Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper, Empires in World History (2010). A fascinating account by two major scholars of the imperial theme across the world. Chapter 2 compares the Roman and Chinese empires.

Arthur Cotterell, The First Emperor of China (1988). A biography of Shihuangdi.

Christopher Kelley, The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction (2006). A brief, up-to-date, and accessible account of the Roman achievement.

Cullen Murphy, Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America (2007). A reflection on the usefulness and the dangers of comparing the Roman Empire to the present-day United States.

Sarah Pomeroy et al., Ancient Greece (1999). A highly readable survey of Greek history by a team of distinguished scholars.

Romila Thapar, Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas (1961). A classic study of India’s early empire builder.

Illustrated History of the Roman Empire, http://www.roman-empire.net. An interactive Web site with maps, pictures, and much information about the Roman Empire.