Life of a Colossus by: Adrian Goldsworthy

8 stars

Life of a Colossus is a biography of Julius Caesar. Though I have not read any other biographies of Caesar, I am tempted to call it the authoritative biography. It chronicles everything we know about Caesar, from his early years on the run from the dictator Sulla to his conquests in Gaul and Britannia as a proconsul to the civil war against Pompey to his assassination at the hands of Brutus. In short, Caesar lived a very exciting life during an exciting time in history.

Adrian Goldsworthy manages a good balance storytelling and historical accuracy. He has no qualms admitting when our knowledge is limited or missing, but he doesn't bogged down in scholarly quagmires. Goldsworthy focuses on Caesar, but you will also learn a good deal about the Roman Republic in its last years, as well as several other famous Romans, including Pompey, Crassus Curio, Cicero, Cato, Mark Antony, Brutus, and Sulla. Though the book is long, it is well paced and there is always something interesting happening. I thoroughly enjoy it all, and often I found myself wishing I was a Roman aristocrat rubbing elbows with these men.

I would add a small warning. At a little over 500 pages of nonfiction, the book is not for the faint of heart. Those who love history, especially ancient history, will enjoy it, but it is surely not a causal reading.