Where Is the Colosseum? by Jim OConnor

Where Is the Colosseum? Reviews

• 
  Adam

  Quite a feat of engineering. The sea battles idea is clever but they gave way to trapdoors for changing scenery and give quick access for the wild beasts to enter, just like in the Russell Crowe 'Gladiator' movie.
  
  "Are you not entertained?!"
  
  Turns out the Roman soldiers came home from slaughtering non-Romans and were quite bored so formed a square of a hundred or so dullards and forced to prisoners of war to fight to the death with daggers [a case of PTSD perhaps? Or just cruel thugs?] These became popular (this was before radio or books or TV remember) obviously and as they say the rest is history.
  
  They also had shade clothes to cover the roof where the seating was but still allowed sun to shine in on the sand-dusted floor (to soak up blood, yikes!)
• 
  Heather

  Yikes
  
  The building itself is amazing, but what took place there was horrible. I can't imagine viewing people kill others and animals and find it entertaining.
• 
  Michelle

  Detailed history of a piece of history in Rome. I visited in 2001 and was able to tour and walk around. It was under construction then as well.
• 
  Kristi Clemow

  Pretty interesting book. Pretty terrible too
• 
  David

  As a symbol of the power of the Emperor of the Roman Empire, the Colosseum took many years to construct, was a marvel of engineering for its time, and was finally opened by the Emperor Titus in AD 80 to great fanfare and kicked off with 100 days of games to provide entertainment for 50,000 Roman citizens as well as servants and slaves with numbered entrances and seating areas. Many or most of these games that were very popular among ancient Romans involved fighting (often to the death) between gladiators or gladiators against various wild animals. Because of its sheer size it was even flooded so that a sea battle with modified warships could take place at the request of the Emperor. The author, Jim O'Conner, in his book Where is the Colosseum? provides a lot of information about the construction techniques as well as examples of how advanced Roman civilization was with running water provided via aqueducts and even heated water that was used to heat the floors in public baths. These descriptions of daily life for ordinary Romans was eye-opening. As the Colosseum fell into ruins by AD 476 with much of its stones and bricks taken by local citizens for their own homes, it was eventually rescued from further decline and somewhat restored to its present condition by the Italian government. Even with so much of what it was removed, it remains one of the most impressive ancient structures today.
• 
  Jeremy Manuel

  I've read somewhere around ten of these Who/Where/What Was/Is books with my kids this year. So I'm just going to say that overall the series is really great for introducing kids into history. They are children's history so they're not going to be super detailed and maybe skirt around some of the more mature issues, but they also deal with some harsh realities at the same time. I feel they do a good mix and provide a good introduction to whatever they cover.
  
  This book is on the Colosseum and about the events that went on there and other arenas in Rome. So it talks about gladiators, wild animals, and chariot races as well and isn't strictly about the Colosseum in general. This makes sense to cover since the Colosseum was built to put on the games that the Romans so loved, even if they would be considered inhumane by many today.
  
  Even so, the book provides an interesting look at both the building and the events that went on inside of it and other similar venues. As with all of these series of books it provides a good introduction to the topic and to history and non-fiction in general.
• 
  LeAnn Sigafoose

  This has been my favorite Where is/ What is/ Who was book series!
  This had so much information and was so interesting to me!
  My only concern is that it is geared to younger readers and it is talking about some series things like the fights that happened in the Colosseum. Would we suggest a child to read this book? Myself would wait till they are in the older years of middle school for them to read this for History maybe. I really liked the parts that talked about the beginning of Rome and the Gods and what each God was for.
  I think the most amazing thing to take away from the book and the information itself is that they were able to build these amazing buildings so long ago. Are we behind in this day? If they were already able to build these massive buildings should we be able to do so much more now? This book gave information and made you think.
  Great read!
• 
  Amanda

  All about the history of ancient Rome, Roman emperors, gladiators, and the Colosseum itself.
  Interesting, but also harrowing, how brutal and violent humans were at that time, as punishment and also for entertainment. Yikes.
  Fascinating, how advanced the Romans were with engineering and architecture, the use of concrete, aqueducts, arches, indoor bathrooms. (While at the same time, their streets were unspeakably filthy!)
  Widely nformative, it strayed all over to talk about other amphitheaters and architecture, it didn't seem to focus on the Colosseum all that particularly.
  Biggest draw back - I did not care for the illustrations. This is my least favorite illustrator in the series, cartoonish, which I don't feel fits well here. I prefer the many realistic illustrators who compliment this nonfiction series with lifelike illustrations.
• 
  Beth Huddleston

  I enjoy the Who Is, What Is, and Where Is series of nonfiction books because they remain high interest even though they are written for lower reading levels.
  
  This book is packed with the history of the Colosseum with gladiators, emperors, engineering, decoration, and the rise and fall of Rome.
• 
  C.G.Koens

  This was a read aloud with the kids, started for school when we were studying Italy. Although it's primarily about the Colosseum, it does give a broad overview of ancient Rome and the Roman Empire. I read it to kids ages 8-12. Two thumbs up from the 12 year old.
• 
  M

  Excellent overview of both the Colosseum and life in Ancient Rome. Well-written for a young audience but not so remedial that adults couldn't enjoy it.
• 
  Tiffany

  I wish I would have read this before visiting the Colosseum this summer. Ha! Great little addition to the series.
• 
  MPSchaff

  Neat little book that makes the Romans accessible and interesting to kids. Simple but engaging drawings. We're going to hunt down a copy for us to keep before our trip to Rome.
• 
  Alex

  I just didn't enjoy this one very much, not sure why.
• 
  Nicole Roach

  This book describes the activities that went on in the great Roman Colosseum. Emperor Titus was responsible for the construction of the Colosseum and the games that went on there. The Colosseum was even flooded at times to create mock sea battles. Thankfully these activities do not happen at the Colosseum anymore, but the world-famous landmark is still visited by millions each year.
• 
  Allison

  Good book if you are looking for basic information. In terms of use in research, I would go for something else. Otherwise, great quick read.
• 
  Yvonne

  I had hoped that this book would be geared more toward the Colesseum and less about Rome and the Romans. But it was a good description of the Roman Empire and of Early Rome. All in all a good read.