Caesar
Adrian Goldsworthy author Dr Adrian Goldsworthy Ltd author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Orion Publishing Co
Published:3rd May '07
Should be back in stock very soon
The story of one of the most brilliant, flamboyant and historically important men who ever lived.
'A superb achievement' LITERARY REVIEW
'Combines scholarship with storytelling to bring the ancient world to life: in his masterly new CAESAR he shows us the greatest Roman as man, statesman, soldier and lover' Simon Sebag Montefiore
'Magnificent' DAILY TELEGRAPH
From the very beginning, Caesar's story makes dazzling reading. In his late teens he narrowly avoided execution for opposing the military dictator Sulla. He was decorated for valour in battle, captured and held to ransom by pirates, and almost bankrupted himself by staging games for the masses.
As a politician, he quickly gained a reputation as a dangerously ambitious maverick. By his early 30s he had risen to the position of Consul, and was already beginning to dominate the Senate. His affairs with noblewomen were both frequent and scandalous.
His greatest skill, outside the bedroom, was as a military commander. In a string of spectacular victories he conquered all of Gaul, invaded Germany, and twice landed in Britain - an achievement which in 55BC was greeted with a public euphoria comparable to that generated by the moon landing in 1969. In just thirty years he had risen from a position of virtual obscurity to become one of the richest men in the world, with the power single-handedly to overthrow the Republic. By his death he was effectively emperor of most of the known world.
Goldsworthy's magnificent biography places Caesar in the context of the Roman world and shows why we return to the great man * DAILY TELEGRAPH *
Goldsworthy is renowned as a military historian, but his coverage here of messy late Republican politics is also authoritative and clear. He gives us a colourful sense of the wider world and Roman society at this time, and above all, the commanding, unmistakeable presence of the timelessly fascinating man himself * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *
Adrian Goldsworthy's account of this extraordinary period is a superb achievement. He writes at length and in detail, but with a light touch, never allowing the complexities to obscure the sharpness of the story line...It is a model of the way ancient biographies should be written * LITERARY REVIEW *
Goldsworthy is the one of the new generation of young classicists who combine scholarship with storytelling to bring the ancient world to life: in his masterly new CAESAR he shows us the greatest Roman as man, statesman, soldier and lover -- Simon Sebag Montefiore
The analysis of Caesar's generalship is predictably excellent, the account of the Gallic wars, in particular, has rarely been bettered * SPECTATOR *
This admirable biography... is so lucid, so comprehensive and so balanced -- Allan Massie * DAILY TELEGRAPH *
A compelling biography of Julius Caesar, charting his fantastically eventful life * FINANCIAL TIMES *
Goldsworthy is a fine military historian and his account of the Gallic Wars is exemplary * INDEPENDENT *
[Goldsworthy] is careful and judicious in his analyses, seeking to integrate the man of action, the scholar, the showman, the lover, legal reformer, town planner * THE TABLET *
Adrian Goldsworthy's 519-page work certainly does justice to the scale of his subject, and the evidence is masterfully assembled -- Boris Johnson * MAIL ON SUNDAY *
Richness of detail illuminates to great effect the risk-taking, self-promotion and sheer force of will that fuelled Caesar's extraordinary career * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *
A thorough and wide-ranging biography of a legendary figure * DAILY EXPRESS *
Highly enjoyable... [Goldsworthy] writes well, and with real authority -- Simon Heffer * COUNTRY LIFE *
Goldsworthy's magnificent biography places Caesar in the context of the Roman world and shows why we return to the great man. -- Toby Clements * Telegraph *
- Short-listed for Marsh Biography Award 2007
ISBN: 9780753821589
Dimensions: 197mm x 172mm x 47mm
Weight: 516g
704 pages