Life & Times of Constantine the Great

By D.G. Kousoulas

Book Overview

Editorial ReviewsC.N.Kolitsas, Greek American Book Review: 'Kousoulas has great sorytelling abilities, making the volume of 500 pages fly by like 50.Henry J. Ferry, Mediterranean Quarterly: '...fascinating, filled with dramatic details, lucid...'Spotlight ReviewsR, Smith (Chicago, il) : 'This is history writing at its best.Simply put, it is one of the best history books I have ever read.'George Athas (Sydney, NSW, Australia): 'A masterful treatment. This book is a very easy read, but the more you turn the pages, the more you realize the sheer volume of research that Kousoulas has put into it...Thoroughly recommended !'C. Cayzar (Iowa, USA): 'The best book on Constantine in the market today in my opinion.'

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1419660411
• ISBN13: 9781419660412
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Booksurge
• Length: 530 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Fascinating Story

This is history writing at its best. I had read in the past other books on Constantine, including Burckhardt, and I can say that Kousoulas takes a page in history - a subject many find dry and even boring - and breaths life into it. This book shows that extensive research into the life of a towering historical figure does not prevent a capable author from writing a fascinating story that an ordinary reader can enjoy while learning at the same time. For anyone interested in Constantine the Great and the time when human history took a new direction, this is the book to read. The author writes with equal candor and intimate detail about Constantine's accomplishments and his acts of cruelty, but also about the men and women in his life, not as cardboard characters but as human beings with their own virtues and foibles.

remarkable

This history writing at its best. Simply put, it is one of the best history books I have ever read (and I have read hundreds). It is an easy read and written in the narrative style. Unfortunately, learning about a subject is not what every reader is looking for, as evidenced by the comments of the reviewer who gave this book one star. I am always baffled when people criticize a product or book for doing exactly what it states it will do. Kousoulas cleary says in the beginning of the book that this biography is meant for the masses, intentionally not scholarly (more on that in a moment), and that the reader should look elsewhere for a more in-depth and "scholarly" treatment of the subject. Yet, the reviewer gives the author one star for DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE AUTHOR SAYS IS HIS INTENT. It is like criticizing a refrigerator for not heating your food or an automobile for not flying. If I want a giant thousand-page, multi-volume opus about Constantine filled with footnotes, is intentionally written in an obscure venacular, and can devote several months to the book, I will buy it. But, as a person who must work, has multiple interests, and is curious about history, I simply do not have the time to devote to the type of book described in the last sentence, which is why Kousoulas' book is perfect. The one-star review is unwarranted and undeserved. If you want an obscure book written in an obtuse style, written not for people to learn about the subject but to impress other professor colleagues, than this book is not for you. Learning has never been on the agenda of the people who teach in research universities anyway, as evidenced by the poor knowledge of history by most Americans. If you are interested in learning about Constantine, and want to have fun while doing it (people learn more when having fun, by the way), than this book is for you. Throw your college textbook away and pick this up.

This is the most remarkeble book on Constantine yet!

D. G. Kousoulas has created a remarkable treatment here, bringing to light many aspects and details not present in other works. He takes a subject like history which most people find a dry to begin with and he breaths life into it. This book was very difficult to put down. I just couldn't do it. I would have liked the book to be longer with more detail but it was a great book nonetheless. While I some what agree with some of the points made by another reviewer I think he goes a bit too far in some of his baser asertions, such as the insinuation that D. G. Kousoulas' Constantine is more of a work of fiction than a study of historical fact surrounding an actual individual. This is of course ridiculous. By the reviewers own admission he only wanted to break up the 5 star rating Kousoulas had achieved and for no othe rreason than that. How completly shallow. He also postulates that D. G. Kousoulas' work is not based on scholarly research. D. G. Kousoulas researched Constantine in historical documentation for over 25 years, how much more scholarly can you get than that... really. In short, this book is truely well written and very informative. The best book on Constantine in the market today in my opinion. This book is an excellent addition to anyones library.

The Life and Times of constantine the Great

This is an excellent portrayal of Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine I. Kousoulas gives the reader a thorough history of the Emperor's life from his birth to death. His account of Constantine's life is very detailed yet never dry. Rather, I found his style to be on the humorous side. His writing is pallatable to the scholar and general reader alike. I look forward to reading this book again.

an excellent, detailed, documented life and times of Const.

This is a vivid and dramatic reconstruction of the life of the first Christian emperor. The research seems thorough with extensive use of ancient Latin and Greek sources. I especially enjoyed the author's effort to uncover the actual causes for major events including the tragedy in Rome in the summer of A.D. 326. With its absorbing and enlightening style, the book would be attractive not only to scholars, but also to the general readers.