Pompeii
by:
Robert Harris (author)
All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and...
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All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried. The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has disappeared. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta’s sixty-mile main line—somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.Attilius—decent, practical, and incorruptible—promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. His plan is to travel to Pompeii and put together an expedition, then head out to the place where he believes the fault lies. But Pompeii proves to be a corrupt and violent town, and Attilius soon discovers that there are powerful forces at work—both natural and man-made—threatening to destroy him.With his trademark elegance and intelligence, Robert Harris, bestselling author of Archangel and Fatherland, re-creates a world on the brink of disaster.From the Hardcover edition.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780812974614 (0812974611)
ASIN: 812974611
Publish date: November 8th 2005
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Pages no: 304
Edition language: English
Category:
Adventure,
Novels,
Cultural,
Italy,
Historical Fiction,
Mystery,
Thriller,
Roman,
Suspense,
Fiction,
Historical
As the title suggests, about the destruction of Pompeii. More importantly, about the lives and culture of the people living in the doomed city and the events leading up to the eruption. Very professionally written and engaging. Authors like this one bring history to life.
bookshelves: ancient-history, published-2003, spring-2010, italy, roman-civilisation, historical-fiction, conflagration Read from April 26 to 29, 2010 Description: Ancient Rome is the setting for the superb new novel from Robert Harris, author of the number one bestsellers Fatherland, Enigma and ...
Pompeii – mein erster Gedanke beim Lesen des Buchtitels war dieser hier: Ah, ein Buch über den Vulkanausbruchs des Vesuv und die Zerstörung der ganzen Stadt. Keine Angst, dass kommt auch in diesem Buch vor, jedoch erst ab Seite 300 (wobei das Buch nur 400 Seiten hat). Auf den ersten 300 Seiten folge...
It's obvious to me that Harris did his homework--even before I got to a list of his sources in his Acknowledgments at the end of the novel. He picked an interesting character to carry most of the story, or at least someone in an interesting position to see the signs of impending doom. Marcus Attil...
Just days before the eruption of Vesuvius, the engineer Attilius arrives in Pompeii to take charge of the aqueduct that provides water for all the communities dotted around the Bay of Naples. Pompeii is a bustling town whose inhabitants are busy making money and enjoying themselves. They have no ide...