Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Pandgt;America's post--Cold War strategic dominance and its pre-recession affluence inspired pundits to make celebratory comparisons to ancient Rome at its most powerful. Now, with America no longer perceived as invulnerable, engaged in protracted fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, comparisons are to the bloated, decadent, ineffectual later Empire. In Why America Is Not a New Rome, Vaclav Smil looks at these comparisons in detail, going deeper than the facile analogy-making of talk shows and glossy magazine articles. He finds profound differences. On the surface, the vision of America as the new Rome has resonance. There are obvious, intriguing parallels and amusing--even disconcerting--similarities. The America-Rome analogy deserves a closer look, and this is what Smil, a scientist and a lifelong student of Roman history, offers. He does this by focusing on several fundamental concerns: the very meaning of empire; the actual extent and nature of Roman and American power; the role of knowledge and innovation in the two states and the importance of machines and energy sources; and demographic and economic basics--population dynamics, illness, death, wealth, and misery. America is not a latter-day Rome, Smil finds, and we need to understand this in order to look ahead without the burden of counterproductive analogies. Superficial similarities do not imply long-term political, demographic, or economic outcomes identical to Rome's.andlt;/Pandgt;
Review
Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor at the University of Manitoba and the author of many books, including Global Catastrophes and Trends: The Next Fifty Years (2008), Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems (2007), and Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties (2005)(all published by the MIT Press). He was awarded the 2007 Olivia Schieffelin Nordberg Award for excellence in writing and editing in the population sciences.
"Why America Is Not a New Rome is significant because, for the first time, it puts comparative perspectives on Rome and the United States in proper and much-needed historical context. This is a timely and valuable intervention." -- Walter Scheidel, Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University --Walter Scheidel
Review
Repetition by pundits and literary commentators in the mass media has entrenched in people's minds the notion that America is a new Rome. Smil's book, tightly argued and rigorously documented, is a concise and persuasive scientific demolition of the Rome-America parallel, totally deflating the usefulness of the analogy as a tool of historical analysis. Why America is Not a New Rome is a much-needed corrective. < b=""> Paul Demeny <> , Distinguished Scholar, Population Council, New York
Review
"Why America Is Not a New Rome is significant because, for the first time, it puts comparative perspectives on Rome and the United States in proper and much-needed historical context. This is a timely and valuable intervention." -- Walter Scheidel, Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University --Walter Scheidel
Review
“Smil (Univ. of Manitoba, Canada) has written an entertaining response to authors who have compared the US to the Roman Empire..."
— S. Prisco III, CHOICE"Why America Is Not a New Rome is significant because, for the first time, it puts comparative perspectives on Rome and the United States in proper and much-needed historical context. This is a timely and valuable intervention."
—Walter Scheidel, Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University"Repetition by pundits and literary commentators in the mass media has entrenched in people's minds the notion that America is a new Rome. Smil's book, tightly argued and rigorously documented, is a concise and persuasive scientific demolition of the Rome-America parallel, totally deflating the usefulness of the analogy as a tool of historical analysis. Why America Is Not a New Rome is a much-needed corrective."
—Paul Demeny, Distinguished Scholar, Population Council, New York
Review
"[T]his book is both a polemic and a work of scholarship." -- Daniel Headrick, Technology and Culture The MIT Press
Review
Smil (Univ. of Manitoba, Canada) has written an entertaining response to authors who have compared the US to the Roman Empire... < b=""> Daniel Headrick <> , < i=""> Technology and Culture <>
Review
andlt;Pandgt;andquot;Repetition by pundits and literary commentators in the mass media has entrenched in people's minds the notion that America is a new Rome. Smil's book, tightly argued and rigorously documented, is a concise and persuasive scientific demolition of the Rome-America parallel, totally deflating the usefulness of the analogy as a tool of historical analysis. Why America is Not a New Rome is a much-needed corrective.andquot;-- Paul Demeny, Distinguished Scholar, Population Council, New Yorkandlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;andquot;[T]his book is both a polemic and a work of scholarship.andquot; -- andlt;Bandgt;Daniel Headrickandlt;/Bandgt;, andlt;Iandgt;Technology and Cultureandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press The MIT Press The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;andquot;Smil (Univ. of Manitoba, Canada) has written an entertaining response to authors who have compared the US to the Roman Empire..." -- andlt;Bandgt;S. Prisco IIIandlt;/Bandgt;, andlt;Iandgt;CHOICEandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Pandgt;
Review
[T]his book is both a polemic and a work of scholarship. The MIT Press
Review
Smil (Univ. of Manitoba, Canada) has written an entertaining response to authors who have compared the US to the Roman Empire... < b=""> Daniel Headrick <> , < i=""> Technology and Culture <>
Synopsis
America's post--Cold War strategic dominance and its pre-recession affluence inspired pundits to make celebratory comparisons to ancient Rome at its most powerful. Now, with America no longer perceived as invulnerable, engaged in protracted fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, comparisons are to the bloated, decadent, ineffectual later Empire. In
Why America Is Not a New Rome, Vaclav Smil looks at these comparisons in detail, going deeper than the facile analogy-making of talk shows and glossy magazine articles. He finds profound differences.
Smil, a scientist and a lifelong student of Roman history, focuses on several fundamental concerns: the very meaning of empire; the actual extent and nature of Roman and American power; the role of knowledge and innovation; and demographic and economic basics--population dynamics, illness, death, wealth, and misery. America is not a latter-day Rome, Smil finds, and we need to understand this in order to look ahead without the burden of counterproductive analogies. Superficial similarities do not imply long-term political, demographic, or economic outcomes identical to Rome's.
Synopsis
An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles.
Synopsis
America's post-Cold War strategic dominance and its pre-recession affluence inspired pundits to make celebratory comparisons to ancient Rome at its most powerful. Now, with America no longer perceived as invulnerable, engaged in protracted fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, comparisons are to the bloated, decadent, ineffectual later Empire. In
Synopsis
andlt;Pandgt;An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles.andlt;/Pandgt;
About the Author
Vaclav Smil is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of more than thirty books, including Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature and, most recently, Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing, both published by the MIT Press. In 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. In 2013 Bill Gates wrote on his website that "there is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil."