The Eternal City: A History of Rome in Maps

This book is great, but only if you (1) already have a relatively extensive knowledge of the city of Rome, and (2) love maps. The book is everything it promises to be, and more. You learn about Rome and you learn about the many ways maps were created and used over the centuries. I'm still working my way through it, joyfully, with magnifying glass in hand. (I highly recommend the use of the latter.)

I enjoyed this book immensely. I agree with some reviewers who complained that the maps could be larger. Yet I'm still able to read them with my naked eye, and I learned a lot about prehistoric and early Rome that I hadn't learned before.

Fascinating boook.

Jessica Maier is a terrific writer and historian who knows how to convey her material in a captivating and compelling way. This book is superb!

I have a passion for Rome and yet I found the format of this book difficult to look at and not very engaging.

What a fantastic book! This is a beautiful blend of history, art history, and cartography.I was particularly impressed with the variety of maps chosen for this book. The maps come from all different time periods and artistic styles. It was interesting to see how maps have developed over the centuries, both in looks and functionality. The ebb and flow of Rome’s borders - and power - can clearly be seen through the maps and the corresponding discussions.At the end of each chapter is a “Further Reading” list, which I appreciated. I wish more history books were organized this way!Thanks to NetGalley and University of Chicago Press for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is an absolutely fantastic reference book to have on hand! The maps and images are stunningly beautiful and the descriptions of how/why a certain map was done in a certain way were really wonderful to read. The Eternal City: A History of Rome in Maps includes a great deal of information and conveys it in extremely interesting ways. This is a great follow-up to other Roman-themed reading and helps you understand the changing layout of Rome. To be the Eternal City, things have certainly evolved and changed across the centuries and Jessica Maier's book helps contextualize that.Thank you to University of Chicago Press for sending me a review copy!

Why a publisher would produce a history of Rome in maps only to skimp on the size of the printed maps is a mystery to me. Only one map is shown across a double-page spread. All the rest are nearly impossible to see, even when I use a 10x magnifying glass. True, there are some closer views of interesting map details. But they only make it even more frustrating that the maps as a whole -- many of the originals quite large -- are reduced to featureless blobs. I would get this book only if you can't find any viable alternatives.

Don't get me wrong, this is a lovely book, but the illustrations, particularly the maps, are so small there's no real value in them other than as space fillers.