The Spartacus War, by Barry Strauss

Some years ago, a publishing company asked if I'd be interested in writing a biography of Spartacus. While flattered, I had to decline. Among other reasons, I didn't have enough to say about Spartacus to fill the 300 pages they wanted. I wasn't aware of my biggest handicap, though, that I had never walked the route Spartacus took. Barry Strauss has traveled the Campanian path the rebels took when they started a revolt that thwarted Rome from 73-71 B.C. The geography of Italy is almost as important a character as Spartacus in Strauss' version of the most famous Roman slave war.

In his 264 page book, Strauss deftly switches from fact to multiple possibilities to his preferred hypotheses depending on what the limited evidence suggests. He explains options succinctly without drifting off into pages-long digressions. This makes The Spartacus War suitable for anyone who wants to learn about Spartacus.