My latest book, Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire, will be published on August 19. Like any author, I await pubdate – as they call a book’s publication date in the book business – with excitement, enthusiasm, joy, and the jitters. After years of research and writing I find […]

People trying to wrap their heads around the horrific violence in Israel on October 7 and for days afterwards, followed by an Israeli assault on Gaza – people who want to understand all this need to fathom one simple fact: this is war. And war is not like peace, not at all. Most people in […]

When we leave a job, many of us just head for the exit – fast. Others think about their legacy. They want to leave under circumstances that cement that legacy and leave a good impression behind. CEO’s, founders, presidents, and kings and queens fall under the latter category. Cleopatra offers a classic example of what […]

Politics is often performance. There is a certain kind of politician, often a commander or king or tyrant or just a kingpin, who uses an entrance as a way of magnifying power. For such a leader an entrance is a come-on. It is a way of persuading or even tricking people into thinking that you […]

Thanks, everyone, for your continued enthusiasm about my podcast, Antiquitas. I hope you enjoyed the third and final episode of my three-part series on “How to Win A War,” this one on Clausewitz, the most important military thinker of modern times. Now, let’s turn back to antiquity. Last time, in the first of four posts, […]

Thanks, everyone, for your continued enthusiasm about my podcast, Antiquitas. I hope you enjoyed the second episode of my three-part series on “How to Win A War,” this one on Sun Tzu, the great ancient Chinese military philosopher. Now, let’s turn back westward, this time, to the northeast corner of Africa. When we think of […]