Empires of Trust: How Rome Built--and America Is Building--a New World | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas F. Madden
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
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Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 29158
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0525950745
Dewey Decimal Number: 937
EAN: 9780525950745
ASIN: 0525950745
Publication Date: July 17, 2008
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Product Description
BA tale of two superpowers unique in the history of the world, offering a totally original comparison of the United States and ancient Rome: celebrating similarities and delivering urgent insights into America s current crises/B.BRBR Does America face the same destiny endured by ancient Rome? Is the U.S. military overextended? Does the separation of church and state strengthen or weaken a geopolitical powerhouse? Is the United States just another Empire of Conquest being corrupted by its own power? Of late, it is not only historians who have been asking these questions. Thomas Madden, an award-winning professor of history, now shows almost everything we thought we knew about Rome to be wrong, and revolutionizes our understanding of what a good world empire can be.BRBR Taking readers on a dramatic tour of the Roman Republic, a golden era before the depravities of the Caesars and late Empire, Madden uncovers a peaceful, retiring people who above all wanted to be left alone to enjoy their own families and communities, maintaining the rural traditions of their forebears. But external threats required them to establish security, which they did by creating superlative military forces and transforming defeated enemies into friends. Trust, not brutality, was the key ingredient. All other empires since have been Empires of Conquest until now.BRBR Beginning with a Roman story strikingly parallel to the American Abu Ghraib scandal, Madden provides a much needed historical context to our burning contemporary debates. The United States can be an empire of trust, and Madden is on a mission to get pundits, candidates, and other election-year spectators which means all of us to recognize this profound duty.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Exciting (history!) page-turner November 22, 2008
Lindy RN (St. Louis, Mo.)
Not a history buff, I got this tome by accident through a book club. WOW! Couldn't put it down. Madden uses his expertise to compare the rise of the Roman empire with that of the U.S., in conversational yet scholarly style. Having a positive, up-beat message, this is a must-read for those interested in the future of this country. LLarn
 A useful perspective, to be applied cautiously October 27, 2008
M. A Michaud (Dulles, VA United States)
Madden's comparison of the Roman Republic with the present day United States is fascinating and useful. He is particularly strong in describing the Romans, most intriguingly when he writes about the relationship between Rome and the Jews of the Holy Land. How many people know that the Romans initially tried to be helpful and protective toward the Jews? That perspective has been missing from most historical accounts and from popular media treatments. br / br /Madden is on less secure ground when writing about the contemporary U.S. Some of his analogies seem a little weak, perhaps because the events are too recent to allow detached analysis. Nonetheless, this is a unique perspective in the current literature, one that challenges the stereotype of an empire in decline.
Excellent Reminder That We Are the Heirs of Rome September 29, 2008
Thomas Fortenberry (Charlotte, NC)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an excellent reminder that we are indeed the heirs of Rome. Empire to empire, this is a great study. br / br /Thoroughly engaging analysis of America through the lens of Rome. Easy and fun to read, accessible, and coherent, which is a plus for armchair historians and political readers. They will not get lost nor does it as it covers a vast horizon of materials quite well. br / br /My only complaint is one of its charms: It is very upbeat and puts a postive spin or gloss on everything. All things are not well. Not only roses bloom in Rome. To cast the current American situation as all good is disingenuous; luckily he exposes lies and disturbing misconceptions. There was a great dark side to glorious Rome, which helped lead to its fall, and resulting plunge into a resulting Dark Age for an entire continent. We are currently perched upon a precipice and the future could go either way. This book can be read as both positive and a dire warning of the negative. Call it positively cautionary. br / br /A must read for anyone interested in the United States, history, politics, current affairs, and international -- oh, hell. If you want to understand the world you live in, do yourself a favor and read this book.
imperative knowledge September 23, 2008
Laurens N. Garlington (San Francisco)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Any citizen who considers himself reasonably historically literate must read this book. It offers the most encouraging perspective on current American conflicts.
Special Case Empires August 14, 2008
Ori Pomerantz (Austin, TX USA)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
The US is often compared to historical empires, yet the comparison usually rings hollow. If we are an empire and we conquered a country that produces oil, how come fuel is so expensive? If we are truly imperialistic, why did our troops leave Germany after conquering it in WWI? Why give Japan back its independence after WWII? br / br /In this book, Thomas F. Madden compares the US to Rome. Rome is considered the quintessential empire in the west because it ruled so much and survived for so long. Thomas F. Madden shows the differences between Rome and other empires in history. br / br /He makes the case that during the time when the Romans conquered their empire (until about 140 BCE): br / br /1. They did not want an empire. br /2. They wanted safety, which required allies in a dangerous world. br /3. Keeping those alliances required them to fight their allies' enemies. br /4. Having conquered their enemies, the Romans often attempted to turn them into allies, rather than conquered territories. br /5. By 140 BC they had implicit control of the entire Mediterranean area, yet still insisted on keeping up the charade of their relationships with other polities being alliances between equals. br / br /This, by itself, would make this book worthy reading for anybody interested in the history of western civilization. But Thomas Madden goes further than that. He shows the parallels between Rome and the US, and the world Rome inhabited (Greeks and Jews) and the one the US inhabits (West Europeans and Muslims).
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