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samtast1cal's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning surprised me with its information and engaging nature. I took a couple classes on Roman history and expected to be merely reminded of what I learned, but instead I learned a lot. Unsurprisingly, much of what I learned were specific details my professors glossed over to cover more general concepts. For example, I never knew Caesar had epilepsy or that he had a long-standing affair with Brutus' mother. Battle formations were covered in detail with illustrations to match. At first I was surprised at how quickly I was getting through the book, but towards the end, when I was more familiar with the events, I just wanted to be finished.
durmius's review against another edition
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
Incredibly detailed and fascinating look at Caesar and the fall of the Roman Republic. Provides an analysis of the events that caused Caesar to become the man he was, and the changing of the times that lead to the creation of the Roman Empire.
stephenmeansme's review against another edition
4.0
Really good history for a "general" audience. Goldsworthy is careful to state what isn't fully known, and comments quite a bit on the reliability of various sources. It can get a bit dry at times, especially in the middle when he's basically paraphrasing Caesar's own Commentaries on the campaigns in Gaul, but overall it's interesting and informative.
Since I first heard about this book on Dan Carlin's Hardcore History series about the fall of the Roman Republic, I recommend listening to that first: less scholarly, but more exciting, so the more scholarly elements in Goldsworthy's treatment will stand out.
Since I first heard about this book on Dan Carlin's Hardcore History series about the fall of the Roman Republic, I recommend listening to that first: less scholarly, but more exciting, so the more scholarly elements in Goldsworthy's treatment will stand out.
embevens's review against another edition
5.0
Probably my favorite historical era, and Goldsworthy gives pretty much the definitive biography of perhaps the biggest character of them all. The best thing about this biography is that, as much as possible, he is writing it without the use of hindsight. Every event is discussed in the context of its own moment, not in the context of who Caesar later became or what he later did, so we get a better picture of what was happening as Caesar and his contemporaries would have seen it at the time. The writing style manages to be both detailed and clear, with the only flaw to me being a tendency to repeat minor details in multiple chapters (as if Goldsworthy expects readers to jump around and not read every chapter, making it necessary for him to restate some things in case a reader missed it the first, or second, or third time around. When you actually do read it straight through, it seems very unnecessary to tell me why centurions had high casualty rates in every battle chapter). I think that's the definition of quibbling.
Really, really good stuff.
Really, really good stuff.
aydanbereading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
AMAZING!!! Full of rich and engrossing detail, masterfully told. A fantastic account and examination on one of history’s most significant and interesting figures.
seshat59's review against another edition
4.0
Adrian Goldsworthy’s Caesar is a fantastic biography. For a figure of the ancient world, information is often scarce and motivation, nonexistent—nebulous at best. As the author informs us in an intriguing epilogue, his writing’s “aim has been to treat each episode of [Caesar’s] life without assuming the inevitability of subsequent events.” And that is what makes this biography such a success. Through extant evidence and the rich historical record of the time, Goldsworthy lays out the culture and tumultuous background of the world into which Caesar was born and grew up: the perpetual upheaval of brutal and bloody rebellions and dictatorships, the ruthless murder of enemies as well as neutral parties.
Goldsworthy’s account of Caesar’s rise is rich and detailed. He mostly presents the facts as we know them and saves analyses for his epilogue. The book does get bogged down in Gaul, but Caesar did spend the bulk of his prime career there, and I think my disinterest stemmed mostly from the narrator in this audiobook versus the content. I’ve listened to other podcasts and accounts of Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul that were fascinating, but this narrator’s Oxfordian accent lulled me often to dosing. Sorry, Caesar.
Goldsworthy’s neutral perspective lays bare what makes Caesar so special. “He was an exceptionally talented individual, but he was also a product of his age.” Caesar’s Rome was bloody but also rich in ancient literature and historical record, a jarring contrast of violence mixed with culture and education. As jarring and brutal as Caesar’s actions were in Gaul, he was a Roman with all the brainwashing and cultural biases thereby implied, even if that never excuses the slaughter of hundreds of thousands. Caesar’s actions were not wholly self-aggrandizing, and his populist reforms were wholly admirable. Even as he used calculated clemency, Caesar’s intent was to build a more stable Rome, after eons of infighting and violent squabbling.
Goldsworthy does diminish Caesar’s reliance upon Antony, but he also makes plain Octavian’s brilliance in how he profited from Caesar’s adoption in flukes of fate. If Caesar had lived, would there have been an Augustus?
While very little of this biography was new information, it was very cogently assembled and presented for a neutral portrayal of one of history’s most famous and notorious figures. Stripping away the bias and mythos only made me admire Gaius Julius Caesar all the more.
Goldsworthy’s account of Caesar’s rise is rich and detailed. He mostly presents the facts as we know them and saves analyses for his epilogue. The book does get bogged down in Gaul, but Caesar did spend the bulk of his prime career there, and I think my disinterest stemmed mostly from the narrator in this audiobook versus the content. I’ve listened to other podcasts and accounts of Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul that were fascinating, but this narrator’s Oxfordian accent lulled me often to dosing. Sorry, Caesar.
Goldsworthy’s neutral perspective lays bare what makes Caesar so special. “He was an exceptionally talented individual, but he was also a product of his age.” Caesar’s Rome was bloody but also rich in ancient literature and historical record, a jarring contrast of violence mixed with culture and education. As jarring and brutal as Caesar’s actions were in Gaul, he was a Roman with all the brainwashing and cultural biases thereby implied, even if that never excuses the slaughter of hundreds of thousands. Caesar’s actions were not wholly self-aggrandizing, and his populist reforms were wholly admirable. Even as he used calculated clemency, Caesar’s intent was to build a more stable Rome, after eons of infighting and violent squabbling.
Goldsworthy does diminish Caesar’s reliance upon Antony, but he also makes plain Octavian’s brilliance in how he profited from Caesar’s adoption in flukes of fate. If Caesar had lived, would there have been an Augustus?
While very little of this biography was new information, it was very cogently assembled and presented for a neutral portrayal of one of history’s most famous and notorious figures. Stripping away the bias and mythos only made me admire Gaius Julius Caesar all the more.