Books : Rome: The Biography of a City

Rating: - A must for anyone travelling to the Eternal City
Hibbert's history of Rome, from Romulus to Mussolini, is an excellent introduction to the events that have shaped this incredible city.

This is not a history of the Roman Republic, Empire, Papacy, Renaissance or Risorgimento. Instead the focus remains fixed on the city of Rome itself: its buildings, reputation and inhabitants. Its streets and piazzas have witnessed so many of the crucial moments in these states and movements but Hibbert's work ventures away from the city walls only for a full introduction to events within.

The history adds an additional element to any visit to Rome, not only providing a history of the major landmarks but also helping the visitor imagine the city in lost eras. The only major improvement needed is a better map (or collection of maps) as the current one makes following the action frustratingly difficult.

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Rating: - Very Revealing
Hibbert's book is an essential companion for anyone interested in the 'Caput Mundi': it's very well laid out; to the point; honest and extremely interesting, as any book should be when its intention is to describe the evolution of one of the world's oldest and most historically relevant cities. Put down your wishy-washy tourist book and pick up this. The one pity is that it's a bit big and not very portable if one wants to pass through Rome as a back packer which is the situation I found myself in reading it. Anyway, get it for before or after.