ROMA:The Novel of Ancient Rome—Steven Saylor—A completely impressive work of historical fiction tracing the growth of Rome from before it's beginnings into the reign of Caesar Augustus. Through the 499 tightly written pages, Saylor weaves history and myth using succeeding generations of the earliest of families to explain those myths and the histories surrounding them; the politics, wars, and overriding themes of history. Wonderful 'tidbits' of fact are presented within the storyline...things that relate to our understanding of the world today. Roma has been highly praised by the reviewers and is a wonderful book—very difficult to put down once started.