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The Murder Of Cleopatra: History's Greatest Cold Case (2013)

by Pat Brown(Favorite Author)

3.38 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1616146508 (ISBN13: 9781616146504)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Prometheus Books

review 1: I'm going to be echoing some other reviews here. The author is clearly a better profiler than she is a writer. She is also not a historian or a psychoanalyst, which makes her theories about the "murder" of Cleopatra and Antony... just that, mere speculation. This case is so cold that, in the absence of the smoking gun or any physical evidence, it's just not going to be solved conclusively. She does a great job of debunking Plutarch's obviously staged description of Cleantony's demise, though.
review 2: I originally gave this 2 stars, but have upped it to 3. Ms. Brown is not a good writer. However, I give her kudos for tackling the subject in the 1st place. She certainly is thorough in her research and I'm not in the position to question her forensic skills. ... more I remember seeing a TV special of hers several years ago where she tackles the Jack the Ripper case and announces at the end who she believes he was. So, I had this in the back of my mind when I began reading this book. She does introduce several interesting ideas about Cleopatra and Antony's demise which, if you stand back and look at it, how it's been portrayed through the centuries, does seem like a Hollywood movie. What a lot of folks today don't realize is that "political spin" is not a new invention. The writers/orators of ancient Rome, during this time period, were hard at work trying to discredit Cleopatra and Egypt in general. She was branded a harlot, sex-crazed man-eater when in fact she had a brilliant mind and loved her country and it's people and would do anything to protect it. Yes, she made poor choices in who she aligned herself with but she meant well. Ms. Brown also discusses certain "revisionist" ideas about Cleopatra and her lineage which I also give her credit for. Please read Stacy Schiff's wonderful bio - Cleopatra: A Life, for a much better picture of this fascinating woman and her circle. less

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