Mr. Birley has stuck to relating Hadrian's life and does not explore his buildings, the Pantheon, Temple of Venus and Roma and his Villa at Tibur in any detail. Such considerations are best left to other books. Mr. Birley uses his sources (Historia Augusta etc) very well and explains their departures and omissions to what we know from archaeology. In the end, Hadrian remains an enigmatic personality but we have a far better understanding of him in his desire to Hellenize the empire and seeing himself as a second Augustus. His reign marks a turning point in the expansionist attitude of the Romans; Hadrian withdrew from the new province of Arabia (created by Trajan) and sought to fix the boundries of the empire. This was a view not shared by his immediate successors but came to be a necessity as time passed. Mr. Birley covers these critical ideas thoroughly and provides insight into a an interesting personality.
That being said, the author does a fantastic job of writing about Hadrian's life. By merely portraying the actions of this, Rome's "Wandering Emperor" we get a glimpse of a somewhat tragic historical figure and the actions of his rule. It is very intriguing, and there are many odd parallels to his rule and that of recent political figures.
This is a good book, despite the fact that it is at times laborious to get through. Hadrian is clearly depicted and the reader is left to formulate their own opinions - a refreshing change from many of the currently available histories.
