Caesar

As politician & diplomat, writer & lover, 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 age.” Christian Meier’s authoritative & accessible biography is the definitive modern account of his life & career, setting his life story against the socio-political background of the Late Roman Republic.List of IllustrationsCaesar & Two RealitiesCaesar's FascinationCrisis & OutsidersBirth & FamilyYouth in RomeThe Second Experience of the Civil War & 1st CommitmentThe 1st the Experience of Rome in the Decade after the Restoration 78-70The Political Rise of the Outsider 69-60Crisis & Cato's Authority, Pompey's Difficulty, Caesar's ProblemThe Consulship 59Achievement in GaulThe Process of the Crisis without Alternative, Caesar's Right to the Civil War, his GreatnessThe Civil War 49-46Failure after VictoryAfterwordAfterword to the 3rd German Paperback EditionIndex

James Boswell called him ‘the greatest man of any age’. As politician and diplomat, writer and lover, but above all as a military genius, Julius Caesar is one of the most perennially fascinating figures in history. Christian Meier’s biography is the definitive, modern account of Caesar’s life and career, and places him within the wider context of the crisis of the Roman republic. Written specifically for a general readership, this authoritative, stimulating book serves, amongst other things, as a reminder to those who believe that men are mere servants of historical forces that the great individual still has an unarguably significant part to play.

“Meier’s is a compulsively readable, scholarly, imaginative, and almost poetic account.”
PETER JONES, 'Sunday Telegraph'

“A subtle and complex inquiry into the nature of politics and power in the late Republic ... Meier builds up a convincing portrait of a man with a restless need for achievement but no master plan ... His 'Caesar' goes well beyond the confines of biography to present a radical analysis of a political system in decline, and the opportunities it afforded one of the most brilliant and unscrupulous individuals of all time.”
JOAN SMITH, 'Independent on Sunday'

“This book of Meier’s ... has become a book of great historical importance and literary glory, portraying the most fascinating ruler of the ancient world in his historical context, and in all his humanity, against the background of a Rome shattered by civil war.”
INGE FRESE, 'Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung'