Julius Caesar by Michael Grant

Julius Caesar Reviews

• 
  John Nelson

  A short but well-written biography of Julius Caesar based primarily upon the writings of Caesar himself and his contemporaries.
  
  When the Roman Empire fell, it did not fall all at once. Rather, it fell gradually, in a series of small steps. The borders became porous, "barbarians" gradually were enlisted in the Roman army and given citizenship even though they were not assimilated into the country's culture, several barbarian kings were given the emperor's crown to induce them to halt their depredations, and finally, when Odoacer officially brought the West Roman Empire to an end in 476 A.D., the only thing he did differently from his predecessors was that he sent the Roman Emperor's insignia of office to the East Roman Empire in Constantinople and ruled as the conqueror of Rome, rather than calling himself Roman Emperor.
  
  The most striking aspect of Michael Grant's biography of Caesar is how it shows the Roman Republic also slid gradually into despotism, rather than falling all at once. Prior to Caesar's time, ambitious Romans began to build up independent bases of power in the army and the mob in Rome itself, and to appropriate the state's financial resources to pay their supporters. Caesar played this game assiduously, and so successfully that he joined with the two acknowledged masters of Roman politics, Pompey and Crassus, to form the "First Triumvirate," who eclipsed and lorded over all other Romans. Crassus conveniently lost his life in a misguided invasion of the Parthian Empire (which ruled Persia and Mesopotamia), which ended with most of his soldiers killed or enslaved, and Crassus' head placed on a pike for the viewing pleasure of the Parthian elite. Several years later, when Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with his army to attack Pompey's soldiers, it was viewed as the step from which there could be no retreat - and the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has entered the language with this meaning - but in reality the Roman Republic was so decayed by this time that it held little practical significance. Caesar proceeded to win his civil war against Pompey, and ruled through his final years as an absolute despot. The Roman elite were saved from further humiliation at Caesar's hands by the actions of Brutus, Cassius, and others at the Ides of March, but the new Roman Empire lived on, with many of Roman culture's greatest achievements coming during this time.
• 
  Jim

  "Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
  Like a Colossus; and we petty men
  Walk under his huge legs...."
  So says Shakespeare about one of the giants of history, a man assassinated by those who feared his tyranny, Julius Caesar. But there was no doubt that he was brilliant-- not only a military genius, but an astute politician. Moreover, he was a great showman--he certainly knew how to publicize himself. Michael Grant's bio of Caesar sets him in his time--a time when Rome was a republic, but in name only. The Romans had destroyed their main rivals-- the North African city of Carthage--and had become an empire dominating the Mediterranean Sea. Julius Caesar was born into this world in 100 B.C. We see young Caesar going into politics and the military and making his way to the top. His big break was to gain command of Roman forces in Gaul (France) and conquer all the various Celtic tribes of the territory, people who were regarded as "barbarians" but who had developed agriculture, trade, and the arts ( their population may have numbered around 15 million). The conquest was carried out with great brutality--Caesar assessed the enemy deaths at 1,192,000, with thousands more enslaved. The plunder and slaves enriched Caesar and his men and aided him in his achieving political success. Caesar's main rival was the general Pompey who led the legions to victories in the Eastern Med. The showdown between the two men led to a civil war, in which Caesar defeated Pompey in the decisive Battle of Pharsalus in Greece in 48 B.C. Caesar also became involved in Egypt--and with its queen, Cleopatra. Finally, back in Rome, in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was made "perpetual dictator" thus breaking with Roman tradition. The conservative oligarchs of Rome--men like Brutus--feared the increasing power of Caesar. On the Ides of March (March 15th), Brutus and other Roman senators attacked the great man and stabbed him to death. It has to be understood that this was no attempt to save democracy, as there was none. The oligarchs were only trying to hold onto their power. Civil war would break out once again--and, in the end, Caesar's nephew Octavius would emerge as the new power in the empire--and become known as Caesar Augustus, the man who would establish the Pax Romana-the Roman Peace.
• 
  Rúnar Frá keflavík

  A fair enough short biography of Gaius Julius Caesar. Straith and forward.
• 
  Ginger Heskett

  I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
  
  http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14337691
• 
  Jennifer

  Wow, this was bad. I actually couldn't finish it. I got about 1/4 of the way through and had used up all of my library renewals. There was interesting information in the book, but it was presented in a very boring way. I might get it out of the library again, but that would be only because I hate the idea of not finishing a book.
• 
  Bonnie_blu

  The major drawback to this review of Caesar's life is that the author insists on stating, with conviction, what Caesar and others were thinking and feeling, and what their motivations were. Obviously, this is impossible, and it weakens the entire book.
• 
  Michael Anderson

  Ok biography. More fun to read Caesar directly.
• 
  Russell Hall

  An interesting view of a a man who after two thousand years still interests the Western World. A good and brief view of Caesar, as a general book.
• 
  Rusty

  Good primer on Caesar.
• 
  Roy

  Well worth the time, and not a lot of that needs to be spent reading this.
• 
  Paul Pryce

  Detailed. I enjoyed it but it was hefty read for me at the time.