The Seven Hills of Rome: A Geological Tour of the Eternal City

This book is not a travelogue for the scientifically uninitiated. If you have studied geology and enjoy the interplay with Roman history, it is terrific. Well done for a work that marries social studies with science. For example, you gain a different view of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva when you take the Tiber floods into account as explained in this book. This is not a beach read with flowing prose, it is a compelling piece for those who treasure deeper knowledge. The romance of this book is not found in grandiloquent vocabulary, but in the profundity of understanding.

The book looks interesting...I'm sure I will enjoy it...but it is VERY over-priced, in my opinion.

The content is very easy to follow because of the way the information is organized. Also, the topics are clearly explained so that even a novice Geologist can follow. It is an interesting read and a great reference book as well.

This was a requested find - and well received.

This should have been a wonderful book.Instead it deeply flawed by very bad writing.The narrative is about as exciting as a glassof cold spit and the sentence constructionreads as if it came from the pen of a sixthgrader who slept through English class.On top of an impenetrable writing style the manyphotographs are all black and white, even whencolour photographs or art work would havebeen better (the line draws are wonderful forthe most part, clearly showing essentialmaterial).The photographs further sufferfrom poor quality/composition. For examplethe photo’s on page 6, 8 and 9 showing theTrevi Fountain at different scales are uselesswithout a magnifying glass, and a photointerpreter’s loop would be even better.Page 57 shows a sink hole that could befrom any part of the world and simply takesup space to no real effect. Again and againthe photographs either add nothing to thereaders ability to understand the narrative orindeed take away from the book.1) page 91, the “church of San Vitate”according to the legend it’s surroundedby “debris. . .accumulated since medieval times”But from the picture it looks like a fast foodrestaurant under construction.2) page 93, a picture of “Monte Testaccio”which shows a grassy mound with bits of crumblingmasonry and a fence that could be Monte Testaccioor could be a grassy mound in NJ.3) p112, caption “you can see evidence of the gradualslumping movement in the curved trunks of trees.”No, you can’t, or at least I can’t. It’s a picture oftrees and brush that could be almost anywhere in the world.IF the reader looks very carefully they may see a tiny roadsign in the background that, with a bit of imagination, mightseem to show the curve of the trees. Or might not.4) Page 115, a big hole in the ground with an earth mover.The picture quality is almost good enough to make out thestrata. Almost.5) Page 128, a riveting picture of what is supposed to bethe “modern travertine quarry, Bagni di Tivoli . . .” Lookslike a broken wall, with rubble and another earth mover thatcould have been taken at a construction site in Idaho. Fortunately I got this from the library. A book worthadding to your personal library, but not at retail price.I’m going to wait and buy my copy from the bargain bin at$5.00 or better yet, $0.99.

Original in many ways, it offers the accomplished tourist with an enrichment from a perspective that other guidebooks do not offer. Much has to be said about the materials of construction used for the Servian Walls, the bases of temples and columns, the marble columns of churches, the flooring of streets, roads, and churches. It exposes the source location of such building materials, its use, and the effect of its use through out the ages.Sure, the photographs are not of first quality, but for a paperback of $15, they are good enough (pushing for color would have doubled the book price). Yet, some of the photographs are original, like the ones at the quarries. Also, the sinkhole diagrams are original, not even the local newspaper graphics department thought of that.The author could have mentioned some other interesting facts (but didn't), like the Justice Department building ("Palazzaccio"), built with heavy travertine stone on a clay foundation, and the 1980 earthquake in Southern Italy which had a muffled effect in Rome due to the clay foundation.

" The Seven Hills of Rome " propose de découvrir le site de Rome d'une façon très originale, mais pertinente: les lecteurs curieux et désireux de s'instruire auront le plaisir de découvrir, en Anglais, comment s'est formé géologiquement le site de Rome, et comment l'environnement romain a eu (et a toujours) un impact sur les activités humaines des Romains (notamment l'urbanisme et l'architecture). Cet ouvrage est accessible à toute personne comprenant l'Anglais; nombreuses illustrations en noir et blanc; on déplore l'absence, cependant, d'une carte géologique de Rome en couleurs. Malgré cela, nous en recommandons vivement la lecture.

Un itinerario originale per capire Roma, a partire dalle particolarità del suo territorio. Peccato solo per la scarsa qualità di molte delle illustrazioni.