CAESAR

Well, so much has been said about Julius Caesar. This book gives an insight into the incredible pride of a man who's ego was so big that he really seemed to believe that he deserved the world. I have taken some inspiration from him - that those who expect often get. But moderation isn't something that one really learns from Caesar (although he tried his hand at magnanimity).Interesting account of Vertingetorix and his fate.

Very small print for my seventy eight years old eyes! Scholastically, it is unrivalled. The finest biography of one of the greatest men ever to grace this earth.

Excellent book - gives the felling of a personal account of Caesar, good and bad, not one-sided. It appears you either love or loathe Caesar but Christian Meier gives an unbiased view. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Great book especially for the price

I’m already enjoying this account of Caesar’s life , but it’s made almost inaccessible by virtue of the poor quality print. The typeset is small and smudgy. Come on Amazon! You can do better!

Looked a good book and very good price

Very informative

Great

Un excelente libro escrito por un reconocido historiador de la antigüedad. Desde el principio se plantea el problema de los outsiders de la política, y las condiciones que los hacen posible. El único problema es la edición del libro, muy pequeño, cansa la lectura y además en hojas de muy mala calidad.

This book is a classic. The historical Caesar shines through in a palpably real manner. The author uses historical sources to draw inferences regarding the mind of this epic historical figure. The account, though, is wanting of military details--for that, read Caesar's Commentaries and Theodore Avrault Dodge. Still, there is plenty to take away from this book. It is a must read for those with an interest in the Late Roman Republic, particularly those keen on understanding Caesarian vein. If you are a not familiar with the history of the Late Republic, it is better to begin with an introduction to the time and age; such as Tom Holland's Rubicon.

It would have probably been a good idea for the translator of this volume to have been familiar with the material about Caesar and then he wouldn't have made a number of gaffes and awkward translation twists. For example, on p. 181, the translator has the African prince pulling Caesar's beard when it was actually the other way around and Caesar, himself, did not wear a beard.Otherwise, if you are able to read a little German, and know your Caesar/end of Republican Rome material, you can get a lot out of this book. It's written from a very interesting angle, juxtaposing the conditions of the time against the psychology of the players and there are some excellent insights.So, I recommend it, but if you don't know the material well, you might also want to read Arthur Kahn's "The Education of Julius Caesar" along with this one to get the alleged facts straight in some considerable detail and with a bit better organization.

This book is an example of bland and long-winded historical biographies that you dreaded in high school; having read through it though, I walked away from it a better person. Julius Caesar wasn’t a cartoony super-hero type like Alexander the Great. He was sharp, action-oriented, and applied his incredible level of concentration on whatever he did. With these internal weapons, he fought every inch of his way; after all, being an outsider, nothing was handed to him. The author attributes Caesar’s role as an outsider, which gave him enough space to be detached, that eventually allowed him to rule all of Rome as a dictator. Caesar’s life resonated greatly with me due to the fact that his strengths seemed to have derived from his weaknesses: his vanity, insecurity and possibly even loneliness fueled his drive to be great. But in the end, it was the same qualities that got him to that top that eventually led to his tragic end. There are many valuable lessons to be learned in this book.

very comprehensive, be advised it does not read like a magazine article. By far the best book on Caesar that I've read, and the only other biography in its league is Morris' Edith Kermit Roosevelt. Some of the sentence structure I found a bit hard to follow, but that may be because it is a translation. Or due to my lack of formal education. The author's skill and enthusiasm is a rare combination, and I learned more about Roman culture along with history than I would have believed possible. One of my favorite books, period,