A01=Robert A. Kaster
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ancient world
appian way
appius claudius the blind
Author_Robert A. Kaster
automatic-update
brindisi
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=HBLA1
Category=NHC
Category=WTL
cicero
civilization
classicism
conquest
COP=United States
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
dickens
eq_bestseller
eq_history
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eq_non-fiction
eq_travel
garibaldi
goethe
hawthorne
henry james
history
holy
invasion
italy
jerusalem
journey
kurt vonnegut
Language_English
literature
military
monty python
nonfiction
PA=Available
pilgrimage
Price_€20 to €50
PS=Active
queen of roads
roman empire
rome
sacred
softlaunch
soldier
spartacus
transportation
travel
travelers
troops
via appia
Product details
- ISBN 9780226425719
- Weight: 284g
- Dimensions: 15 x 22mm
- Publication Date: 23 Apr 2012
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
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The Roman poet Statius called the Via Appia "the Queen of Roads," and for nearly a thousand years that description held true, as countless travelers trod its path from the center of Rome to the heel of Italy. Today, the road is all but gone, destroyed by time, neglect, and the incursions of modernity; to travel the Appian Way today is to be a seeker, to walk in the footsteps of ghosts. Our guide to those ghosts - and the layers of history they represent - is Robert A. Kaster. In "The Appian Way", he brings a lifetime of studying Roman literature and history to his adventures along the ancient highway. A footsore Roman soldier pushing the imperial power south; craftsmen and farmers bringing their goods to the towns that lined the road; pious pilgrims headed to Jerusalem, using stage-by-stage directions we can still follow - all come to life once more as Kaster walks (and drives - and suffers car trouble) on what's left of the Appian Way.
Other voices help him tell the story: Cicero, Goethe, Hawthorne, Dickens, James, and even Monty Python offer commentary, insight, and curmudgeonly grumbles, their voices blending like the ages of the road to create a telescopic, perhaps kaleidoscopic, view of present and past. To stand on the remnants of the Via Appia today is to stand in the pathway of history. With "The Appian Way", Kaster invites us to close our eyes and walk with him back in time, to the campaigns of Garibaldi, the revolt of Spartacus, and the glory days of Imperial Rome. No traveler will want to miss this fascinating journey.
Robert A. Kaster is professor of classics and the Kennedy Foundation Professor of Latin at Princeton University.
