The Ides
Caesars Murder and the War for Rome

I like short history books that concentrate on specific battles, years, natural disasters, political campaigns, etc., because their clear narrative focus often helps evoke an era or a personality better than a 700 page history or biography--weighed down by its precisely documented minutiae--ever cou......more

Picked this up at the Evanston Library booksale room. Dando-Collins appears to have primarily worked as a Roman military historian. This, however, is a chronology centred on the assassination of Julius Caesar, running from 1/26/44 through 10/21/42 BCE. Though the classical sources for these events ar......more

this was EXACTLY what i wanted it to be, hell yes. packed with interesting information & play-by-plays of major events leading up to, during, & after caesar's assassination; i also really appreciated the short chapters & the inclusion of direct quotes (well, as direct as we have), which made the who......more

Easy to read, even if it does not present anything new. Would get a higher rating, but the author can't help calling Cleopatra a slut and excuse slavery. Also, he does not think powerful women existed, so it's a clasical, male centric wiev of history. Why not read something by Mary Beard instead?......more