Vesuvius.
A quick bookblog – last week I read The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found by Mary Beard, who is one of the busiest classicists around, considering it seems as if it was only a few months ago I heard her interviewed on a BBC radio program about her book on the Roman Triumph. Well, graduate assistants are probably very handy to have around, I’d imagine.
There’s no lack of material on Pompeii out there – on every conceivable tiny detail of Pompeii, including what the wheel ruts on the road tell us about traffic patterns. Not that I’m an expert, but I thought Beard’s book was a very good introduction to the archaelogical evidence – what has been found and what we think it might tell us about life in Pompeii. What I particularly appreciated was Beard’s skepticism.  She never claims too much for the evidence at hand, and roundly takes to task those who do, in her opinion, overstate the case.
I’m actually more interested now in the process of discovery and excavation of the site, as well as the cultural impact.
Good, relatively quick, brisk read. With plenty of momento mori, sic transit gloria mundi built in for those in need of it, which is all of us at one time or another.