Browsing the stacks of the Santa Monica Public Library, I have discovered Rome for Ourselves by Aubrey Menen.
Introductory Note. This is a book about Rome. It is, therefore, a book about history. I live in the middle of the twentieth century. I have seen a lot of history made in my time. I do not think much of it. I do not know anybody who does. This book is written with that experience in mind.I am ashamed to admit that I had never before heard of the Irish–Indian writer Aubrey Menen. He's smart and funny, and writes from a committed, original, and individual point of view. He wastes no time getting to the point. I am going to read everything of his that I can get my hands on -- he's a highly entertaining writer.
A book about Rome must also be a book about great men. They bedevilled all my younger years. Most of them are dead now. One or two turned out to be maniacs: others have been shown to be fools. One or two great reputations remain. But I suspect that a great man is a person about whom one cannot yet tell the truth. So it would seem to me. I am a child of my times. ...
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