Ancient Roman Sports and Pastimes

Children completing reports on ancient Roman life will appreciate the detail found here. The book opens with a much abbreviated history of the empire, and outlines how a typical Roman citizen spent a day. After that, activities such as chariot racing, gladiator fights, sea battles, and music and theater are discussed on a spread each, and accompanied by clear, helpfully captioned photographs of ruins and other artifacts and reproductions of mosaics. "Written at the Time" sidebars provide valuable primary-source excerpts, describing, for example, a wild animal show and Caesar's 46 BCE staged sea battle. Barber's lively narrative provides just the right tidbits for this age group and will make the book a hit with browsers as well.