Pompeii: A History of the City and the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Excellent short sketch of a thrilling event in history. Well written, flows easily. The author takes the time to outline Roman history prior to the era of the destruction. What interested me greatly was the amazing fact that Pliny and his young nephew were present at the cataclysm and that Pliny himself died at that time. Many years later the nephew, himself by now an eminent statesman, composed a brief description of the catastrophe at the request of a historian; and his harrowing account can be found if you look for it. It is only a few pages long but utterly fascinating.

Short ans concise overview Good read and a great starting point for more detailed reading. I liked it and recommend for beginners

I don't know what they were doing when this book went to the typesetter, but the format of the book is just plain weird. There are pages that are almost empty, followed by a page that is full, followed by another half empty page. How was this book assembled? Apart from this technicality about how the book was published, there is a lot of good interesting information about Roman times. I learned a lot about Roman society and how the people of Pompeii fit into the politics of this time error. (A particularly interesting fact I did not know about is that the Russians buried nuclear bombs in the Naples harbor, which, apparently, are still there!)

I visited Pompeii in 2012, and became quite fascinated by the ruins, the history, and the legacy of Ancient Rome. I found this book to be a concise and focused reading of the details about the events leading up to the catastrophic events of August 24-25, 79 AD. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of this experience.

This is a very short and readable history book. It reads like a novel without a thousand distracting details. I loved it.

Very interesting and informative.

This book was just what I was looking for. A quick read that triggered my interest in more in depth material of the history of this area.

Very good factual information. Worked well for my son's research paper. Well written with info we couldn't find online or In other books

This book starts with an account of the area around Vesuvius and Naples in Roman times. I learned a great deal about the various factions who sought to control the area from the seventh and eighth centuries BC until finally, the Roman Empire took control of Pompeii and developed the city. There is also a very interesting description of the growth of the city making one very aware of how advanced the Romans actually were and what life would be like in Pompeii until the eruption. The descriptions of the build up to the disaster and the destruction of the city are vivid with the 'mechanics' of the eruption being clearly explained. As is always the case with this author, the subject is very well researched and his ability to describe facts and situations with his use of language is a delight. This is an excellent book which gives the facts in a way that makes it as gripping as a novel - I read it all at one sitting!

A short book which gives a good introduction to the subject. I did consider five stars but I feel that it was too short to merit them. But a good introduction.

I bought this for a student who was doing the Conflict and Carnage module in the OCR Classical Civilisation GCSE. Sadly, we found it was more for the general reader than for someone who already knew the main facts. Entertaining, even so.

The best reconstruction I've read of Pompeii before and during the eruption that buried it

Good content from respected author. Print/binding quality is cheap though.