Building in Words

Reviews / Votes

Building in Words remains a most worthwhile and delightful read for scholars of Latin books and monuments. * Del A. Maticic, Classical Review * Reitz-Joosse writes in a clear and engaging style, and 26 well-chosen figures buttress the largely sound argumentation. Scholars of art history as well as Latin literature will learn much from this work. * CHOICE * In her book, Reitz-Joosse shows how much appreciation of Roman architectural achievement has been fuelled by its literary representation -- principally of the construction processes entailed. * Dr. Indra Kagis McEwen, Concordia University , Montreal Architectural Review * This fascinating book uncovers new ground in emphasizing the importance to Roman culture of the processes involved in the construction of monuments. Drawing on the dialogue of inscriptions and images with literary texts, Reitz-Joosse explores the memorializing strategies and metaphorical possibilities of a wide range of large-scale engineering projects. She importantly reveals that the roots of today's environmental discourse lie in political and moral controversies over imperial intervention in nature. * Carole Newlands, University of Colorado Boulder * In the scholarship on 'written Rome' there is nothing like this fine book. Reitz-Joosse expertly studies for the first time how the process of constructing architectural projects (walls, bridges, water-works, obelisks, roads, temples, statues, and cities) is represented throughout early imperial Latin literature, with productive forays, too, into later periods. The rich discussions of well-chosen test cases are informed by an understanding of representational strategies in other media and attentive to the metaliterary significance of the theme. * John F. Miller, University of Virginia *