Reddit mentions of Ancient Rome: A History From Beginning to End (Ancient Civilizations Book 1)

I've come to the realization that I know far less about history than I'd like to, especially ancient history, and for that matter anything that happened before the Enlightenment Era. I'd like to start with the Roman Empire as it's a relatively strong core to Western civilization, and I sort of think the fall of Rome is deeply embedded into the collective psyche of the West whether we realize it or not (how many fantasy or sci-fi novels are set around the premise of an ancient prosperous civilization that has met its demise).

I have neither the time nor attention span for Gibbon, but are there any historyphiles here who could recommend something to me? Ideally I'd like something that briefly covers the Roman Republic and Byzantium, but primary focuses on the actual rise, golden age, and ultimate fall of the Empire. I realize that's a huge span of history to want to be covered in one book, but I'm a man with time constraints. Hopefully something not more than 2,000 pages either.

Currently I'm looking at Ancient Rome: A History From Beginning to End but I'm not sure how good a start that is.

And probably the most important question of all, what sub should I actually be asking this question to, because I'm sure CLP probably isn't the best one.