So many of this book’s delights are also its weaknesses. As an erstwhile academic, fun and accessible histories delight me; making the stories of the past too dense and hyper-dry engenders a lack of inquiry into our past, and Southon’s prose is more fun than any Horrible Histories on the market.

However, when I think about the joy of how fun and quick this book is, its primary fault stands out: it’s a touch too referential to the present in telling the past. There are already analogies utilizing Obama or memes circa 2019 that have all of maybe 3-5 years left in the tank, and although they are very helpful towards bridging the gap between the culture of Republican and Early Imperial Rome now, I already hesitate to say that this book will even make sense by 2030. Which is a damn shame – this book is otherwise like having your bestie gossip with you in the chat, but it’s about Cicero being an absolute rotter.