Person
Every book Tom Holland recommended on podcasts
Tom Holland appears on podcasts such as People I (Mostly) Admire and Conversations with Tyler as a historian, writer, and intellectual commentator specializing in antiquity, the fall of Rome, and the historical development of Christianity. Across these conversations, he frequently examines how ancient narratives, classical texts, and religious scriptures have shaped modern Western thought and culture. While discussing his research and writing process for his book Rubicon, Holland recalls reading the extensive correspondence of Cicero, Rome's premier orator and a contemporary of Julius Caesar, and notes how he kept everyday readers in mind during composition. In exploring theological and literary history, Holland references the Book of Revelation, noting Saint Augustine's historical anxieties about Christians interpreting the apocalyptic text too literally. He also reflects on his teenage fascination with Lord Byron's poetry, specifically mentioning the play Cain and the Book of Exodus as formative works that led him away from conventional Christian beliefs during his youth. Additionally, Holland contrasts biblical transmission with the Quran, referencing Ahmad Shah's The Biblical Characters, and Other Sages of the Quran and Bernhard W. Anderson's Understanding the Old Testament to discuss textual integrity and divine revelation. Through these reflections, Holland illustrates a lifelong engagement with the historical, literary, and spiritual texts that underpin civilization.
Books recommended by Tom Holland
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Rubicon
Discussed“I always remember when I was researching Rubicon, reading the letters of Cicero, this great corpus of correspondence from Rome's greatest orator of his day, a contemporary of Julius Caesar.”
Where to get it
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The Biblical Characters, and Other Sages of the Quran
The Biblical Characters, and Other Sages of the Quran by Ahmad Shah explores the intersections of biblical narratives and Quranic tradition.
Discussed“and the idea that um that you get in the Quran very obviously that that this is literally the word of God it's not being mediated by humans with the Ten Commandments”
Where to get it
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The book of Exodus
The Book of Exodus is a foundational biblical text detailing the Israelites' enslavement in Egypt, their dramatic liberation, and the giving of the law at Mount Sinai.
Discussed“that's another reason why I found Byron's poetry when I was you know in my teens so powerful and so effective and it's part of what led me away from kind of Christian belief really a kind of feeling that um all the cool kids were hanging out with Kane and especially all the cool Elder Sons in the book”
Where to get it
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The Book of revelation
The Book of Revelation is the apocalyptic final book of the New Testament, detailing prophetic visions of the end of the world and the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
Discussed“and the archetype of you know the the greatest of the Latin Church Father Saint Augustine writing in the um the late 4th and early 5th Century he is very very anxious that um Christians might read the book of Revelation and interpret it too literally”
Where to get it
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Understanding the Old Testament
Understanding the Old Testament by Bernhard W.
Discussed“um in a way it's the kind of it's the molten heart of what Christians call the Old Testament it's it's it's literally the word of God”
Where to get it
Books Tom Holland wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| 158. Why Did Rome Fall — and Are We Next? | People I (Mostly) Admire | 2025-05-24 | 2 |
| Tom Holland on History, Christianity, and the Value of the Countryside | Conversations with Tyler | 2023-03-22 | 6 |
Other mentions (7: passing, ad reads, own books)
“And I remember when I was writing Dominion, I wasn't 100% certain what conclusions I would come to or what path I would take as I was writing it.”
“And so I wrote Rubicon because Rome was what I had particularly loved as a child and going through my teens.”
“and I I wrote about this in in person Farm I book about the um the Persian Wars and I was writing against the backdrop of the uh NATO attempt to stabilize Afghanistan”
“and I remember when I was writing my first book Rubicon which is about the collapse of the Roman Republic the great kind of the Warlords of the late Republic”
“so the first Rubicon was about the fall of the Roman Republic mentioned that the second dynasty was Dynasty”
“so the first Rubicon was about the fall of the Roman Republic mentioned that the second dynasty was Dynasty I guess I should say was about the family of Augustus ending with the death of Nero”
“and this new book Pax is about the Heyday of the Roman Empire so it runs from the death of Nero up to the time of Hadrian”