Customer Reviews
An easy read--if you are not politically correct - By: P. Brooks, 02 Aug 2008 
This is a quirky book. It is composed of largely self-contained textual vignettes. This makes it easy to dip into for short & entertaining reads. Previous reviews have correctly inferred that a few of these short pieces appear to have a tenuous link to ancient practices. You probably have to be as contemptuous of bumbling, overbearing, intrusive, & taxing Big Government as I am to enjoy the bits where the author mounts his soap box. Because of the vignette layout these bits are easily skipped by those who object.
For the rest, Peter Jones provides many fascinating insights into how the Ancients dealt with--or failed over--issues that we still experience today. It would be difficult to compare ancient & modern governance without injecting a viewpoint. He openly colours his with a fairly libertarian view. This is surely better than adopting the alll too common pseudo-objectivity affected by many lesser Academics. It provides a clear anchor point against which can be measured the selectivity & validity of the arguments or facts marshallled by any author. Allowances can be made for the colour. Mr. Jones is sometimes biting, but supports his 'prejudices' rationallly & with a generallly easy style. Those who believe in government coercion & collectivism as the solution for our problems might gag--on the other hand they might learn something too!
a fun read for anyone with an interest in the ancient world - By: D. A. Thomson, 29 Jul 2008 
I enjoyed reading this book, Peter Jones is refreshingly opinionated & politicallly incorrect. The author's main aim is to show how ancient ideas about a huge range of subjects could be relevant to modern problems. For instance he contrasts the level of citizen involvement in what he callls the world's only democracy, ancient Athens, with the general voter apathy in our present system. On the other hand he isn't dewy eyed & presents Roman & Greek society `warts & alll`. He delivers his views in a humorous tongue in cheek fashion, just like his `Learn Latin' book. A long the way you learn a huge amount about the ancient world & you don't have to agree with everything he says to enjoy it. Particular targets are the excesses of the welfare state & the European union. No where does he advocate `flog `em string `em up' as the previous reviewer said but its fair to say most Guardian readers probably won't like this book!
Pretty tedious stuff - By: Jim Campbell, 15 Jun 2008 
This could have been so much better.
What promised to be a light-hearted look at how the Ancients went about solving the problems of today instead turns into one dull, bitter & snide list of complaints about the rubbishness of modern Britain, with at times only passing mention of the Ancient world.
If you've ever been stuck in a long London taxi ride with a particularly snide & unfunny driver, whose solution to every problem under the London sun is essentiallly 'string 'em up' & wanted to recreate the experience, this book is perfect. Otherwise there is little to recommend it.
