Books

(Click the titles of newer books for snippets, reviews, pictures, and bonus essays.)

12. 2027. Plato. The Trial and Death of Socrates. Princeton University Press.

11. 2026. Plato. How to Speak Freely: An Ancient Guide to Free Speech and Dissent. Princeton University Press.

10. 2025. Prudentius and Plutarch. How to Have Willpower: An Ancient Guide to Not Giving In. Princeton University Press.

9. 2024. Ovid. How to Get Over a Breakup. An Ancient Guide to Moving On. Princeton University Press. Translations: Arabic, Spanish. Preview here.

“Step right up, all you naive victims: come to my dictums, if you’re a fool for love.”

8. 2022. (Inspired by) Marcus Tullius Cicero. How to Grieve: An Ancient Guide to the Lost Art of Consolation. Imitated in Dutch. Princeton University Press.

“I even did something no one’s ever done before: I talked myself out of depression.” (Cicero, March 45 BCE)

7. 2021. Marcus Tullius Cicero. How to Tell a Joke: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Humor. Princeton University Press. Translations: Korean, Malaysian.

The world’s first guide to laughing your way to the top, from the first man who did it. “Humor is risky, since ‘wit’ is so close to ‘twit’.” — Quintilian. What’s the secret?

6. 2020. Vincent Obsopoeus. How to Drink: A Classical Guide to the Art of Imbibing. Princeton University Press. Translations: German, Norwegian, Turkish, Spanish. Pirated in Japan.

The world’s first guide to drinking. “Weirdly time-travelly” — The Daily Beast. Imitated in Japan. What’s the buzz?

5. 2019. John Placentius. The Pig War. Puzzled Out by Michael Phontaine. Pigtures penned by David Beck. Paideia Institute Press.

4. 2018. (co-ed.) Quasi Labor Intus: Ambiguity in the Latin Language (Essays in Honor of Fr. Reginald Foster, OCD) (co-ed. with Charles McNamara and William Short). Paideia Institute Press.

3. 2015. Joannes Burmeister: Aulularia and other Inversions of Plautus. Leuven University Press: Bibliotheca Latinitatis Novae.

2. 2014. (co-ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Comedy (co-ed. with Adele Scafuro). Oxford University Press USA, 2014 (898 pp.). Translation: Greek.

1. 2010. Funny Words in Plautine Comedy. Oxford University Press USA, 2010. (328 pp.)