Caesar, Life of a Colossus
Caesar, Life of a Colossus is a biography of Julius Caesar written by Adrian Goldsworthy and published in 2006 by Yale University Press[1][5] It outlines his life in the context of the many institutions with which he interacted: "Roman society, the politics of the senate, Gaul (ancient France)" as well as the army of that ancient republic.[1][2][3]
 1st edition book cover | |
| Author | Adrian Goldsworthy |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Julius Caesar |
| Genre | Biography[1][2][3] |
| Set in | Roman Republic and Gaul 1st century BCE |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
Publication date | 2006 |
| Media type | Print, cd-audiobook, ebook, e-audiobook, mp3, paperback[4] |
| Pages | 519 |
| ISBN | 978-0-300-12048-6 |
| OCLC | 872017603 |
| 937/.05092 B | |
| LC Class | DG261 .G584 2006 |
| Preceded by | The Complete Roman Army (Thames & Hudson, 2003) |
| Followed by | The Fall of the West: The Death of the Roman Superpower (Orion 2009) |
| Website | Home page |
Within that framework, during his fifty-six year lifetime, he fulfilled many roles: "including a fugitive, prisoner, rising politician, army leader, legal advocate, rebel, dictator – perhaps even a god – as well as a husband, father, lover and adulterer. Few fictional heroes have ever done as much as Caius Julius Caesar." -- A. Goldsworthy. "Caesar, Life of a Colossus." Introduction. Page 7.[5]
One underlying structure of this book is to take the reader on a journey that follows "the many gambles, strange turns, and unlikely incidents in Caesar's career." [2] The book is referenced with endnotes and an index, located in the back of the book, showing it is based on ancient scholarly sources. The work of sifting through these sometimes conflicting sources to tell the story is also part of the narrative.[2]
Additionally, a bibliography of scholarly commentary, published during our more modern age, regarding Julius Caesar and Ancient Rome during his lifetime, is also in the back of the book. Hence, although the author has written this book for the lay reader, it is also useful for scholarly study.[2][6][7]
About the author
Adrian Goldsworthy attended St John's College, Oxford University where he received a Ph.D in Literae Humaniores (Ancient History) in 1994. His first book, "The Roman Army at War, 100 BC - AD 200" was published in 1996 and based on his Ph.D. thesis entitled "The Roman Army as a fighting force, 100 BC-AD 200". He was a part-time assistant professor at King's College London, and was later an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame, London [8] for six years. He has lectured on Greek and Roman history and taught a course on the military history of World War II at Notre Dame. Currently, he is a full time writer, preferring this occupation to teaching.[9]
Before publishing "Caesar, Life of a Colossus" he wrote two other important books on Roman history: "The Complete Roman Army" and "The Fall of Carthage".[3] He has subsequently written five other books about aspects of life in Ancient Rome.[10] The latest one was published in 2018 entitled "Hadrian's Wall"[10][11]
References
- Coates, Steve (December 29, 2006), "Giving Caesar and Augustus their due", New York Times, retrieved August 25, 2019
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- "Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar, Life of a Colossus". Josh Levithan, Yale University. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.05.35. Book Review
- Simmons, Tracy Lee (December 24, 2006). "The Empire Builders..." Washington Post. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- Worldcat audio listings. August 2019
- Caesar, Life of a Colossus. Goldsworthy, Adrian. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. 519 pages. ISBN 978-0-300-12048-6.
- Everitt, Anthony (10 August 2006), "Caesar: The Life of a Colossus, by Adrian Goldsworthy", The Independent, United Kingdom (online)
- Hahn, Irene (2006), Review - Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy, Roman History Books and More, retrieved August 25, 2019
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"University of Notre Dame in England". London Global Gateway. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
...London is a culturally rich venue for those who aspire to become a global citizen.
- "About the author". Adrian Goldsworthy. 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- "Books". Adrian Goldsworthy. 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- Hadrian's Wall. Google description and preview. Kirkus review.
Scholarly reviews
- Chappell, Stephen (December 4, 2009). "Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy". The Historian. Wiley. 71 (4): 896–898. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.2009.00252_52.x. ISSN 1540-6563. JSTOR 24454130.
- Borrowman, Shane (January 3, 2008). "...Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy". Rhetoric Review. Taylor & Francis. 27 (1): 93–99. doi:10.1080/07350190701738890. ISSN 1532-7981. JSTOR 20176827.
Further reading
- C-SPAN. Video. October . "Book Discussion on Caesar: Life of a Colossus". Adrian Goldsworthy discusses his biographical work on Julius Caesar. For the audience, Goldsworthy characterizes "the life of ancient Rome’s ruler from birth to assassination, detailing Caesar’s successes and failures as a politician and his involvement with the wives of his two main political rivals."
- Ashbrook, Tom. Author interview. On Point radio broadcast. September 15, 2006. Available online. WBUR (syndicated by NPR). Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- "Review of Goldsworthy's Caesar Life of a Colossus". N.S. Gill. About.com/Education.
- Review by Hahn, Irene: "Caesar: Life of a Colossus, by Adrian Goldsworthy". About.com/Education.
- Allen, Walter, Jr. "Sallust's Political Career." Studies in Philology 51.1 (Jan. 1954): 1-14. Rpt. in Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 68. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 June 2015.