Pleasure gets a bad rap in 'serious' studies, yet the many facets of pleasure influence cultures and individuals across the world and the centuries. The pleasures to be found in the Roman villa powerfully motivated elite Romans, and included the relaxation provided by gardens, art collections, and banquets. Food and wine, song and dance, sex and violence all have their cultural attractions, and this book displays the Roman approach to these perennial pleasures. Written in a easy accessible style, this is a pleasurable read that places a lot of information into a desireable package.

Don't expect prurient pleasure from this book, although it does discuss Roman sexual mores in detail. This book is more about the Roman's attitudes rather than their practices. Their use of pleasure as an instrument of social rewards and punishment could teach us a lot.

Ray Laurence poses some tantalizing questions in ROMAN PASSIONS. How big a role does pleasure play in the development of civilization? What did the Romans take pleasure in? How did that affect them? Or what was it in them that made them take pleasure in certain things? Then in twelve lively chapters with titles like "The Roman Body at the Baths," "Roman Erotics," "Food and Wine," "Violence," "Collectors and Collections" he explores the various forms of Roman pleasure culminating with the final essay, "Pleasure Transforms Roman Culture." This is followed by a Timeline, a Glossary (which defines not only the Roman names and terms, but the modern British terms that Laurence sometimes employs, like "ASBO"), a Further Reading section, Notes, and an extensive Bibliography that includes over 300 works.

I found this book easy to read and quite enjoyable. It caused me to see a lot of things in new ways and raised questions not just about the Romans but my own culture. It's a provocative book for anyone with an interest in Rome. This is NOT a book just for specialists in the field. If your knowledge of Rome has been gleaned exclusively from films and Roman detective novels by Steven Saylor or Lindsey Davis you will have no trouble understanding or enjoying ROMAN PASSIONS.