Of all the history books that I read, there are three eras that hold my interest most: World War II, the American Revolution, and the Roman Empire. That’s why I jumped at the chance to read The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World’s Greatest Empire by Anthony Everitt.

Unfortunately, I didn’t read this book. I listened to it. Why is that unfortunate? Because the narrator drove me crazy. The content is impressive — in fact, this is the best I’ve read (um, heard) about this particular age of Roman history. But the narrators style was irritating to me. He had what sounded like a false English accent, as if he was intentionally trying to sound snooty. Sometimes there would be long pauses between paragraphs, sometimes there would not be, and sometimes the next chapter started immediately. Maybe this last part is editing as much as the narrator. Either way, it’s frustrating to listen to.

But the book is excellent. Groundbreaking, actually. Most conversations about Rome involves how it fell. Or what it was like at its peak. But this book asks, “How did it form and rise?” It’s a great insight into how a system of government and a commitment to values helps people create powerful institutions. There’s a theme of confidence, perhaps even arrogance, in the rise of Rome. They knew they were onto something big and they built an empire on that knowledge.

Everitt is one of my favorite writers (his book on Augustus is fantastic) and he does his usual good job here. He gives you enough personal insight to hold your attention, but he still tells the broad stories about how personal decisions make a world wide difference. I like his style and his take on history. He’s honest, doesn’t read too much into the information we actually have, and is comfortable saying “we just don’t know.”

If the topic of how Rome came into being is something that interests you, then this is a must read book. Just don’t listen to it.