So while I was at the lake, I took it upon myself to get some reading done and I picked up a book I've had for a year but hadn't bothered to read yet. 

[b]The Roman World[/b] (Nonfiction, Second Edition) by Colin Wells. I have to admit I was somewhat looking forward to coming back home so I could expand on how good of a book this is. It covers the Roman Period from the years 44 B.C. to 235 A.D. beginning with Octavian who would later be known as Augustus Caesar and his power plays, the first part of the book concluding with a vivid account of the war between him and Marcus Antony who married Cleopatra. The book has many, many sources to use for any aspiring historian, and you can also tell the author took his time in his investigations and research on answering the many queries of the time, exploring government, military, and civilian life. He has an intelligent and somewhat posh way of speaking (which is why the next part made me lol at 2 A.M.). Although I will tell you the part that made me fall in love with the book was when it actually bothered to quote a letter written by Antony to Octavian when the latter was spreading propaganda about his fornicating with a foreigner. 

[quote]What's come over you? That I'm screwing the Queen? We're married. Is it anything new? It's been going on for 9 years. Is Livia Drusilla the only one you're screwing? Good luck to you if you haven't screwed Tertulla or Terentilla or Rufilla o Salvia Titisenia or all of them by the time you read this. Does it matter when you have it away, and who with?[/quote] (Seutonius, Augustus, 69)