Augustus: First Emperor of Rome
Written by Adrian Goldsworthy
Narrated by Derek Perkins
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Adrian Goldsworthy pins down the man behind the myths: a consummate manipulator, propagandist, and showman, both generous and ruthless. Under Augustus's rule, the empire prospered, yet his success was never assured, and the events of his life unfolded with exciting unpredictability.
Adrian Goldsworthy
Adrian Goldsworthy's doctoral thesis formed the basis for his first book, The Roman Army at War 100 BC–AD 200 (OUP, 1996), and his research has focused on aspects of warfare in the Graeco-Roman world. He is the bestselling author of many ancient world titles, including both military history and historical novels. He also consults on historical documentaries for the History Channel, National Geographic, and the BBC. Adrian Goldsworthy studied at Oxford, where his doctoral thesis examined the Roman army. He went on to become an acclaimed historian of Ancient Rome. He is the author of numerous works of non-fiction, including Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors, Caesar, The Fall of the West, Pax Romana and Hadrian's Wall.
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Reviews for Augustus
90 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another historical gem by Adrian Goldsworthy. Outstanding, succinct and balanced use of historical evidence. Very well written and wonderfully narrated.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I’ve read dozens of biographies over the years and have often thought that perhaps the best way to study history is to read biographies of the seminal figures that created the history. You want to know about the European theater of World War II? Read Martin Gilbert’s biography of Winston Churchill.I have read many histories of the Roman Republic and the civil wars that accompanied its demise. Of course, Octavian played a part in those events, though tangentially in its early stages. I have also read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, so am somewhat familiar with the events of those year. I was, however, somewhat lacking in the very earliest years of the empire, and thus felt a biography of the first Roman Emperor would be beneficial in that regard.Surprising to me, Augustus Caesar was never crowned Emperor, but was merely designated “princeps”, essentially “leading man”. Despite being offered added powers on many occasions, he made a point of retaining many of the features of the former Republic. I can only guess that at some point, his successors made the final transition to Emperor.In any case, this was a perfectly serviceable biography, though not exceptional. I’ve read many better, and several worse. Of course, some of the most underwhelming biographies I’ve read were concerned with individuals from antiquity or Middle Ages, so perhaps source material plays a role. For whatever reason, I can’t wholeheartedly endorse this effort.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I decided to read this book after reading the author biography of Julius Caesar. At the moment I am also listening to a rather boisterous (not sure how else to describe it) podcast on Augustus. Not being a scholar on this topic, I can only say that I appreciate the work that authors like Adrian Goldsworthy do in researching for and writing books such as these. Augustus is probably the first Roman person I knew by name (from Luke 2), but beyond that I knew virtually nothing about him other than in the context of the lives of Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. It is interesting to note that the author states the first part of Augustus public life gets most attention, and that this book intended to cover the latter part as well. However, it seems that Augustus great amount of activity in his early life gave the Republic/Empire peace and rest, so that there are fewer momentous events to record and report.Most helpful are a number of family trees at the back of the book. The book also has a few maps, but it's a pity that they do not record the names of many of the places mentioned in the text.The author seems to have been taken to task for paying some attention to the birth of Christ in an effort to appease some lobby. This is odd thing to say seeing that some many of the records of the life of Augustus (and many others in that period) are fragmentary, and second or third hand. Yet we dearly hold them as facts. Goldsworthy's appendix 2 is a fair treatment of this topic. I have heard said, that Roman historians look on in jealousy at the strength of evidence for the life of Christ compared to what they have on.