Caesar

by Christian Meier

Book Overview

As politician and diplomat, writer and lover, but above all as a military genius, Julius Caesar is one of the perennially fascinating figures in history -- Boswell called him "the greatest man of any... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465008941
• ISBN13: 9780465008940
• Release Date: February 1996
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Fine Biography

Meier's Julius Caeser biography (first published in Germany in 1982)is a fine introduction to the life and times of Caesar. I found the description of aristocratic competition in provision of public works and entertainments to be most interesting, and useful in understanding the political process of the period.As some other reviewers have noted, general familiarity of 1st century BCE Roman history would be helpful to readers. I'd add that more maps would improve the presentation.

A fascinating read

Meier considers his book a "scholarly biography," but it's intended for a general audience -- in omitting footnotes and even a bibliography, for example, he already sets his book apart from the usual scholarly studies. Meier has clearly done a great deal of research and thinking on the subject over a long period of time, and he readily presents the conflicting theories behind many events in and facets of Caesar's life. If you're looking for a detailed military analysis of "Caesar the General" and his campaigns specifically, this isn't it. The book is part biography, part character analysis; while the latter is always dangerous when dealing with a titanic historical figure like Caesar, Meier never stoops to the kind of superficial psychoanalysis that too often plagues biographies dealing with great figures from antiquity (such as Alexander the Great). He bases his ideas on the ancient sources and the work of prominent scholars throughout history. Meier's many questions and hypotheses are always considered and balanced, and often more than intriguing -- particularly interesting to me is the way in which he contrasts Caesar as a mover of events and as one being moved along by them at various times in this turbulent period. I often got the impression that I was reading the work of a scholar who was happy to free himself from the usual academic restraints and was simply letting all of his ideas and questions out of the bag, and that's refreshing. Meier does a fine job of synthesizing the life and career of a complicated, restless man and the development of a very complex era into a readable and fascinating book -- he covers all the various aspects of Caesar's life in a balanced way (the brilliant general, the ambitious politician, the shrewd diplomat, the writer, etc.). It's a bit plodding in spots, and it would help the reader to know the basic outline of the period before delving into the book, but overall it's a great read. This is one of the best biographies of Caesar available. My only gripes are the total absence of ANY references and the sloppy editing of this edition: the former was Meier's choice, the latter the oversight of the publisher of this edition.

A verbose but brilliant biography of Julius Caesar.

Meier's biography of Julius Caesar is admirable more for its exploration of historic transformation than for its nuts-and-bolts summary of Caesar's life. Meier's thesis, which is hard to contest, is that the ruling class which Caesar replaced was so inneffectual that it essentially committed suicide. Julius Caesar was the man who drove the sword through.Like all pivotal figures in history, Caesar was faciliated by the tenor of his time, but it's difficult to imagine any of his comtemporaries equalling his accomplishments had he not existed. Meier describes both these external and internal forces well in his portrait of the man.Unfortunately, this biography doesn't work as an introduction to Caesar. It's verbose, assumes a decent working knowledge of Roman history, and is too often tangential for the average reader. Better to start with Michael Grant's "History of Rome" before concentrating on more specific studies such as Meier's.Nonetheless, "Caesar" is particularly recommended for students of political history. Meier strives, without being preachy or contentious, to highlight patterns in Caesar's rise (and the Roman Republic's fall) that continue to operate in our time - not the least of which is the inability of an elite to realize it is no longer relevant.Give it a go.

Praise for Meier's Caesar

This was a comprehensive and well written biography of Gaius Julius Caesar. It was an introduction to Roman Society for me, and details that others found needless, I found helpful and interesting. It is an excellent guide to Caesar and the events of his life. Admidittly, it was a long read and could have done with a little less straying from the main topic to the author's musings. Also, I found several event missing, such as Caesar's marraiges, children's births, and far less personal infromation about Caesar the Man. But, overall, I enjoyed it, and place it among my favorite books.