaret Malamud
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2009-03-30
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781444305081

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Ancient Rome and Modern America by Margaret Malamud Pdf

Ancient Rome and Modern America explores the vital role thenarratives and images of Rome have played in America’sunderstanding of itself and its history. Places America’s response to Rome in a historicalcontext, from the Revolutionary era to the present Looks at portrayals of Rome in different media: writing,architecture, theatre, painting, World’s Fairs andExpositions, and film Beautifully illustrated with over 40 high quality photographsand figures

Mortal Republic

Author : Edward J. Watts
Publisher : Hachette UK
Page : 351 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2018-11-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9780465093823

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Mortal Republic by Edward J. Watts Pdf

Learn why the Roman Republic collapsed -- and how it could have continued to thrive -- with this insightful history from an award-winning author. In Mortal Republic, prize-winning historian Edward J. Watts offers a new history of the fall of the Roman Republic that explains why Rome exchanged freedom for autocracy. For centuries, even as Rome grew into the Mediterranean's premier military and political power, its governing institutions, parliamentary rules, and political customs successfully fostered negotiation and compromise. By the 130s BC, however, Rome's leaders increasingly used these same tools to cynically pursue individual gain and obstruct their opponents. As the center decayed and dysfunction grew, arguments between politicians gave way to political violence in the streets. The stage was set for destructive civil wars -- and ultimately the imperial reign of Augustus. The death of Rome's Republic was not inevitable. In Mortal Republic, Watts shows it died because it was allowed to, from thousands of small wounds inflicted by Romans who assumed that it would last forever.

Rome in America

Author : Peter R. D'Agostino
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
Page : 422 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0807855154

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Rome in America by Peter R. D'Agostino Pdf

For years, historians have argued that Catholicism in the United States stood decisively apart from papal politics in European society. Drawing on previously unexamined documents from Italian state collections and newly opened Vatican archives, Peter D'Agostino paints a starkly different portrait.

Catholic Republic

Author : Gordon, Timothy
Publisher : Crisis Publications
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2019-04-04
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781622828371

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Catholic Republic by Gordon, Timothy Pdf

“In this intellectually stimulating book, Timothy Gordon argues that the source of America’s political and cultural salvation is the very Catholicism that has been rejected — and even persecuted — from the first days of the republic.” Michael Voris, Church Militant Some Christians decry the deism of our Founding Fathers, claiming that outright anti-Christian principles lie at the heart of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution, crippling from birth our beloved republic. Here philosopher Timothy Gordon forcefully disagrees, arguing that while anti-Catholic bias kept them from admitting their reliance on Aristotle, Aquinas, and the early Jesuits, our Protestant and Enlightenment Founding Fathers secretly held Catholic views about politics and nature. Had they fully adhered to Catholic principles, argues Gordon, the “Catholic republic” that is America from its birth would not today be on the verge of social collapse. The instinctive Catholicism of our Founders would have prevented the cancerous growth of the state, our subsequent loss of liberties, the destruction of families, abortion on demand, the death of free markets, and the horrors of today’s pervasive pagan culture. In Catholic Republic, Gordon recounts our nation’s clandestine history of publicly repudiating, yet privately relying on, Catholic ideas about politics and nature. At this late hour in the life of the Church and the world, America still can be saved, claims Gordon, if only we soon return to the Catholic principles that are the indispensable foundation of all successful republics.

Romans in a New World

Author : David A. Lupher
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 452 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : History
ISBN : 0472031783

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Romans in a New World by David A. Lupher Pdf

Explores the impact the discovery of the New World had upon Europeans' perceptions of their identity and place in history

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 743 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2015-11-09
Category : History
ISBN : 9781631491252

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SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard Pdf

New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, and Kirkus Reviews Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Nonfiction) Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize in Historical Literature Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History) A San Francisco Chronicle Holiday Gift Guide Selection A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A sweeping, "magisterial" history of the Roman Empire from one of our foremost classicists shows why Rome remains "relevant to people many centuries later" (Atlantic). In SPQR, an instant classic, Mary Beard narrates the history of Rome "with passion and without technical jargon" and demonstrates how "a slightly shabby Iron Age village" rose to become the "undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean" (Wall Street Journal). Hailed by critics as animating "the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life" (Economist) in a way that makes "your hair stand on end" (Christian Science Monitor) and spanning nearly a thousand years of history, this "highly informative, highly readable" (Dallas Morning News) work examines not just how we think of ancient Rome but challenges the comfortable historical perspectives that have existed for centuries. With its nuanced attention to class, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, SPQR will to shape our view of Roman history for decades to come.

Thomas Jefferson, the Classical World, and Early America

Author : Peter S. Onuf,Nicholas P. Cole
Publisher : University of Virginia Press
Page : 329 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2011-10-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9780813931821

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Thomas Jefferson, the Classical World, and Early America by Peter S. Onuf,Nicholas P. Cole Pdf

Thomas Jefferson read Latin and Greek authors throughout his life and wrote movingly about his love of the ancient texts, which he thought should be at the core of America's curriculum. Yet at the same time, Jefferson warned his countrymen not to look to the ancient world for modern lessons and deplored many of the ways his peers used classical authors to address contemporary questions. As a result, the contribution of the ancient world to the thought of America's most classically educated Founding Father remains difficult to assess. This volume brings together historians of political thought with classicists and historians of art and culture to find new approaches to the difficult questions raised by America's classical heritage. The essays explore the classical contribution to different aspects of Jefferson’s thought and taste, as well as examining the significance of the ancient world to America in a broader historical context. The diverse interests and methodologies of the contributors suggest new ways of approaching one of the most prominent and contested of the traditions that helped create America's revolutionary republicanism. Contributors:Gordon S. Wood, Brown University * Peter S. Onuf, University of Virginia * Michael P. Zuckert, University of Notre Dame * Caroline Winterer, Stanford University * Richard Guy Wilson, University of Virginia * Maurie D. McInnis, University of Virginia * Nicholas P. Cole, University of Oxford * Peter Thompson, University of Oxford * Eran Shalev, Haifa University * Paul A. Rahe, Hillsdale College * Jennifer T. Roberts, City University of New York, Graduate Center * Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy, University of Virginia

The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction

Author : David M. Gwynn
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 168 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2012-08-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9780191642357

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The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction by David M. Gwynn Pdf

The rise and fall of the Roman Republic occupies a special place in the history of Western civilization. From humble beginnings on the seven hills beside the Tiber, the city of Rome grew to dominate the ancient Mediterranean. Led by her senatorial aristocracy, Republican armies defeated Carthage and the successor kingdoms of Alexander the Great, and brought the surrounding peoples to east and west into the Roman sphere. Yet the triumph of the Republic was also its tragedy. In this Very Short Introduction, David M. Gwynn provides a fascinating introduction to the history of the Roman Republic and its literary and material sources, bringing to life the culture and society of Republican Rome and its ongoing significance within our modern world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.