Books 1 and 2 of Tacitus' Annals were edited and annotated in two earlier volumes of this series (1972 and 1981) by the late F. R. D. Goodyear. Now A. J. Woodman and R. H. Martin have added a third volume: Book 3 of the Annals. This book covers the years AD 20-22, including the aftermath of Germanicus' death and the trial of his alleged murderer Calpurnius Piso and contains some of Tacitus' most well known and important programmatic and reflective passages. In their commentary the editors are the first to attempt a systematic comparison of the documentary record provided by a recently discovered senatus consultum relating to Piso's trial with Tacitus' narrative of the same episode. More attention is given to literary matters than by Goodyear but textual, linguistic and historical issues are treated fully and new interpretations frequently offered.

The Annals of Tacitus, which chronicle the years AD 14-68, are arguably the greatest work of the greatest Roman historian. Book 3 of The Annals covers the years AD 20-22, a period including the trial of Calpurnius Piso for treason and the alleged murder of Germanicus. The editors are the first to compare a recently discovered record of this trial with Tacitus' narrative of the same events. Throughout the volume attention is paid to literary matters, and textual. linguistic and historical issues are treated fully.

The fourth book of Tacitus' Annals has been described as "the best that Tacitus ever wrote." It covers the years AD 23-28, starting when Tacitus noted a significant deterioration in the principate of the emperor Tiberius, and the increasingly malign influence of his "evil genius" Sejanus. R.H. Martin and A.J. Woodman present an improved text of Annals IV, explain in detail the difficulties and unusual features of Tacitus' Latin, and discuss the dramatic, structural and literary qualities of the narrative. They also discuss the political, moral and stylistic dimensions of the Roman historiographical tradition. Though intended primarily as a textbook for undergraduates and high school students, this edition will interest scholars of Latin literature and Roman history as well.

The Adelphoe (The Brothers) of Terence is a Latin adaptation of a comedy of the same name by the Greek comic playwright Menander. The theme of the play is the perennially interesting question of the relationship between the generations and the proper way to bring up a son. In the introduction Mr Martin considers Terence in the context of Roman comedy generally and discusses the background of the Adelphoe. There is also a section on metre and scansion and a short analysis of the textual tradition. The full and detailed commentary, besides elucidating the text, seeks at all times to help the reader to understand the work as a play to be enjoyed. The edition is intended for use by students at school and university and for anyone wishing to read and appreciate the play in the original.

The lively action and well-constructed plot of the "Phormio" make it an ideal introduction to Terence and to the Roman comic genre. It well illustrates Terence's subtle handling of plot and character - two fathers, two wayward sons in love, the latter abetted by the scheming slave and by the parasite who gives his name to the play. This edition, recognising that the simplicity of Terence's Latin can be obscured by initial unfamiliarity with his colloquial (and early) poetic idiom, includes a great deal of linguistic help in the annotation. There is a full vocabulary and the introduction deals with genre and plot, as well as prosody and metre.