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A review by penstarling
Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar by Tom Holland
4.0
I think this a great, very accessible history for anyone who doesn't know a lot about the period. Good for people who know about it too.
I'm really amused by other reviewers complaining of the author's depiction of Augustus. I'm sure Augustus would be thrilled his hype machine is still working 2000 years later. Though I admit my opinions on this era in history are pretty strong. I've read what I assume are many of the sources for this book--Livy, Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus, Plutarch, Sallust, Ammianus, and the autobiographies of Julius Caesar and Augustus--(though I don't know for sure because I had the audiobook and couldn't see the citations) and have certainly formed my own opinions from other commentary, historians, and professors. And while I agree with the author's assessment of Augustus the book was still fresh and challenging to me. His depiction of Caligula reads as positive in places, though the book never shies away from the really gruesome aspect of any of the Julio-Claudians. In fact one of my favorite parts of this book is the explanations of Roman morals, and the cultural backgrounds that explain which parts of the emperor's actions were actually scandalous in the time (as opposed to scandalous to our modern views).
Also his book made me think about an alternate history where Germanicus lived and we never had Tiberius or Caligula. I was actually a little frustrated by this because I didn't really have anyone to talk to about it who would understand without me having to explain too much. But wow what an interesting speculative novel that would make. Yeah, great book all around, really got me thinking on a bunch of different fronts. I liked the tone and the way information was presented, with sort of sidebars when background was needed, making easier to piece it all together. Overall enjoyed very much, would recommend to anyone interested in the Julio-Claudians.
I'm really amused by other reviewers complaining of the author's depiction of Augustus. I'm sure Augustus would be thrilled his hype machine is still working 2000 years later. Though I admit my opinions on this era in history are pretty strong. I've read what I assume are many of the sources for this book--Livy, Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus, Plutarch, Sallust, Ammianus, and the autobiographies of Julius Caesar and Augustus--(though I don't know for sure because I had the audiobook and couldn't see the citations) and have certainly formed my own opinions from other commentary, historians, and professors. And while I agree with the author's assessment of Augustus the book was still fresh and challenging to me. His depiction of Caligula reads as positive in places, though the book never shies away from the really gruesome aspect of any of the Julio-Claudians. In fact one of my favorite parts of this book is the explanations of Roman morals, and the cultural backgrounds that explain which parts of the emperor's actions were actually scandalous in the time (as opposed to scandalous to our modern views).
Also his book made me think about an alternate history where Germanicus lived and we never had Tiberius or Caligula. I was actually a little frustrated by this because I didn't really have anyone to talk to about it who would understand without me having to explain too much. But wow what an interesting speculative novel that would make. Yeah, great book all around, really got me thinking on a bunch of different fronts. I liked the tone and the way information was presented, with sort of sidebars when background was needed, making easier to piece it all together. Overall enjoyed very much, would recommend to anyone interested in the Julio-Claudians.