The Romans by R H Barrow
Rome has never died: what made her immortal?
By sheer force of character she won her place in the Mediterranean world; by that character she left an impression on the new nations of Europe, which arose from her empire. What was Roman character? What was the essence of Roman: achievement, and how did the Romans help to fashion the foundations of European civilization?
Many of the problems of the Roman world are our problems today and some of the solutions they proposed are peculiarly modern. 
This book is written from the point of view that the study of the past is of vital importance for the understanding of ourselves, and the Roman genius is an important part of that study.