Spartacus (Novel) by Howard Fast

[Sozialist]

A person has recommended me to read Spartacus by Howard Fast.
I haven't read it yet but plan on doing so this weekend.

Has anybody read it, and is the novel listed as reference material at your public library?

[CornetJoyce]

What would a novel be a reference work for, other than the writing of novels?

[Sozialist]

I wasn't allowed to take the book with me.It had reference stamped on the first page.
I thought perhaps they made a mistake but the librarian wasn't very helpful.This happened about two years ago,and I 'll try again this weekend.

Have you read it, and if so how do you like it?

[RED DAVE]

(1) Reference books in a library refer to books that do not circulate. They are usually, but not always, works like dictionaries, atlases, handbooks, etc.

(2) Fast's novel is a good yarn, and his sympathy with the slaves is obvious. It's a fun read, but don't take it seriously as history.

(3) The move starring Kirk Douglas, and directed by Stanley Kubrick, is based on this book. Get it on Netflix.

RED DAVE

[Lenina Rosenweg]

Someone recommended that I read "Citizen Tom Paine" by Howard Fast. Is this worthwhile?

[CornetJoyce]

Fast was certainly a popular writer of the Left. I haven't read any of his books but if the Spartacus movie fairly represents his novel, I'm more impressed by his sincerity than his history. According to Plutarch, Spartacus was a political rebel punished by enslavement, but the film has him enslaved from birth. Plutarch says he died fighting but the movie has him crucified. And I don't see how Fast could have resisted the tale of the wife of Spartacus- a prophetess whose visions drove the Rising.