What survives from the Roman Empire is largely the words and lives of the rich and powerful: emperors, philosophers, senators. Yet the privilege and decadence often associated with the Roman elite was underpinned by the toils and tribulations of the common citizens. Here, the eminent historian Robert Knapp brings those invisible inhabitants of Rome and its vast empire to light.
 He seeks out the ordinary folk—laboring men, housewives, prostitutes, freedmen, slaves, soldiers, and gladiators—who formed the backbone of the ancient Roman world, and the outlaws and pirates who lay beyond it. He finds their traces in the nooks and crannies of the histories, treatises, plays, and poetry created by the elite. Everyday people come alive through original sources as varied as graffiti, incantations, magical texts, proverbs, fables, astrological writings, and even the New Testament.
 Knapp offers a glimpse into a world far removed from our own, but one that resonates through history. Invisible Romans allows us to see how Romans sought on a daily basis to survive and thrive under the afflictions of disease, war, and violence, and to control their fates before powers that variously oppressed and ignored them.

Invisible Romans

History

Knapp, Robert

Ancient Civilizations

Harvard University Press

What survives from the Roman Empire is largely the words and lives of the rich and powerful: emperors, philosophers, senators. Yet the privilege and decadence often associated with the Roman elite was underpinned by the toils and tribulations of the common citizens. Here, the eminent historian Robert Knapp brings those invisible inhabitants of Rome and its vast empire to light.
He seeks out the ordinary folk―laboring men, housewives, prostitutes, freedmen, slaves, soldiers, and gladiators―who formed the backbone of the ancient Roman world, and the outlaws and pirates who lay beyond it. He finds their traces in the nooks and crannies of the histories, treatises, plays, and poetry created by the elite. Everyday people come alive through original sources as varied as graffiti, incantations, magical texts, proverbs, fables, astrological writings, and even the New Testament.
Knapp offers a glimpse into a world far removed from our own, but one that resonates through history. Invisible Romans allows us to see how Romans sought on a daily basis to survive and thrive under the afflictions of disease, war, and violence, and to control their fates before powers that variously oppressed and ignored them.

Ordinary people of antiquity interacted with the supernatural through a mosaic of beliefs and rituals. Exploring everyday life from 200 BCE to the end of the first century CE, Robert Knapp shows that Jews and polytheists lived with the gods in very similar ways. Traditional interactions provided stability even in times of crisis, while changing a relationship risked catastrophe for the individual, his family, and his community. However, people in both traditions did at times leave behind their long-honored rites to try something new. The Dawn of Christianity reveals why some people in Judea and then in the Roman and Greek worlds embraced a new approach to the forces and powers in their daily lives.
Knapp traces the emergence of Christianity from its stirrings in the eastern Mediterranean, where Jewish monotheism coexisted with polytheism and prayer mixed with magic. In a time receptive to prophetic messages and supernatural interventions, Jesus of Nazareth convinced people to change their beliefs by showing, through miracles, his direct connection to god-like power. The miracle of the Resurrection solidified Jesus’s supernatural credentials. After his death, followers continued to use miracles and magic to spread Jesus’s message of reward for the righteous in this life and immortality in the next.
Many Jews and polytheists strongly opposed the budding movement but despite major setbacks Christianity proved resilient and adaptable. It survived long enough to be saved by a second miracle, the conversion of Emperor Constantine. Hand in hand with empire, Christianity began its long march through history.

The Dawn of Christianity: People and Gods in a Time of Magic and Miracles

Mid-Michigan was an untamable wilderness, good only for trappers and Native Americans until America's population exploded and the demand for timber suddenly changed everything. By the 1860s, Clare was at the center of this lumberman's paradise. Starting from a small village beside an abandoned lumber camp, the town prospered as farmers, ranchers, and merchants replaced loggers. Hastily thrown-up frame buildings gave way to brick, and interesting local life mirrored small-town America of the early 20th century. Then came oil, and colorful men such as Henry Ford and Jack Dempsey arrived. Purple Gangsters from Detroit moved in to take advantage of a "clean" investment. A famous murder at the local grand hotel brought national attention. On the eve of World War II, Clare had risen from the wilderness to be a fascinating community tucked away in middle America.

Clare: 1865 - 1940 (Images of America)

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

Handbook for the Personal Orientation Inventory

Business & Money

Economics

Edits Pub

Sam Garfield lived fifty years in the small town of Clare, Michigan. He and his much loved wife, Ruby, were solid citizens who participated in civic affairs, were appreciated business people, and formed many friendships. Beyond Clare, however, Sam was closely allied with major gangsters such as members of the Purple Gang, Moe Dalitz’ Cleveland Syndicate and, most of all, meg-mobster Meyer Lansky. On his own, Sam ran major gambling and securities schemes. But his most important role was as an agent for these criminals as they laundered their ill-gotten gains into gambling establishments and, most of all, investments in oil discovery and exploitation, Sam’s specialty. As a minion to the mob, Sam played an important but little recognized role in making some of America’s biggest hoodlums into successful entrepreneurial gangsters.

Small-Town Citizen, Minion of the Mob: Sam Garfield's Two Lives Purple Gangsters, Meyer Lansky, and Life in Clare, Michigan

Biographies & Memoirs

True Crime

Cliophile Press

The Laboratory School provided generations of teachers, students, and parents an outstanding education on the campus of Central Michigan University. Many changes occurred during the 75 years of the school's existence. Buildings came and went, personnel and programs evolved, but throughout, a philosophy of "we learn by doing" brought out the best in instructors and kids alike. This book tells the story in fact and reminiscences of a truly exceptional Community of Learning.

Community of Learning: History and Memories. The Laboratory School Central Michigan University 1895-1970

Americas

Mid-Michigan was an untamable wilderness, good only for trappers and Native Americans until America's population exploded and the demand for timber suddenly changed everything. By the 1860s, Clare was at the center of this lumberman's paradise. Starting from a small village beside an abandoned lumber camp, the town prospered as farmers, ranchers, and merchants replaced loggers. Hastily thrown-up frame buildings gave way to brick, and interesting local life mirrored small-town America of the early 20th century. Then came oil, and colorful men such as Henry Ford and Jack Dempsey arrived. Purple Gangsters from Detroit moved in to take advantage of a "clean" investment. A famous murder at the local grand hotel brought national attention. On the eve of World War II, Clare had risen from the wilderness to be a fascinating community tucked away in middle America.

Clare, 1865-1940

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Finis Rei Publicae draws on eyewitness accounts to provide students with a compelling narrative outlining the history of Rome during the late Republic, while carefully reinforcing and introducing advanced grammar and syntax. Excellent transitional text using actual documents and readings, with commentary on history and grammar, and exercises. Students are provided ample structured skills. Appropriate for third or fourth semester Latin and Latin Grammar review. Notes keyed to Allen and Greenough. 
Features: 
Provides a structured introduction to reading real Latin 
Tells a fascinating story in a connected narrative 
Offers a complete exercise manual to accompany the text

Finis Rei Publicae: Eyewitnesses to the End of the Roman Republic (Latin Edition)

Vaughn, Pamela

Europe

Focus

Workbook to accompany Finis Rei Publicae: Eyewitnesses to the End of the Roman Republic.

Finis Rei Publicae: Workbook (Latin Edition)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Knapp, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Knapp, Robert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Knapp, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Invisible Romans

Invisible Romans

The Dawn of Christianity: People and Gods in a Time of Magic and Miracles

Clare: 1865 - 1940 (Images of America)

Handbook for the Personal Orientation Inventory

Small-Town Citizen, Minion of the Mob: Sam Garfield's Two Lives Purple Gangsters, Meyer Lansky, and Life in Clare, Michigan

Community of Learning: History and Memories. The Laboratory School Central Michigan University 1895-1970

Clare, 1865-1940

Finis Rei Publicae: Eyewitnesses to the End of the Roman Republic (Latin Edition)

Finis Rei Publicae: Workbook (Latin Edition)