Julius Caesar (Gift for History Buffs) Paperback – May 14, 2009

This book ends with the line:"When Thomas Jefferson showed Alexander Hamilton his portraits of Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton and John Locke as the three greatest men in world history, Hamilton, a republican to the core, spoke for many when he shook his head and reluctantly proclaimed:""The greatest man who ever lived was Julius Caesar."I set out to read this book because I wanted to compare the two greatest "men" of history, both with the same initials (using the modern lexicon) "JC," both having a great effect on our modern calander, both involved in books freqently read today and oth born within a generation of each other some 2000 years agoAlthough I consider myself fairly well educated with a great interest in history, this was a real eye-opener and a delight to read. Like most, I knew a little of Caesar but had no idea of his greatness. This was a man so talented in so many ways that to call him the greatest man who ever lived 2000 years after his death is by no means an exaggeration. (I can say this because I do not classify the "other JC," strictly speaking, as a man).Caesar fought the greatest armies in the world in five major contests, conquering almost all of Europe, Spain, North Africa, Egypt and Greece, each time he was outnumbered, often massively, yet he never lost to barbarian or Roman. On the political front he defeated all of his talented Roman enemies. He was well read and wrote what could be considered the World's first modern book, still read today, "Gallic Wars."In a world known for unbelievable cruelty and ruthlessness, he almost invents forgiveness of enemies before Christ mentions it in the Sermon on the Mount (though with Caesar it seems to be more politically calculated).Enough about Caesar, let's talk a little about this book's author, Phillip Freeman though forgetting the author in favor of his subject may be the greatest complement you can pay an author!)Freeman writes a compelling, interesting book and although a college professor and Harvard PhD he does not sound like one (again, a great complement). I was very pleased that he did not, like so many other authors get bogged down in details but stuck with a sweeping story line. He writes this straight up like a modern novel using the most impeccable classical sources.If you are an expert on the Rome this might be beneath you. But for anyone else with an interest in history and how the world works you should find this book a delight.

This was an interesting book. I knew very little about Caesar’s life other than his fling with Cleopatra and his assassination at the hands of a bunch of senators. This book detailed his rise to fame and power in Rome, through both political strategy as well as the power of the military. He won many victories in the Gallic wars because of his accumen as a field commander and his ability to rally and motivate his troops. This book went into plenty of detail about those battles and the significance of Ceasar “crossing the Rubicon” (a saying I’ve used in the past without fully understanding its origin). Once he was in charge (Dictator for Life) Caesar made many changes including one that resonates even today (the Julian calendar).I have a tough time keeping up with books like this because I’m not good at remembering foreign names like Vercingetorix and Lucterius and Convictolitavus so I did get bogged down at times but that is more the fault of my limited intellect rather than the author’s prowess. Overall I’d recommend this book if you’re like me and you slept through Western Civ but now you’d like to fill in some of the gaps in your education. Caesar lived a fascinating life and this biography did a good job retelling it all.

I am a high school Latin teacher. I recently purchased Philip Freeman's biography "Julius Caesar" in Kindle format, and I was so delighted with the book that I purchased two hardback copies: one for my personal library, and one for my classroom. Dr. Freeman should be thanked for the excellence, readability and accessibility of this wonderful work. A good biography should make every attempt to portray its subject as fairly as possible, and Freeman's presentation of Julius Caesar, the man, the general, the would-be rex struck the perfect balance. I spend some time in my advanced Latin classes discussing Caesar’s character, and my students and I enjoy conflicting efforts to understand the man, irrespective of 21st-century prejudices on the nature of war, politics and virtue. I believe he struck the perfect note in capturing all this.Historical narrative often falls into one of two categories: either too in-depth for the average reader and perhaps geared more towards scholarly readers, or too shallow and prejudiced. Freeman's book should be on the must-read list for students of Latin and Classics. I especially enjoyed his chapters on Caesar’s Gallic War which, to a non-specialist like myself, improved even on Caesar himself. But my favorite element in the book is more difficult to pin down in a few words. Freeman elegantly portray this great man as the genius he was in so many ways, but a genius who succumbed to a lust for power to which we are all susceptible. He shows Caesar as a great man, indeed, one of the greatest, but a man for all that. His biography successfully evokes in the reader a real pathos for Caesar as we watch such greatness decline into almost a caricature of all the res publica detested. The reader is not angry with Caesar in his last years, only immensely disappointed as we watch the moral and political decay of such greatness. Freeman's ability to strike this marvelous emotion in his readers makes this a truly superior work. Highly recommended!

This is a fascinating story and it just gets better and better. We can learn so much from this story. You see so much of today throughout book.