This volume is the final instalment of Briscoe's series of commentaries on Books 31–45 of Livy (the first published in 1973). It is a thorough and valuable companion to the last extant pentad. Books 41–45 are a particularly difficult part of Livy to work with, not least because of the lacunose nature of the text. Compared to the first and second decades of Livy's history, they have received relatively little scholarly attention, though hopefully the appearance of this commentary will go some way towards rectifying that. The commentary, along with its previous volumes, is aimed at a scholarly audience, and assumes familiarity (at the very least) with the Teubner edition of Books 41–45 produced by B. in 1986. In order to get the most out of this volume, readers are also expected to be acquainted with the 1909 edition of Books 41–45 by Weissenborn and Müller, as well as Oakley's commentaries on Livy's first decade and Walbank's commentaries on Polybius.

The introduction starts with a concise discussion of sources, which includes a useful table of correspondences between passages in Livy and Polybius. It continues by setting out the problems of establishing the text of Books 41–45, which B. had already tackled in his Teubner edition. The text derives entirely from a single, fragmentary manuscript of the fifth century, the Vienna codex (V), and there are frequent and lengthy lacunae, with a very problematic text in the surviving parts. The introduction is also valuable for its guide to the outbreak of the Third Macedonian War, troubled by issues of dating, as well as apparent contradictions and misunderstandings in Livy's account (and that of Polybius). B. also offers, as he has in his previous volumes, a chronology, setting out how he has worked through the intercalations of the Roman calendar and arrived at a comprehensible dating of the events from 178 to 167 b.c. The last section of the introduction deals with the levy and distribution of the Roman legions in service, continuing the discussion started in the previous volume. In a departure from the usual arrangement of his commentary introductions, B. has chosen to omit a section on ‘Language and Style’, now viewing his earlier analyses in that area as potentially ‘over-schematic’ (1, n. 1).

The appendices continue the work started in the commentary on Livy 38–40, providing more information on the tenses of the subjunctive in oratio obliqua and the use of the terms proconsul and propraetor. There is also an appendix on the functions of the peregrine praetor. Addenda and corrigenda to this commentary and the previous one are also included. A substantial amount of the commentary is devoted to notes on the text of Livy, and it functions in this way as a companion to B.’s Teubner edition. B. has chosen to acknowledge and correct the errors of this edition in his individual notes throughout the commentary — which can make it rather a difficult read. Nonetheless, B.’s discussion of the textual problems is absolutely necessary for any serious study of Livy. His insights into the syntax are also helpful, as well as the frequent comments on technical vocabulary and Latin usage.

B. is also very good on legal and constitutional issues, and his consistent attention to prosopographical detail will also be valuable for students of Roman history. His discussions of the censorship, which is a recurring concern in this pentad, are excellent and offer some fascinating archaeological detail. Since the wars of this pentad largely take place in Istria, Illyria and Macedonia, the thorough geographical notes are also helpful. Some notes of particular interest include those on the complaints of the Latins about depopulation and migration of their citizens to Rome (61–3) and on the problems surrounding the leasing of Macedonian mines and the rôle of the publicani (658–60).

Much attention is given to Livy's sources, in particular, of course, to Polybius. B. is attentive to the ways in which Livy has modified and adapted Polybius’ narrative; especially perceptive in this regard are his discussions of the visit of Attalus to Rome in 167 b.c. (45.19–20.3 at 662–8), and of Paullus’ speech on being assigned the war in Macedonia in 168 b.c. (44.22 at 531–2). Analysis of the speeches has been an important concern in all of B.’s commentaries, and continues here, always prefacing these notes with a reference to Ullman's comments on the rhetorical divisions.

As readers familiar with the earlier commentaries will be aware, the main thing missing here is an engagement with the more literary side of Livian scholarship. This is not B.’s interest, and he is quite clear about that when he comes to passages that have attracted this kind of attention (especially the tour of Aemilius Paullus through Greece at 45.27–8). Although B. does not wish to engage with this kind of scholarship in a detailed way, he does consistently point his readers to the studies that will be of interest and sums up the thrust of their arguments (e.g. Levene on ‘metahistory’ in Book 45, 692–3).

In short, this commentary will be a necessary companion to Books 41–45 for any advanced student or scholar of Livy's Ab urbe condita, and should be used alongside B.’s Teubner by anyone who wants an authoritative guide to what Livy actually wrote. Anyone with an interest in textual criticism, along with all those working on Roman Republican history, will find much to absorb them in this volume.