A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome by Alberto Angela

This was a fun book to read.  It reads as described - taking the reader through a typical day in the life across several socio-economic experiences in ancient Rome.  Stylistically, it was easy to read - translated from Italian, it read like a high school history book with a short chapter on each subject.  In that simplicity it reminded me of Sophie's Wold.  While the translation resulted in less-than-perfect grammar in a few places, most of the text was simple and clear.

The book discusses Rome around 115CE, after the Republic, once it is part of the Empire run by Trajan.  I was fascinated by how large it was geographically (Scotland to Iran, Sahara to the North Sea) and by population (proportionate to a country today having the population of the US, Russia, and China combined.)

I was amazed by how many "modern" things existed back then - toothpicks, bleach, ironing, sun umbrellas, crosswalks, even barbers and bookies!  There was glass but no prescription glasses.  There were many foods that are familiar to us (even some recipes included) but no coffee.  The author discusses how the issues in the city then are familiar to us now - rising rents in crowded apartments, traffic, safety, and pollution.

There are also several sections on parts of life different from how we live now: slaves, gladiators, bathhouses and public deaths to name a few.  It was fascinating to read a section on something familiar to our values, then have the next section be about stoning, or betting on a death for sport. 

While I got a little bored towards the end (the novelty of the book wears off) I did enjoy the experience of reading it and seeing what ancient Rome was like.  When I was a kid, my parents took us to Italy and we spent a day in Ostia Antica - today a popular tourist spot but then a little-known excavation that was fun to walk around...this book brought those memories back to life.