A very good and very readable biography, with rather creepy relevance to current affairs: extensive government corruption; factionalism ahead of the good of the Republic; excessive pursuit of monetary gain; eagerness to use the legal system as a way to punish enemies rather than to serve justice; and public support for “strongman” to take care of everything. Author Adrian Goldsworthy notes that there is no evidence that Caesar was always planning to seize control of the Roman government – events just worked out that way. Caesar comes across as one of the most talented people in history: as general, he won almost all his battles; as a politician he was adept at forging alliances; as an author he received praise even from his enemies. He had a reputation for clemency (well, for a Roman – when he crucified the pirates who had kidnapped him early in his career, as a mercy he had their throats cut first). He was immensely popular with his troops, willing to share their field privations and to go into battle himself at crucial moments; his histories mention common soldiers and centurions far more often than higher ranking officers.

Goldsworthy claims Caesar and his contemporaries were influenced by his sense of auctoritas - usually translated as “authority”, although with a more subtle meaning connected with honor and influence; you could have auctoritas without actually being in a position of legal or political authority (for example, Roman women could have auctoritas if they were in a position to influence political outcomes, even if they had no political authority themselves). Goldsworthy attributes Caesar’s crucial decision to “cross the Rubicon” with his army as due to fear (probably quite correct) that his auctoritas would be diminished if he didn’t. (I was surprised to note that despite the fact that “crossing the Rubicon” has become idiomatic for taking an irreversible step, nobody knows exactly where the Rubicon was; several small streams are candidates).

As with any good book, Caesar raises a lot of questions; one that intrigues me is that Goldsworthy makes it clear that success in the Roman political system required huge amounts of money. What for, exactly? It’s not as if it was spent on TV ads. Similarly, where did the money come from? Rome, after all, had no large corporations or even individuals who had become rich though trade or manufacturing. It seems like the only way to become wealthy was to be appointed governor of a province and then skim tax collections (this is what Caesar did; the conquest of Gaul allowed him to pay off all the creditors who had supported him thus far and have massive amounts left over for bribery and army recruitment). Goldsworthy gives some hints about Roman economics but a detailed account would require a whole other book; I’ll have to do some research.

There’s a lot more fascinating stuff than mention; this is a very worthwhile book and an easy read. A plate section shows people and sites; there are good maps of most of Caesar’s battles (at least as far as events can be reconstructed). Recommended. ( )

An extensive, well-researched biography of the most famous Roman of all time. ( )

Goldsworthy takes a Livian minutiae approach to his biography of Julius Caesar! ( )

Although we know that Julius Caesar's life came to an abrupt end, reading the long book emphasied how abrupt it was. Caesar had packed so much into his life, things appeared to have settled down, and then with what appears to be little preparation and thought, a group of senators selfishly put an end to that life. This episode fills just a few pages of this 500 page book. The rest is spent on his early life as he positions himself, quite cheekily, for promotion. A bulk of the book is spent on his time on Gaul, where some of the details of troop movements in battle do tend to be a bit tedious. However, a book that is worth reading. ( )

Caesar didn't live up to my expectations. I found it hard going. Goldsworthy refashions dramatic events into basic facts. A biography of Caesar should be lively and transport the reader to a world rich in detail that brings it alive. There are occasional glimmers. ( )