Rating: 
Summary: Sand and blood in ancient Rome
Review: Since I was in my teens, movie pictures like "Spartacus", "Demetrius the gladiator" and "Quo Vadis?" inspired me with an inextinguishable thirst to know facts about Gladiators & Roman Circus. I was able to find more than one book about Spartacus and his revolt, but on gladiator's everyday life, origins, evolution among other issues, I was unsuccessful. Worst of all, the recent movie "Gladiator", renew my interest.
Finally I found this book at Amazon's Store (where else?).
It is at the same time an oasis for my thirst and a let down in some aspects.
First the bright side: Mr. Baker has done a very interesting research and show his findings in a very amenable way.
All the main issues are addressed: origin of gladiatorial institution, organization, evolution and extinction. Weaponry, different kinds of fights, ceremonies, circus emplacement, glossary of terms. A vivid reconstruction of "A day at the Circus" and some other interesting items about these ancient warriors.
The shadowy side: the edition and typography of the book is poor, it looks as it was given to press in a hurry (trying to catch with film success?). Some side stories are well known, other are not directly related with the main object of the book. Bibliography is scarce and no reproductions are shown.
Balancing pros & cons the book is fairly good read for anyone interested in this particular subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Roman Gladiators
Review: This book is a popular history about the gladiatorial games in ancient Rome. As such, it has no footnotes and limited sources. Still, Baker does a pretty good job of giving a concise account of this fascinating aspect of ancient history. Various chapters cover such things as different types of gladiators, emperors who fought in the arena, and the Spartacus slave revolt. The book ends with an examination of why the gladiatorial games ended (Christianity, in a nutshell). The highpoint of the book is a fictional account of a day at the games under the emperor Commodus. Did this guy write the screenplay to the movie Gladiator? I don't think so, but he is obviously influenced by that film.What should become apparent as this book unfolds is the changing nature of the games and spectacles. The munera, or gladiatorial contests, originally began as a funeral ritual. During the Republic, the religious implications of these contests increasingly became politicized. Temporary theaters were constructed so people could recline and watch. The sponsors of these contests were increasingly magistrates and others who wanted to curry favor with the masses. The number of fighters also increased as the years went by. It was with the installation of Augustus that the games became codified in political terms. Augustus passed legislation concerning seating in the arena and took over many of the aspects concerning the games. Menageries holding animals used for exhibitions and executions were owned by the emperors, as were the gladiatorial schools housing the fighters. Other officials were banned for the most part from sponsoring games, although provincials were allowed to do so under strict supervision from Rome. Those officials who were allowed to hold games were held to strict limits so as not to upstage the emperor. Marcus Aurelius went so far as to construct a price schedule for the games. Officials could hold games, but the money amounts required were way below what the emperor could spend. This allowed the emperors to keep a tight check on potential rivals to the throne. Even with this concern over the games, it is highly unlikely anyone but the emperor could have afforded the kind of spectacles some of the rulers put on. Some emperors staged enormous recreations of naval battles on artificial lakes involving thousands of fighters. Not only was this highly entertaining, the battles provided a political basis for imperial rule. Augustus, for instance, came to power after the battle at Actium. Recreations of these sorts of battles reinforced his power. The gladiatorial games also accomplished this; gladiators fought in the dress of conquered peoples. This showed the subservience of these peoples to the power of Rome. Baker has written an entertaining, if somewhat melodramatic account of the games. Problems emerge when sensationalism is dwelled upon. The accounts of Caligula are a good example. Baker borrows heavily from Suetonius in this section. While most of the stories of Caligula's depravity are entertaining, many have nothing to do with the arena. Also, Suetonius wrote his accounts under the auspices of Hadrian, some time after Caligula's rule. It may have been in the interests of the time to paint these earlier emperors in a harsh light. Keep these things in mind while reading the book. Overall, Baker does a good job and the book is entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Thumbs Up! Definitely
Review: This is a tremendous book for anyone interested in the gladitorial contests of Ancient Rome.
The Romans used to treat the games as a holiday and they were so immune to the sight of death, and human life was held in such disregard that they would cheer and shout at the demise of a fallen warrior, just as modern day people would at the scoring of a goal at a football match.
The gladiators life was inevitably short and violent, but not all contests were fought to the death, it took a tremendous amount of time and money to train a fighter and their "managers" did not like to see their investment terminated.
Even free men chose to take of the life of a gladiator. They could gain great wealth if they were successful and were much beloved by many of the women of Rome.
There were many different types of gladiators, some using a short sword and shield, others a net and a trident. They are all named and described in the book.
Man was not always pitted against man, sometimes a gladiator would be paired against a wild animal or a pack of animals.
The book gives you a real feel of what it would really be like to stride out of the dark into the bright sunshine and burning sand of the arena. Possibly with a slave with a red hot iron egging you on if you were a bit hesitant, and the loser would certainly be marked with the hot iron to ensure that he was dead.
Rating:
Summary: Great Overall History of Gladiatorial Games
Review: This is an outstanding tome about the bloody combats known as gladiatoral games. Far from being comprised of just paired male combatants that most people think, the author shows that the games often had groups of men fighting against other groups, women fighting against dwarves, animals fighting against animals, men fighting against animals, etc. Detailed is the fact that even though gladiators were considered lowest of the low by Rome's citizenry, they were schizophrenically idolized by Rome's men and women to a point that freeborn men sometimes voluntarily joined the gladiator ranks and freeborn women would leave much wealth in order to run away with the fighters. Although the book would be better if it was footnoted, this can be overlooked because of the reading quality. For a good read on the savagery that was the gladiatoral arena, this book is one to get. Readers, though, should be advised that some of the imagery conjured up is quite harsh.
Rating:
Summary: Great Overall History of Gladiatorial Games
Review: This is an outstanding tome about the bloody combats known as gladiatoral games. Far from being comprised of just paired male combatants that most people think, the author shows that the games often had groups of men fighting against other groups, women fighting against dwarves, animals fighting against animals, men fighting against animals, etc. Detailed is the fact that even though gladiators were considered lowest of the low by Rome's citizenry, they were schizophrenically idolized by Rome's men and women to a point that freeborn men sometimes voluntarily joined the gladiator ranks and freeborn women would leave much wealth in order to run away with the fighters. Although the book would be better if it was footnoted, this can be overlooked because of the reading quality. For a good read on the savagery that was the gladiatoral arena, this book is one to get. Readers, though, should be advised that some of the imagery conjured up is quite harsh.
Rating:
Summary: Very Exciting and Well Written
Review: This little book contains a lot of interesting information on the gladiators of ancient Rome and is written in a style that makes it very difficult to put down. In describing the life of the Roman gladiator, the author includes, along the way, snipets of information and digressions on various related issues, including mini-biographies of noteworthy personages such as Spartacus and certain Roman emperors. Rather than detracting from the book's main focus, that is, gladiatorial games, these snipets complement the book such that the reader acquires a more complete picture of the epoch in which these cruel games were taking place. All that is missing is a suitable collection of pictures illustrating the various gladiator types, their equipment and the arenas in which they fought. Nevertheless, a highly recommended book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Terrible?
Review: Well, though I'm hardly a scholar on this subject, I really expected to get a lot more out of reading this book. It showes some promise early on, but then degenerates into a sort of re-hash of what I'd consider commonly-known facts about Rome's ancient vice. The author tries WAY too hard to try to paint the various arena games of the Romans in a semi-positive light by explaining that their culture was different than the modern day western world, but he positively hammers this point again and again. Also, the last quarter of the book is nothing but trite. I really can't recommend this. Though the author is obviously an expert, and has done his homework, there's really nothing in this book that makes one want to continue turning the pages.
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