the year in books [VII]

In the Footsteps of King David is a technical look at archaeology in an Iron Age city close to where David slew Goliath. The book gives excellent background to Iron Age Israel in the time of the United Monarchy. Much of the book is geared towards examining daily life through the lens of archaeology, and there's a fantastic chapter on Solomon's Temple. The Rise of Athens is the story of Athens through Greek history. The story begins with a retelling of origin mythology, and the book covers the evolution of Athenian democracy and philosophy while hitting major turning points in Athenian history: the Greco-Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian Wars, and the rise of Macedon and Alexander the Great. Philip Freeman's biography of Julius Caesar is one of the best biographies of the man I've ever read; he has some other biographies of ancient folk that I'm eager to read. Finally, The Romans: From Village to Empire is a survey of Roman history from the first settlements in the Roman hills to the Empire under Constantine. The writing is dry and technical, making it a slog at times, but this book provides the best treatment I've seen of the early Roman kingdom period.