Those Who Are About To Die
Gladiators and the Roman Mind
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cornerstone
Published:28th Aug '25
Should be back in stock very soon
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£11.99(9781804948521)
Bestselling author Harry Sidebottom takes readers on a thrilling journey through a day in the life of the most iconic figure of the ancient world: the Roman gladiator
‘Magnificent… Was I not entertained? I absolutely was’
Dominic Sandbrook, Times Books of the Year
'Wonderfully panoramic … endlessly informative, rich with unexpected detail but never heavy to read' Literary Review
'Grippingly original'
Tom Holland
'Blends extensive research with a talent for vivid storytelling to distil 700 years of gladiator history into the 24 hours around match day'
The Times
*A TIMES AND ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR*
Dressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both fascinating and repulsive to us now, he was in his own time a deeply controversial character, by turns hated and idealized – and always at the heart of Roman culture. But what did he really mean to the Romans? What did they see in the gladiator and the spectacle of the games? And what does he reveal to us today about the Roman way of life?
Brilliantly written and meticulously researched, this book tells the stories of the gladiators and those who observed them – from grand emperors to lowly slaves – illuminating and analysing the all-consuming passion of the Roman Empire for the spectacle of mortal combat. In doing so, it reveals Roman ideas about everything from freedom and servitude to sex and desire, from courage and cowardice to death and the afterlife.
Taking readers on an unforgettable twenty-four-hour adventure – beginning the night before the games and ending the evening after – Those Who Are About To Die gives a blow-by-blow account of what life was really like in the brutally unforgiving arena of the ancient world.
‘Magnificent… Was I not entertained? I absolutely was’ * Dominic Sandbrook, Times Books of the Year *
Wonderfully panoramic … as an account of the games and the lives of the gladiators alone it is endlessly informative, rich with unexpected detail but never heavy to read * Literary Review *
Blends extensive research with a talent for vivid storytelling to distil 700 years of gladiator history into the 24 hours around match day, from eve-of-fight rituals to stripping the corpses * The Times *
Vivid [and] gripping... a detailed chronicle of what a gladiator's life was actually like * Economist *
A grippingly original way of making the alien world of the Roman amphitheatre both accessible and comprehensible * Tom Holland, co-host of The Rest is History and Sunday Times bestselling author of Rubicon *
Harry Sidebottom manages to break out of a crowded field... a vivid portrayal of the mindscape that created these fighting entertainers * Times Literary Supplement *
A most enjoyable book. Ingeniously, Sidebottom uses twenty-four hours in the life of a gladiator as a springboard for a fascinating exploration of Roman ways and the Roman mind * Matthew Kneale, Sunday Times bestselling author of Rome: A History in Seven Sackings *
Prepare yourselves to enter the arena! Once again, Sidebottom brings the ancient world vividly and dazzlingly to life. A thrilling book... every page sizzles * Alice Loxton, Sunday Times bestselling author of Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives *
Packed with wit, scholarship and gripping storytelling * Aspects of History *
This book is two splendid things at once. It is the most readable and up-to-date scholarly account of the ancient Roman gladiatorial games, and it is also a fine introduction to Roman culture in general * Ronald Hutton, author of Oliver Cromwell *
ISBN: 9781529154009
Dimensions: 241mm x 163mm x 36mm
Weight: 664g
416 pages