Does anyone have an opinion on the book: Cleopatra, A Life by Stacy Shiff? I have been listening to an audio book from itunes.
Anyone?
The author: Rob Cain
Rob Cain has traveled extensively through Europe, Italy, and Egypt. He was formerly on active duty with the United States Army. He is a fan of history, and enjoys reading books on the history of Rome. He currently has a podcast presentation on itunes and hipcast. The blog is for the free and open discussion of Ancient Rome based on Mr. Cain's observations noted in his podcast. Most episodes start out with an original dramatic narration written by Mr. Cain. In the podcasts he will include his own unique commentary, and interviews with subject matter experts. Comments are welcome and will be highlighted on the show.
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Currently featured on Ancient Rome Refocused.
Episode 10, “Nothing New Under the Sun. Get Over it”, features the book, “The Ancient Guide to Modern Life” written by author, comedian, and TV commentator Natalie Haynes.” Whether political, cultural, or social, there are endless parallels between the ancient and modern worlds. Whether it's the murder of Caesar or the political assassination of Thatcher; the narrative arc of the hit HBO series, The Wire, or that of Oedipus; the popular enthusiasm for the Emperor Titus or President Obama – over and over again we can be seen to be living very much like people did 2,000 or more years ago. It's time for us to re-examine the past. Our lives are infinitely richer if we take the time to look at what the Greeks and Romans have given us in politics and law, religion and philosophy and education, and to learn how people really lived in Athens, Rome, Sparta and Alexandria. 
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Hi, Rob-
I thought the book was great. It really filled in a hole about my understanding of that era. She is straightforward about the limitations about what we really know about Cleopatra, given the limited resources and the ‘written by the victors’ problem. But she is (I thought) very good at using other sources to set the background, to fill the stage with an accurate picture of the times and locations. She fills in a lot of detail about the politics of the region, the economics of the times, the difficult choices facing Egypt at the time and why Cleopatra chose what she did.
There was one big question that didn’t seem to be answered for me. Cleopatra is shown to be maneuvering to avoid a direct take-over by Rome, to maintain her position as an ally and remain independent, in the face of Rome’s overwhelming military advantage. But it never seems to be explained why, as the richest kingdom in the Med, Egypt was unable to raise such an enormous army that Rome would have been unable to conquer them.
Overall, the best book I’ve read in quite some time.
Cheers-
Don Merritt
I liked the book a lot. One of the best book’s I’ve read so far this year.