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Like other Romans of his class he was active in politics. View all 38 comments. Feb 24, Heinz Reinhardt rated it really liked it. Any history about a figure or events as distant in time as that of the subject of this book is going to necessitate either a certain amount of speculation on the part of the historian, or regular admissions regarding the final unknowability of any number of particulars. Goldsworthy does an excellent job laying the groundwork to establish the state of the world of the late Republic, and of Caesar's early political career. During his life Caesar encountered incredible people. This is door-stopper history to end all history. Gaul was not a unified nation, but a loose federation of tribes that often were at each other's throats. The pace and craft of this book was masterful and absolutely brilliant. In the end Caesar took all. Except for a few instances, Goldsworthy's biography of JC confirms the accuracy of McCullough's novels which he described as "racy," proving that Oxford-trained historians are a rather sheltered lot. The author uses all available historical sources and puts in order the known information into a cohesive timeline. Although he didn't write an actual autobiography, like Sulla his predecessor as dictator ; I think it's necessary to distinguish between the way Caesar saw himself and the way others recalled him. The faults of Roman society--and there were many--were often shared by other cultures including the Gauls. Those events filled only the last 12 years of his life. He was an aggressive leader. Finally, forced to fight against Roman legions in the civil war, he lost almost everything - except his head. It was a high stakes poker game, winner take all. An empire needs both strong central AND devolved local government. It helps greatly to explain the behaviors of the main characters throughout the rest of the book. Such lapses notwithstanding, Mr. Caesar: The Life of a Colossus Writer

However, there is one drawback to this book, which makes me give it four stars instead of five. The last century of the Roman republic was an unusually violent time. Once again, the names and places come hot and heavy, and my magnifying glass came out to try to match the tiny, ill-defined maps on my Kindle ebook reader with the text it accompanied. The virtual window of inscribed words on a page whether of clay tablet, papyrus roll, paper book or e-reader screen was established long before the time of Julius Caesar. Caesar's martial skill stands among that of the great captains in the history of recorded warfare. If this is the only book one is going to read on the subject then it instructs the reader on how to think about historical facts in the remote past that are, ultimately, impossible to prove. Did he always intend to become dictator, or was this something he just ended up seeking? Caesar was indeed a colossus of his time and this book rightfully portrays him as such. BMCR This was calculated policy, intended to win over uncertain and deter the enemy from fighting to the death, but that does not reduce the contrast with his opponents or earlier victors. Where precisely were his estates? Goldsworthy is in the camp of historians who do believe that civil war was not necessarily inevitable, and he makes his point well. Nov 03, Jeremy Perron rated it it was amazing. That level of research could be summarised without quotes from Suetonius writing on Caesar himself or Cicero writing about another young man. I often read these accounts of real people's lives as a sort of antidote to my fiction reading. Biography Memoir. However, I feel I can say with absolute confidence that Adrian Goldsworthy has truly captured the essence of Caesar and has succeeded in writing in--what I feel--is the book on Julius Caesar for the twenty-first century. At least, I've never seen it given much attention in other ancient histories. Caesar's career was more personally rewarding than most, however. Except he did. In some cases, Cae Goldsworthy writes with flair and with a good command of the subject matter, doing an excellent job of bringing to life one of the most celebrated and vilified characters of ancient and Western history. He lives in the UK. Their war was one of personal ambition and pride that involved the entire Republic. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. More than just a military conquest, Gaul was a campaign fought using politics and persuasion just as much as the might of the Legions. Oct 05, Kalliope rated it it was amazing Shelves: history- european , classical , history , biography. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Caesar's portrayal in contemporary literature is undoubtedly biased towards the writer's politics. The author seems to assume that, if you bothered to pick up this book, that you are willing to keep track of a great variety of unfamiliar names, titles, groups, and places, only some of which appear in the Glossary at the end of the book. It may come as no surprise to the reader that Caesar suffered from epilepsy, and Goldsworthy does mention the bare facts. I could almost see him as Tom Hanks or Robert Downey. That horses were fed on seaweed when all other fodder was used up. Josh Levithan, Yale University. Unwilling to take the ruthless and bloody steps of a Sulla in cleansing the Republic of dangerous malcontents, Caesar - our clement old master in the words of one of the leaders amongst his assassins, Cassius - made the fatal error of trusting too much in the efficacy of his charismatic aura and not enough in the necessity of maintaining republican forms - while damaging too many already bruised egos in the process - and was cut down just prior to embarking upon his eastern campaign. His insights in to Caesar's brilliance as a military tactician make it hard to put down this book during any of the battles, which take up a good half to two-thirds of the book. However, by this point, the Gaul's figured out that the Romans were not leaving, and so revolted under the leadership of the nobleman Vercingetorix. Through this broad compass of history Goldsworthy lets us see the life Caesar lived and how he fit into his world while at the same time explaining how his ascension to supreme power through civil war and his dramatic assassination are merely episodes in that violent age of transition from republic to empire. The book is comprehensive and can be a bit slow at times. Goldsworthy, in the first cohort of academic prose stylists, is highly readable, managing to be very informative without being in the least overbearing. However, I feel I can say with absolute confidence that Adrian Goldsworthy has truly captured the essence of Caesar and has succeeded in writing in--what I feel--is the b In the over two thousand years since Julius Caesar was assassinated, many authors have written books about the great general and statesman trying to understand him. Goldsworthy's biography is highly readable, engaging, and thorough. Adrian goldsworthy is one of my favourite Roman historians!!! Caesar: The Life of a Colossus Reviews

Co-operating as soldiers on campaign, they divided the labour of foraging, construction work and actual fighting in a manner that confounded their enemies. This is a satisfying, memorable, and instructive read. Later on, in Gaul, again pitching well-trained troops against semi-wild native warriors, time and time again he overcame divided enemies. Laughs all around. Caesar's whole life, warts and all, are laid open for analysis. Goldsworthy explores all this with a full and detailed biography, which is divided into three sections:. It might have been easier if there were somehow an equivalent of a family tree or similar illustration for each of the characters. Roman artists followed the realism of their Greek masters and though not exactly a warts-and-all approach, neither was Roman stone portraiture ever more than lightly idealised or stylised. More filters. Biography [1] [2] [3]. Mar 15, Ilias rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorites , bio. He was a charismatic figure able to compel his troops to legendary loyalty. Pompey himself fled to Ptolemaic Egypt, where he was murdered in the hopes of garnering Caesar's favor. We see Caesar in the daily lives of the Romans and the continuity of Roman culture and politics. Error rating book. While there had been many civil wars before, none had the stakes that Caesar's war against Pompey possessed. Probably my favorite historical era, and Goldsworthy gives pretty much the definitive biography of perhaps the biggest character of them all. The faults of Roman society--and there were many--were often shared by other cultures including the Gauls. Yet this middle section, on Gaul, works so closely from the text of the de Bello Gallico , and at such length, that I found myself wishing that Goldsworthy had written a commentary on that work instead. Whilst not quite as fun a romp as Tom Holland's smashing Rubicon , its sober tone held more appeal for me whilst imparting a wealth of information; what's more, he dispenses completely with Holland's occasionally irritating modernisms. Caesar's portrayal in contemporary literature is undoubtedly biased towards the writer's politics. View all 5 comments. Even if Caesar lost the civil war, the wheels of history seem perfectly content to grind forward towards empire with a different leading cast. He parts the fog of time to let us peer into the past and, I believe, view it as clearly as can probably be seen. The long section on the Gallic campaigns, though in places very informative on the historical record, really starts to sag. Because of this it may take some time for a casual reader to warm up to the book. Other Editions Apr 28, Brandon Cormier rated it it was amazing. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

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Home page. Goldsworthy does an excellent job in tracing the life of this extraordinary Roman leader from his early life until his assassination. Part of the problem may have been that I read it on Kindle and whenever there was a map I would have to stop until I could get to my I pad and see the map in a large enough view to be understood I now resolve again, will I fail again,, to not read histories on the kindle. The author seems to assume that, if you bothered to pick up this book, that you are willing to keep track of a great va The text of Adrian Goldsworthy's biography of Julius Caesar is divided into three parts, one of which the Caesar's rise of political power inhabits, his campaigns in modern-day France and England the second, those who in their own time were called aristocrats, in ours assassins, the third. Even giving Caesar the opportunity to cow the Germans by twice bridging the formidable Rhine and rampaging German lands, and in raiding Britannia, a land no Roman had ever gone before. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Massilia modern Marseilles , the old Greek colony on the coast of Gaul and now part of the Roman province of Transalpine Gaul, In Gaul, he managed to prevail and conquer but in Rome he lost his life. Get A Copy. We learn of his consuls, namely Brutus, Cassius and others and how they conspired to assassinate him on the Ides of March, 3 days before his next campaign which would have kept him out of Rome for the next 3 years. It intrigues me to see how well or ill character is conveyed by words alone; and I qualify that point of view by stating I come from the first generation brought up in the television age I was born in and remember watching Popeye cartoons at the age of three or four. Adrian Goldsworthy is the author of numerous acclaimed books, including biographies of Julius Caesar and Augustus. Having to keep the same distance as Goldsworthy, one feels at times a bit too removed from such a rich personality. The aftermath of that war, Sulla's dreaded proscriptions death lists , forced Caesar to flee the Italian peninsula for a time as his family had sided with the losing side, that of Gaius Marius. He also tried to invade England! By constantly mentioning years in the countdown BC timetable, Goldsworthy alienates us from the mental set of the Romans. While most of us think of Caesar as the man who turned Rome from a Republic into an Empire, Goldsworthy shows that this is not only not true it is a persistent myth amongst the lesser read in ancient history , but that the truth of what Caesar really did was far more complex, and nuanced, than what most believe. In the end though, Caesar still remains difficult to pin down , not for want of trying by the author, but because of his truly elusive personality. Read more The alternative BCE, though it is more politically correct, still refers to the Gregorian calendar itself a revision of a calendar introduced by Julius Caesar , and anchors history to a Romano-Christian world view. Preview — Caesar by Adrian Goldsworthy. That horses were fed on seaweed when all other fodder was used up. Pompey had married Caesar's daughter, however, a spring and summer relationship for the ages as Pompey was over twice her age and their love for each other was genuine oddly enough, historically older male and younger female relationships are the norm for human societies which ensured the political alliance stayed true. Whilst not quite as fun a romp as Tom Holland's smashing Rubicon , its sober tone held more appeal for me whilst imparting a wealth of information; what's more, he dispenses completely with Holland's occasionally irritating modernisms. Caesar, Life of a Colossus is a biography of Julius Caesar written by Adrian Goldsworthy and published in by Yale University Press [1] [5] It outlines his life in the context of the many institutions with which he interacted : " Roman society , the politics of the senate , Gaul ancient France " as well as the army of that ancient republic. The Roman Civil War has become a romanticized period of history. The only negative was that there was not This book begins with a description of the politics of late republican Rome in the early first century BCE. The author did a fine job of depicting Caesar's life and times, although I found myself getting confused by all the various titles and offices that went to make up government in the Republic. The book has an extensive Bibliography. As a youngster, he went East, organised local militias along Roman lines, and achieved modest successes against poorly-led opposition. Welcome back. He was a part-time assistant professor at King's College London, and was later an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame, London [8] for six years. One underlying structure of this book is to take the reader on a journey that follows "the many gambles, strange turns, and unlikely incidents in Caesar's career. D in Literae Humaniores Ancient History in Indeed, it strikes me that Goldsworthy's examination of the final period of the Roman Republic through the life of its greatest man makes a perfect companion to Holland's journey through the same era looking through the eyes of many - it's a thoroughly readable and enjoyable one-two punch that, in providing depth of coverage in differing-but- complimentary areas, would be difficult to better. And that is of course without counting the image that emerges from his own Memoirs, the Comentarii , and possibly fr This is not an easy book to write, the biography of Caesar. Caesar, was responsible for his own myth-making, and his efforts to promote himself have reverberated down the centuries. Overall, this is a strong and well written biography. And that is of course without counting the image that emerges from his own Memoirs, the Comentarii , and possibly from a collection of poems by him.. Other Roman armies under other commanders had done similar things in past and would continue to do so in the future. In many ways this is a good thing. When Caesar was 18, Sulla had already given the Roman republic a three year taste of dictatorship, gifting the remaining republic with the aftermath of a purge, constitutional reform, and substantially strengthened military. The author remains somewhat detached and only in a few occasions does he venture to make comparisons with later military figures and draw judgments. A revolutionary? He had no grand plans for reforming the republic, but was still incredibly ambitious and talented, a rational statesman and a superb military leader. Caesar's martial skill stands among that of the great captains in the history of recorded warfare. Still being in living memory, anyone who knew him would have contributed to this lore. https://cdn.starwebserver.se/shops/tomasbergri/files/human-biology-concepts-and-current-issues-plus-masteringbiology-with-pearson-etext- acce.pdf https://cdn.starwebserver.se/shops/mimmilundqvistmm/files/the-roswell-conspiracy-v-3-253.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9584441/UploadedFiles/E3762CBF-AECA-A5C0-8A99-B45DB0FF804C.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9583519/UploadedFiles/803D886D-142D-C9B7-EC50-D735F3C7285E.pdf