NetGalley Review: 5 stars Last updated on 28 Aug 2021 "In quirky Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators and War Elephants Historian Garrett Ryan candidly answers questions you were itching to ask, and then some. As a frequent traveler to Rome, I was thrilled to read this informative, witty and educational book, complete with photographs and illustrations on one of my favourite subjects.ancient Roman and Greek life. It is broken down into six parts and within these parts are numerous short chapters. Learn about innovative "pockets" in clothing, the ban on pants in Rome, painful shaving, pets of the wealthy, surgical instruments and procedures (including liposuction), trepanation, delectable elephant trunks, where the first cookbooks were created, the importance and ostentation of luxurious social gatherings, how time was tracked, wages, dangers (pretty much everything), ability to rent out public torturers if one was too squeamish, mythical beasts, curse tablets, pankration, exercise, swanky carriages, game tickets, "barley boys", inflatable ladders, fighting strategy using scorpions and burning feathers, language including definite and indefinite articles and the end of antiquity. There is so much more, too, as the book brims with fascinating bits. Though educational, you absorb information without studying if you know what I mean. It sticks as it's just so darned interesting! Roman and Greek History fans truly ought to seek out this dynamite book.

Be sure to read.and enjoy.the Appendix! When next in Rome I will definitely see things differently and can hardly wait. My sincere thank you to Rowman & Littlefield and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this fun and riveting book."--Brenda Carleton, reviewer at Agora Books.