This upcoming August I am headed to the Land of Seven Hills. And before I arrive, I wanted to learn a thing or two about this ancient city’s vast and frankly overwhelming history. Although I have now purchased an entire catalog of books spanning a millennium of Rome’s history, Dying Every Day interjects itself into a short century in early A.D—when Romm discusses the “50’s,” it is aberrant for my mind to comprehend the era he is discussing (apart from context, such as chariots and purple togas). I have heard of Seneca, and I have heard of Nero, both of whom the book revolves around. But beyond simply knowing they are ancient sapiens who once roamed this Earth, I knew nothing more. Turns out Nero was a pretty bad guy. Romm’s book walks the reader through Nero and Senaca’s tightly intertwined lives, and for researching and writing something that took place almost 2000 years ago, Dying Every Day holds a coherent plot. Indeed, it even includes views from historians (past and present) who hold departing ideas regarding how someone died, whether a scandal occurred, or whether an entire ordeal was just scuttlebutt.

That leads me to the downside of Dying Every Day. To undertake such a project (albeit lots of historians have written detailed books about Ancient Rome) is a bigger ordeal than I could ever take on, so I write my dislikes lightly. However, Romm very much enjoyed giving the reader a preview of what was to come (e.g., “Seneca would later come to regret this statement”); and at a certain point the peaks behind the curtain became so ubiquitous that every action’s reaction would be laid out before the event even completed. And the glimpse into the future mattered little because either that foreshadowed death would occur on the next page, or it would happen enough pages down the line that I forgot to be on the lookout for what was previewed.

Besides that minor downside, completing Dying Every Day now allows me to discuss one of Rome’s most famous stoics without sounding extremely foolish (I still am foolish; just less foolish). And while I had hoped for a few more intense stories regarding Nero’s rampages through the streets of Rome, I was still provided enough history concerning the young leader’s rise and fall that I learned more about the chubby little tyrant (Nero gained lots of weight while sitting upon the throne).