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Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor
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List Price: $16.95
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Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 937.07
EAN: 9780812970586
ISBN: 0812970586
Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 432
Publication Date: 2007-10-09
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Release Date: 2007-10-09
Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Editorial Reviews:
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He found Rome made of clay and left it made of marble. As Rome’s first emperor, Augustus transformed the unruly Republic into the greatest empire the world had ever seen. His consolidation and expansion of Roman power two thousand years ago laid the foundations, for all of Western history to follow. Yet, despite Augustus’s accomplishments, very few biographers have concentrated on the man himself, instead choosing to chronicle the age in which he lived. Here, Anthony Everitt, the bestselling author of Cicero, gives a spellbinding and intimate account of his illustrious subject.
Augustus began his career as an inexperienced teenager plucked from his studies to take center stage in the drama of Roman politics, assisted by two school friends, Agrippa and Maecenas. Augustus’s rise to power began with the assassination of his great-uncle and adoptive father, Julius Caesar, and culminated in the titanic duel with Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
The world that made Augustus–and that he himself later remade–was driven by intrigue, sex, ceremony, violence, scandal, and naked ambition. Everitt has taken some of the household names of history–Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Cleopatra–whom few know the full truth about, and turned them into flesh-and-blood human beings.
At a time when many consider America an empire, this stunning portrait of the greatest emperor who ever lived makes for enlightening and engrossing reading. Everitt brings to life the world of a giant, rendered faithfully and sympathetically in human scale. A study of power and political genius, Augustus is a vivid, compelling biography of one of the most important rulers in history.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: History of Rome for everyone
Comment: Along with Alexander of Macedon, Augustus is arguably
the most important ruler of the ancient Western World.
This book presents what seems to be the best possible
reconstruction of his life, based on documents that survive
to our time. The prose is elegant and engaging, and while
much of the text is speculative, the author is careful to
point out when his sources are insufficient or contradictory.
In a certain sense, the history of Rome during Julius Cesar
and Augustus has many parallels
with the current state of US politics (domestic and global).
A republic and democracy that is slowly coming under control
of a dynastic ruling class, just as it became the sole
superpower in the (known) world. Much of this is obviously
due to the fact that the writer draws from the present
to describe the past, which we can only glimpse at through
sometimes badly preserved manuscripts. However, there
do appear to be certain trends that re-appear throughout histories
of empires.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable biography
Comment: Great biography on Augustus! Well written and the average reader (like me!) is in not talked down to by the author and the author - though obviously a highly intelligent and well-versed man on the subject matter, does not flaunt it but makes the read enjoyable and understandable. After watching HBO's Rome series, it was very enjoyable to have the fact sorted out from the fiction as well as to have greater dimension and depth added to the key players in Augustus' long life.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Accurate, Easy to Understand Biography
Comment: As a student, I only knew the basics of Roman history. Something about this book attracted me. This is an extremely well written, easy to understand history lesson on both Caesar Augustus as well as the Roman Empire. Everitt makes sure to explain every Roman or Latin term he uses. He covers all events througout Augustus' life that I never knew. After reading this book, I feel that I am significantly more knowledgable regarding the pinnacle of the Roman empire. Augustus entertains as well as informs. Highly reccommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: History's Most Successful Politician
Comment: Any list of most successful politicians throughout history must include the Emperor Augustus at the top. Victorious at Actium in 31 BC after the chaos that followed the death of Julius Caesar, he was the most powerful man in the Western world until his death in 14 AD. Anthony Everitt's lucid biography gives a great description of the times and political life of the man who established the Roman Empire.
I found this book particularly satisfying after reading "I Claudius" and viewing the HBO production "Rome". The author provides an excellent description of historical context for this fascinating rise from obscurity to preeminence.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Well written & enjoyable ancient history
Comment: `Augustus' by Anthony Everitt
In this eponymous titled work Mr. Everitt tells the remarkable story of Rome's first emperor, Augustus. Clearly, it is brilliantly researched, extremely well written and a really enjoyable book to read. Anyone looking for an entry into ancient history would be well served reading this book. Mr. Everitt does spend an inordinate time on Octavian, Augustus' name before he became emperor, however the book remains a comprehensive source of information not only on the life of this truly unparalleled Roman leader, but the Julio-Claudian family overall. The family lineage, which is a difficult feat for anyone to successfully describe, is very well laid out and clearly organized in both text and helpful chart inserts.
I had read Everitt's earlier work on Cicero and was immediately hooked on his writing style. Fans of the aforementioned book will not be disappointed with his follow up, `Augustus'. Enjoy.
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