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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
An absolutely excellent, engrossing, entertaining retelling of Caesar's life. Meticulously researched, well-balanced, and objective.
Since reading this book, my opinion of Caesar has increased ten-fold. The man was not only a military genius and unparalleled inspirational speaker, he granted his political opponents clemency when they were simultaneously beheading his own men on the spot.
His dictatorship (voted to him by the senate, among other honors) was ultimate result of a grid-locked, prideful, aristocratic, powerless congress: and they hated that he accomplished more than they ever could, and rightly got the credit for it. He was assassinated as a result.
He should not be condemned, but revered and studied for examples of what good ruling looks like. Hint: it benefits the people that put you in power.
Since reading this book, my opinion of Caesar has increased ten-fold. The man was not only a military genius and unparalleled inspirational speaker, he granted his political opponents clemency when they were simultaneously beheading his own men on the spot.
His dictatorship (voted to him by the senate, among other honors) was ultimate result of a grid-locked, prideful, aristocratic, powerless congress: and they hated that he accomplished more than they ever could, and rightly got the credit for it. He was assassinated as a result.
He should not be condemned, but revered and studied for examples of what good ruling looks like. Hint: it benefits the people that put you in power.
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
Non-fictional life of Julius Caesar. Detailed. Well-written.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Very good indeed, with 2 criticisms. (i) that it's more a "life and times of Julius Caesar" than a straight biography, so to market it as such is perhaps somewhat misleading and, (ii) the descriptions of some of the campaigns are detailed to the point of being excruciating and would benefit greatly from being summarised. Having said that, however, I found most of it (excruciations aside) extremely absorbing.
A thorough and eminently readable biography of one of history’s most famous men. Goldsworthy does a fantastic job of telling the story of Caesar in the context of events in first century BC Rome. Every chapter taught me a ton about Caesar and the world in which he lived. Goldsworthy wrote in the context that events in Caesar’s life were not inevitable, which is a big plus for me. He was also unafraid to say when we simply do not know the truth about a historical event. At times the prose got a little clunky, and on a few occasions he fell into the biographer’s trap of being too sympathetic to his subject (though he did not shy away from saying explicitly when Caesar made a mistake or was defeated in battle). Despite these minor flaws, Goldsworthy has written a superb biography of Caesar that I would recommend to fans of history and the general reader looking for a nonfiction story that is just as gripping and dramatic as any acclaimed fiction novel.
Recomendado para quem quer aprender mais aprofundadamente sobre César. A escrita de Adrian Goldsworthy é não só acessível como deveras cativante, mantendo o leitor interessado até à última página.
***
Recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about Caesar. Adrian Goldsworthy's writing is not only accessible but indeed captivating, keeping the reader interested until the last page.
***
Recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about Caesar. Adrian Goldsworthy's writing is not only accessible but indeed captivating, keeping the reader interested until the last page.
informative
medium-paced
Though over two thousand years has passed since his death in 44 BCE, Julius Caesar’s name remains one familiar to millions of people. Part of this is a reflection of his achievements, as he rose through the turbulent politics of the Roman Republic to win fame and fortune as a military commander and then unprecedented power as dictator. While this led to his assassination at the hands of a diverse group of opponents, his actions paved the way for the establishment of a new imperial governing structure that would persist in various forms for nearly 1,500 years. Yet for all his renown many of the details of his life remain obscure, while others are little more than legend created to embellish the story. Moreover, much of what we do know comes from Caesar’s own pen, and was written with the goal of glorifying his achievements and excusing his failures
Because of this, among the challenges facing anyone writing a biography of Caesar is to sort out fact from the many fictions that have grown up around him. To that end, Adrian Goldsworthy draws upon the broader scholarship on the era to assess the veracity of the contemporary sources and fill in the gaps in our understanding of his life. In the process, he provides an account of Caesar’s career that sets it within the context of the history of his times. It’s a well-rounded account that helps readers to better understand his role in the drama of the late Republic, as well as his part in its downfall.
To that end Goldsworthy starts his book by describing the Republic into which Caesar was born. As the only major power remaining in the Mediterranean world, Rome enjoyed an uncontested dominance in the region. The efforts required to establish this supremacy and the fruits gained from it, though, had strained the constitutional norms of the Republic to their breaking point. Attempts to alleviate the social ills resulting from the growing disparities between rich and poor were resisted by a patrician elite unwilling to share a portion of their power and wealth. In response, a new trend had emerged of proconsuls (military commanders who had previously served in Rome’s highest executive office) leveraging their prestige and control over their legions into periods of dictatorship. These men provided temporary solutions, but at the cost of establishing dangerous precedents that undermined the Republic’s traditions.
Caesar had to navigate this political turmoil from an early age. After service abroad as a member of a proconsul’s staff, Caesar returned to Rome to begin his political career. Here Goldsworthy features his subject’s political abilities, most notably a gift for conciliation that allowed him to form an alliance with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Pompey, the two wealthiest and most powerful men in Roman politics. By getting these two adversaries to set aside their differences, Caesar became the third member of the “First Triumvirate” that dominated Roman politics for seven years, with Caesar himself winning election as consul –the Republic’s highest executive office and the key to high military command – in 60 BCE.
Upon ending his term as consul in 59 BCE, Caesar was named governor of Gaul. It was during these years that Caesar first made his name as a general and began his extraordinary career as a military commander. As Goldsworthy notes, Caesar would spend virtually the remainder of his life engaged in a series of campaigns that would take him across the length and breadth of the Republic’s empire. Not only did his victories make him extremely wealthy, but they also won him enormous fame, which he enhanced through his famous Commentaries. These Goldsworthy regards as relatively accurate accounts of Caesar’s activities, noting how the constant flow of communication between his commanders and Rome meant that spurious claims would be quickly debunked. Yet Caesar still was able to present events within his dispatches in ways that served to burnish his reputation back home.
Facing the possibility of a renewed civil war and fearing Caesar’s fame, the Senate tried to rein him in by recalling him to Rome. When his efforts to negotiate a mutual disarmament ended in failure, Caesar marched on Rome in 49 BCE, initiating a three-year-long war against the forces allied with his former partner (and son-in-law) Pompey. Upon his triumphal return to Rome Caesar adopted a wide range of reforms designed both to centralize power in his hands and to address longstanding social problems. Though his position at this point seemed uncontestable, fears for the diminution of their status and the concentration of so much power in one man’s hands led a group of senators to plot Caesar’s assassination, which they undertook just before Caesar embarked on a new series of conquests in the east.
As a specialist in Roman military history, Goldsworthy is ideally suited to the task of detailing the campaigns that made Caesar’s name. These he describes with a deft touch that provides clear explanations of the factors determining the course of the battles and the reasons for the decisions that were made. His coverage of Caesar’s political career is no less accomplished, as he brings to life in his narrative the many famous personalities of that era. These come across not as marble figures but as real human beings with both gifts and flaws that help explain their achievements. And this proves especially true for Caesar himself, whom Goldsworthy regards as a man of prodigious talent both as a general and a politician, and whose forgiving nature in the end proved his Achilles heel. It is these achievements which make Goldsworthy’s book such a superb biography of his subject, one that is highly recommended both as an account of his life and as a window into the politics of his time.
Not the book to read if you're looking for a Caesar biography heavy on cultural/social commentary. More than half of this book is spent on a thorough (aka "tedious") examination of the Gallic wars and Caesar's various military campaigns before and during the civil war. Goldsworthy describes Caesar's battle strategies in depth and returns often to discussions of Caesar's relationship with his soldiers. It's all good though because this shit is endlessly fascinating and Goldsworthy's affection for Caesar really shines through.
The other half of the book is spent characterizing Caesar's capabilities as a politician (the section on his first consulship is juicy) and untangling his various political alliances.
The other half of the book is spent characterizing Caesar's capabilities as a politician (the section on his first consulship is juicy) and untangling his various political alliances.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced