The Social and Economic History of the Hellenistic World

n short, this book is a masterpiece of historical scholarship. Rostovtzeff describes every aspect of socioeconomic life throughout Roman civilization from the Julio-Claudians through Diocletian in a wonderful narrative. It is hard to imagine that a book primarily concerned with how people feed and clothe themselves can be an engrossing page-turner, but this book is. If you are at all interested in the history of real people, you must read this book.