The Histories, first published circa 110 AD, provides one of the most comprehensive records of Roman history from the time of the first civil war of the Empire ("The Year of the Four Emperors") until the rise of Vespasian in the year 70 AD. This edition is NOT a "mass market printing" but a high-quality edition printed on white paper.

The gripping story tells of the upheavals and strife which followed the death of Nero, and the quick succession of Emperors Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and lastly Vespasian. Galba ruled for only seven months until challenged-and killed-by rebels under the governor of the province of Lusitania, Marcus Salvius Otho, in a bloody fight carried out in the Forum in Rome.

Otho reigned only three months before his rule was challenged by Aulus Vitellius, the commander of the legions on the lower Rhine River. When Otho's forces were defeated, he committed suicide and Vitellius ascended to the throne.

Vitellius in turn only ruled for eight months until he also faced an uprising from Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus (Vespasian), commander of the Roman legions in Egypt and Judaea, who had been declared emperor by his own troops. When Vitellius met Vespasian's army in battle, he was defeated and executed in Rome by the victorious general's soldiers.

In addition to a fast-paced narration of these events, Tacitus also provides many insights into the nature of Roman society, and two of the major wars of the period: the Batavian War and the first Roman-Jewish War. .