Colleen McCullough's 'Masters of Rome' Series

I found a brand new paperback copy of The Grass Crown for 25 cents at the Irvine Public Library. I thought what the heck? I'd procrastinated on picking up any of Colleen McCullough's books, but I'm starting an Ancient Rome jag, and I that one helped me launch it.

But I need to start at the beginning of the series, which is found in The First Man in Rome, so I'll start out with that (maybe today, heh).

The only problem with these books is their length. This one's about 930 pages, not counting a massive glossary!