“Rome is having a moment, often for the worst reasons—an obliging mirror, ready to flatter whoever happens to be holding it. Michelle Berenfeld will have none of it. ‘Lessons of a Lost Republic’ is urgent and necessary: inviting without sacrificing intelligence, brisk without sacrificing depth; it pushes beyond the easy parallels into the deeper structures of a republic in decay. Berenfeld brings a historian’s eye to this thrilling, sobering tale, and a citizen’s voice to its lessons for our own moment.”
— Ayad Akhtar, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of Homeland Elegies

Like modern Americans, ancient Romans despaired for their republic for decades, but also never quite accepted that it could actually go away. They made what they thought were short-term sacrifices that became long-term changes. They repeatedly empowered individual men to deal with crises rather than seriously considering the structural flaws in their system. The wealthy few chose to protect what was theirs rather than contribute to a common good. None of this was inevitable, but, as the Romans learned, a republic is not going to save itself.
— From the introduction to Lessons from a Lost Republic