01-07-2012, 02:01 AM
Although I am sure that I am far less informed than many of you esteemed gentleman here (for instance, I have never had the opportunity to read Miks), my impression of the book was that it is a quick, enjoyable read with lots of good information about the Roman army, with some good bits and pieces about their swords thrown in.
However, even with what I consider my limited expertise, there are some points/statements that the author makes that I do not necessarily agree with.
For one, the author states that the Roman legionary almost ubiquitously wore the color brown. As well, James also states that it is likely that the emperors wore such dull colors, and adopted other styles from the legions, in order to commiserate and identify with them, in hopes that this gesture would engender their support. I will not even attempt to open up that Pandora's Box in this thread, but that is a highly contested assertion, and I personally doubt any such uniformity amongst the legions, or such piety amongst many of the emperors (few exceptions noted).
I thought that James' philosophizing on the violence and cruelty of the Roman military was interesting, but once again, I do not necessarily agree. Basically, it seems to me that he sees the Roman military/empire in a rather modern-imperialist light, that I do not believe lends itself to the realities of life in the ancient world. Either I am one of the naive Roman apologists he speaks of in the book, who he believes would counter his objections to violence and conquest with "can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs," as he says, or he is judging relevant levels of violence and quality of life in the ancient world without any real evidence for how corrupt, cruel, and violent other peoples of the era could be.
Overall I believe this is a really good read, and if you can spare the $25 or so, I'd recommend it - particularly if you're rather new to the study of the Roman military or swords, in general.
However, even with what I consider my limited expertise, there are some points/statements that the author makes that I do not necessarily agree with.
For one, the author states that the Roman legionary almost ubiquitously wore the color brown. As well, James also states that it is likely that the emperors wore such dull colors, and adopted other styles from the legions, in order to commiserate and identify with them, in hopes that this gesture would engender their support. I will not even attempt to open up that Pandora's Box in this thread, but that is a highly contested assertion, and I personally doubt any such uniformity amongst the legions, or such piety amongst many of the emperors (few exceptions noted).
I thought that James' philosophizing on the violence and cruelty of the Roman military was interesting, but once again, I do not necessarily agree. Basically, it seems to me that he sees the Roman military/empire in a rather modern-imperialist light, that I do not believe lends itself to the realities of life in the ancient world. Either I am one of the naive Roman apologists he speaks of in the book, who he believes would counter his objections to violence and conquest with "can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs," as he says, or he is judging relevant levels of violence and quality of life in the ancient world without any real evidence for how corrupt, cruel, and violent other peoples of the era could be.
Overall I believe this is a really good read, and if you can spare the $25 or so, I'd recommend it - particularly if you're rather new to the study of the Roman military or swords, in general.
Alexander
