The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss

The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss is a wonderful book. The story of Spartacus is of course ancient history; but the themes of freedom, war of insurgency, poverty versus affluence, politics of power, inhumanity between men and leadership are all told in a way that is relevant today. Barry Strauss tells more than the story of Spartacus; he tells the story of Rome: How common peasants and slaves lived; how Rome's politicians thought; how general's raised army's and implemented strategies, how mountains were impassable and pirates betrayed. Strauss has given us a very rich view of the history that was Rome without us ever resisting; because he does it so well and to the point of Spartacus's situation at the moment. My only prior understanding of Spartacus was from the movie with Kirk Douglas and from the novel Gladiator's by Arthur Koestler (which is about Spartacus and his Slave War against Rome). Now I will have to see the movie again and reread the novel to see how true both are to the history. It has been such a pleasure to learn about Spartacus and ancient Rome from a historian who is not so much about dates and events as about telling a rich story of how people lived, dreamed, struggled and died. I'm sure all of the history(dates and such event facts) are correct as is currently known; but it is Barry Strauss's rich description of Roman life that makes this book so enjoyable from the very first page.