Distraction is a story about difficulties the Romans had in preserving an empire. In 149 BC they took on a major war. While fighting that war, they found themselves trying to preserve their control over other territory and people (previously pacified) not entirely satisfied at being semi-dependent. In late 149 BC the largest Roman army to take the field in two generations is muddling around, at Carthage, its leaders apparently confused or intimidated. The consuls in Africa had successfully demanded that the Carthaginians turn over all weapons. But the Carthaginians had refused the Roman...

In 155 BC, Servius Fulvius Flaccus is handed a big farm near Salernum and travels south from Rome to manage it. Servius knows he is inexperienced. Although Servius is 23 years old and a veteran of a campaign against the Gauls, his father has kept him from taking any independent action. He understands that he must learn his job while maintaining a mask of authority and decisiveness. From the first day, he uncovers surprises - most of them bad. Most unexpectedly, a slave insurrection reaches Servius's farm just after his arrival. Fighting the renegades introduces Servius to Publius Cornelius...

In 153 BC, after three generations of Roman government and misgovernment, both the eastern, "nearer," province of Roman Spain: "Citerior," and the distant western province: "Ulterior," flame with violent insurrections, revolts further fueled by invaders from from unconquered Lusitania. Alarmed by these uprisings the Roman senate has ordered two newly elected magistrates, the Consul, Quintus Fulvius Nobilior and the Praetor, Lucius Mummius, to put out the fires in Hispania. Servius Fulvius Flaccus joins the army of his "half-uncle" Nobilior as a Military Tribune commanding a cohort of...

Fractures is a fictional study of Roman politics at multiple levels: within a family, within a clan, among a variety of politicians in Rome, and between Rome and other states. In 151 BC Servius Fulvius Flaccus has returned from a tour of duty in Hispania, been part of the Triumph of his last commander, and now wants to resume his real work: advancing through the public offices that a man of his rank should be able to hold. Still, Servius has his work cut out for him. He has to find ways to use his new money. He has to establish himself in the inner circle of his remote father and his father's...

Funny Limericks You Can Read to Aunt Clara or The Kiddies... The limericks in this book cover everything from puns, nonsense, and human foibles to business, law, and politics. There is a chuckle for everyone somewhere. Though popularized by British humorist Edward Lear, limericks have, for the most part, consisted of ribald or obscene references. As indicated by the title, none such appear here. The humor comes from ridiculous juxtaposition of visual images, outrageous puns, lampooning popular institutions, and anything else that seems funny. The goal is simple: Make 'em laugh.

Servius Fulvius Flaccus returns from the war at Carthage expecting that he now has the opportunity to make political moves. However, his earliest realization is that Scipio Africanus, his patron and recent commander, has not chosen Servius as one of the men he intends to advance. Swallowing his resentment, Servius begins to maneuver, intending to act so shrewdly that he will be impossible to ignore. As he works on behalf of his cousins, Quintus and Gaius Fulvius, he learns of past scandals in their branch of the family, of which he was not conscious. His efforts to surface the unfavorable...

In the previous year, Rome finally defeated and demolished Carthage. At the same time, a war in the Peloponnese gave Rome the excuse to take complete, direct control of most of the Greek cities. The question the senate faces is whether to demolish Corinth, the richest city in Greece, or use it as a source of continuing profits. Servius Fulvius Flaccus returns to Rome with an assignment, make the senate rethink its plan to tear Corinth down and sell its inhabitants as slaves. The victorious general, Lucius Mummius, has decided the best course is to restore and control the city. The senate...

Romans had tried to impose order on the Iberian Peninsula for three generations. The native populations there have finally found a leader who can go toe to toe with their foreign governors, a man named Viriathus. This novel is about the Roman efforts to defeat Viriathus and his ingenious attempts to turn the tables on the invaders.

SERVIUS FULVIUS FLACCUS RETURNS TO ROME AFTER almost two years of war in Hispania. He soon learns that all of Italy is short of food and that the Roman population is in an uproar over the behavior of its newly elected censors. THE ELECTION OF THE CENSORS EARLIER IN THE YEAR was politically shattering. NOT BECAUSE of the plebeian selection. Lucius Mummius, famous and popular because he had quickly defeated and dismantled Corinth during the war with the Achaean League two years before, had easily outpaced his inferior opponents. The election of a patrician censor was entirely different. PUBLIUS...