Mary Beard: S.P.Q.R. A History of Ancient Rome

Wonderful so far. For first time got an overall sense of chronology of this time. Her command of everything is stunning!

And now finished. For the first time got a sense of the sweep of Romans history. Very stylishly written and love the way certain individuals and events like the Catiline Conspiracy are seen as emblematic events which, with crystal logic lead to and from other historical events and times. It's sort of in chronological order but somehow in a way that is more sense than other large scale history books I have read/tried to read in the past. Intrigued by this and still wondering how and why this is.