The Storm Before the Storm: A Selected Bibliography

In The Storm Before The Storm, podcaster extraordinaire Mike Duncan reveals that by the year 133 BCE, the republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome then ruled. Bankrolled by mountains of imperial wealth and without a foreign enemy to keep them united, ambitious Roman leaders began to stray from the republican austerity of their ancestors. Soon, Rome became engulfed in violent political conflicts and civil wars that would destroy the Republic less than a century later. Born out of Duncan’s podcast, The Storm Before The Storm does not simply fill a critical hole in our knowledge of Roman history—it answers his listeners’ most popular question: “If America is a modern day Rome, where does the U.S. fall on the historical timeline?” The answer lies in the turbulent years of 133-80 BCE, when bloody battles, political machinations, and human drama came to define a dangerous new political environment. Mike Duncan discusses The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic on Friday, 11/17 at 6pm at the Co-op.

Makers of Rome by Plutarch

Fall of the Roman Republic by Plutarch

Catiline's War, The Jurgurthine War, Histories by Sallust

Civil Wars by Appian

The Rise of the Roman Empire by Polybius

On Government by Cicero

Selected Works by Cicero

Selected Political Speeches by Cicero

Mike Duncan is one of the foremost history podcasters in the world, with over 100 million episode downloads. His award-winning series The History of Rome remains one of the most popular history podcasts on the internet. In 2013, Duncan kicked off his second hugely popular series, Revolutions. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.