Reviews for On the postcolony

The average rating for On the postcolony based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-02-07 00:00:00 Leo Bell Jr Potter's treatment of this oft-neglected portion of Roman history is magesterial: his arguments are cogent and concise (hard, though, as that is to believe considering the length of this tome!), particularly in the realm of economic history, and his interaction with previous scholarship is both informed and selective. His strengths are largely historiographical and economic, such as when he discusses the coinage "crisis." The through line of his narrative seeks to trace the development of a bureaucracy--something which the early empire had not at all, and the high empire possessed only in its infancy--in the Empire as it placed greater and greater emphasis on centralization and then discuss how this centralization effected the rest of the empire (whether in terms of the military, administration, typology, or provincial government). Potter's book is long--nearly 1,000 pages including notes. But he is never dry, and he is able to discuss even complex problems such as coinage and military tactics without lapsing into lecturing. He frequently seems to be discussing issues with the reader, something that cannot be praised highly enough in today's world of horrid prose. However, this discussion is significantly weakened by Routledge's stubborn refusal to use footnotes rather than the blasted endnotes that no one can find! This really is my only quibble with the work, as his scholarship and interaction with even areas that many classicists deal poorly with (e.g., biblical studies and early Christianity) were dealt with fairly.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-03-24 00:00:00 William Schimmelfennig Recommended to me by Patrick Clark, one of my Graduate Student Instructors at Cal. Patrick recommended this text as a foundation and background for my thesis on the Battle of Adrianople, Roman Grand Strategy, and the fall of the Empire. When I started working on my thesis I had not studied the Roman Empire extensively. I had been gripped by Rome after taking a class on the Republic, taught by Prof. Norena, so I needed context. If you are looking for that - a history book on the Roman Empire - I would read Potter's The Roman Empire at Bay. It provides a broad comprehensive context of the Roman Empire as it deals with the 3rd century crisis, recovery, and decline. The reason The Roman Empire at Bay is on Goodreads is because I read it cover to cover.