Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines by Garrett Ryan hooked me from the start with its fascinating dive into lesser-known aspects of ancient history. This book is a treasure trove of bizarre and intriguing facts that make the past come alive in unexpected ways.

Ryan’s storytelling is engaging and accessible, making complex historical events and figures easy to understand. I was particularly drawn to the stories of mad emperors and their eccentricities, the exploration of cities lost to the sea, and the ingenious (and sometimes terrifying) earthquake machines.

What makes this book special is its ability to blend scholarly research with a light, conversational tone. Ryan doesn't just present dry facts; he weaves them into narratives that are both informative and entertaining. Each chapter offers a new surprise, keeping me eagerly turning the pages.

The book does have a lot of information packed in, which might feel overwhelming at times. However, Ryan’s clear writing and humor help to keep things balanced and engaging.

Overall, "Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines" is a must-read for history buffs and anyone curious about the stranger sides of the ancient world. Garrett Ryan has created a captivating journey through history that’s both educational and fun.

This was a very short, informational book! I liked the style that the author used; I enjoyed the way the author gave the questions and then answered them.

Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines is a crisp, concise history book filled with bite-sized facts and lessons about the ancient world. Written for a broad audience, Garrett Ryan successfully walks the line between education and entertainment. He provides plenty of details when answering many of the questions posed throughout the book (Did they practice astrology? Did they come close to an Industrial Revolution? Was there a Trojan War?) but practices enough restraint not to bore casual readers who are looking to comfortably ease into the ancient world. While the content might not be quite as lighthearted as the title and cover suggest, Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines is nevertheless a great primer for anyone who wants to learn more about this epic period of history but isn't sure where to start.

This book was incredibly interesting. I feel like I learned a lot even though I feel like this space in the book world can be pretty saturated. I loved it.

A quick and fun read about history -- I didn't know the author had a youtube channel, so anything that correlated to it was still fresh for me, but people who already follow him have noted that this book is repetitive when compared to his channel.

This book was so interesting and I was unable to put it down. I finished this in one day in just a few sittings. The questions asked in this book were ones I may never have thought on my own but I found myself wanting to know the answer to each one more than the last.

The answers did seem a bit long and drawn out however. As a history nerd I'm interested in all of the information but these were a bit lengthy in my opinion

I liked this title but I thought the author could have had more of a point of view. It seemed like it was just reporting of facts and that the author, while very knowledgable, hadn't developed a perspective on them. This might have lent the book more humor or made it more memorable. I would read something else by this author though.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and Garrett Ryan for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read a history book in a little while but this really made me miss school! I pretty well started and finished this book in one sitting, it was written so well I found it easy to read in one sitting. This Q&A packed a lot of information into small sections of general topics - but let me tell you - although small, the “A” part of the Q&A felt jam packed with knowledge. I will admit, at first I wasn’t sure if I was actually interested in some of the questions being posed, but the explanations were written in a really enjoyable way. Who knew I would be so interested in the widening of Roman streets and Julius Caesar banning wheeled vehicles.. I mean imagine that!

I loved this book, and I’m excited to purchase it on pub day! Looking forward to reading more from this author as well.

My thanks to Globe Piqueot, Garrett Ryan and Netgalley.
Fun book. Perfect for people like me who doesn't want to read through the heavy lifting kind of books!

A follow-up to Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants with more questions about the ancient world! These books are fun and easy to read. It’s broken up into small chapters that is easy to pick up and read one or two at a time!

*Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a great way to learn fun facts and learn the answers to random questions about ancient Rome. It was informative and engaging and I truly wanted to know all the answers to the questions. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys history, or someone who struggles to read large history books. This is broken up in a way that makes it easier to comprehend. Great read!

I loved the content here as Ryan doesn't just cover the usual pop-history topics of Roman and Greek history, but really digs into the subject matter, examining on a macro level how these empires/kingdoms rose and fell, thrived and failed, the art produced, the types of leadership, the literature and its later impact, and more.

However, I wasn't a fan of the set up of the book. All of the subject matter seemed to be covered in a scatter shot style, with no attempt at organizing the history by chronology, geography, subject or theme. The sections of how and why and what questions seemed a little too random for me to enjoy the overall layout of the book - but I still loved the individual chapters' content!

Like the author's previous book, the interesting historical content combined with the informal writing style is very refreshing and fun. Very much hoping there will be more books like this to come! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

I love the delightful but not well-known bits of history in Ryan's books. You'll learn plenty about the Roman Empire and the Greeks, with questions organized very loosely by type. I really liked that the book had plenty of information on the later years of the Empire, especially in the East. I also liked that the book took a historical perspective on many questions.

Much like the author's first book, excellent. Just brilliant.

A fairly quick read, it's geared toward people who don't want to slog through 500-page books full of technical and historical terms that are essentially meaningless to them. But Ryan's work also remains clever, informative, and humorous, while at the same time engaging and almost narrative.

Absolutely fantastic, filled with facts, tidbits, and perspectives I'd never considered. I do hope the author continues this series--I would eagerly devour.

This is some of my very kind of light and casual history treading. I can pick it up, flip to any section at random and immediately be treated to a little serving of knowledge that I can easily and happily absorb in a few minutes of downtime.

For "Insane Emperors...", so far I've read about the Indo-Greek kingdoms where the Hellenic culture met Buddhism, the archaeological evidence for a conflict that may have been the inspiration for the Trojan War of Homer's epic poems, and about a historical Sparta that is sizably different from the one I've seen in pop culture - and I've happily enjoyed every new fact that I learned from each one. Garrett Ryan not only covers an entertainly varied collection of topics here, but each individual session packs quite a bit of information and detail - almost surprisingly so.

I look forward to all the various chapters that I have ahead of me - and hope that Ryan comes out with yet another collection in this series relatively soon so that I can devour that as well. Again, it's light and entertainingly informative history reading at some of its very best.

A fun and informative book about life in the classical world. I love stories about Greek and Roman empire. This book has lots of interesting details. It's told in an informal and fun way. I enjoyed it a lot.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.