Utter trash, obviously written to bring in quick cash by appealing to people's prurient interests. The chapters I sampled had numerous historical errors. ( )

This is, perhaps, the most annoying book I have read in a very long time. The prose style is rushed and pedestrian. It is obviously written for the general reader - so why, one asks, is it peppered with untranslated Latin quotes? To make things worse, none of the quotes is properly cited, sometimes even the author is unacknowledged. Latin phrases and words, completely unexplained, also litter the text. The sources consulted are not cited. They can only be picked up from the authors mentioned throughout the text. The writings of all these authors have all been included with no critical examination as if everything written by them is to be taken as fact, including hagiographies of saints. (To be fair, the author does refer to some of them as "gossip"). All in all, it is a useless book. Its intended audience would find it bewildering, while anyone with the knowledge needed to read the Latin would find it, as I did, simply annoying.

Lurid and mostly false drivel in the best tradition of yellow journalism. The Julio Claudians were the most maligned, and chapter about Caligula is a pornographic fantasy. If you are looking for some historical research or accuracy just avoid it at all costs. ( )