The Sons of Caesar. Imperial Romes First Dynasty.

[spittle]

There is a glut of titles concerning Gaius Julius Caesar, Augustus, Caligula and Nero. Less for Claudius and least of all for Tiberius. This gem of a work is an excellent introduction to them all.

 

What first struck me about this book is the quality of the actual finished product. The imperial purple inner sleeve, the indented, symetrical dolphins on the front, the high quality paper.... If I ever had a book published I'd want Thames and Hudson to be the publishers. Its easy to forget that books should be things of beauty.

 

As well as two sets of illustrations about one third and two thirds into the print there are dozens of smaller pictures in the corners of the text. A coin, a map, a bust.....They all help to explain the family that stunned, then killed, the Roman Republic.

 

Unlike most biographies of Julius Caesar where the mans obvious genius is debated so much that it is easy to forget his success was built on millions of corpses or enslaved victims, Matyszak never lets the reader forget that Julius was a war criminal by our standards and, more approprateley, by theirs!

So much has been written about Cato, et al, forcing his hand and being responsible for the resulting civil war and monarchy that it was a pleasant surprize to read an author who clearly believes that Caesars accomplishments do not excuse his crimes.

 

To be continued....Unexpected disturbance

[DecimusCaesar]

Thanks for that Spittle. This book has being sitting on my Amazon wishlist for sometime now (even before it was released I think) I considered getting it for Christmas, so that I could use it as a referance book while reading Plutarch, Suetonius or Tacitus. I then considered that it might be too similar to 'Chronicle of the Roman Emperors' so I didn't purchase it. After reading your short review I might reconsider getting it as it sounds very good. Have you read the 'Chronicles' books (Roman Republic & Emperors) are they both similar? Or is this a good biographical study on its own?

[spittle]

I'm sorry to say that I have not read Chronicles of the Roman Emperors but I imagine that it could not possibly go into a fraction as much detail without being a set of encyclopedia's. Remember that this title only deals with the Julio-Claudians.

I'm new to this subject. I have read Rubicon, Goldworthy's Caesar, Hollands Augustus and a few others so its perfect foundation material for me. From your previous posts, DC, I'd say your far more knowledgable than myself so I really couldn't say what value, if any, this work would be to you. If I was you I would try to see it in a book shop or library before buying it.

I can state with certainty that it will remain a valuable little reference aid for me.

 

Also, I recently won one of the December Giveaway Prizes on this forum and chose Seagars POMPEY THE GREAT. Another option was Chronicle of the Roman Republic. I believe that one volume for every aspect of the Republic and another volume for every aspect of the Empire must surely stretch things to breaking point? So I declined the Chronicle and went with Pompey.

[DecimusCaesar]

If I was you I would try to see it in a book shop or library before buying it.

I can state with certainty that it will remain a valuable little reference aid for me.

 

Thanks Spittle. I saw a copy of this in Waterstones a few days ago. Unfortunately it had been sealed up in some plastic sheeting, so I couldn't inspect its contents. I might get it for my birthday if I have enough money. It sounds like a good biography on its own.