The Twelve Caesars

I baulked, initially, at this book. Not the zippy approach of modern TV historians, but big, considered, dense paragraphs which at first seemed school-masterly even stodgy. How wrong I was. This is an author with a deep love of the English language happily mixing archaisms with modern slang, even the occasional appropriate profanity.It is not so much about the simple facts of the Caesars' reigns but judgements about their characters and actions, from both the modern and contemporary standpoints. The reader becomes immersed in the social structures of the the time: the importance, self-importance and weakness of the senate; the overwhelming necessity of support of the army; the affections and fickleness of the mob. Also the belief systems: the importance attached to dreams and portents, no matter how bizarre these may appear to us; the importance of bloodlines and claims to good stock; the belief in immutability of character.I found it difficult to reconcile myself with the unwavering cruelty so often shown: mass elimination of political opponents, resistant senators, children of rival families, own siblings, wives, parents, offspring. Then the mass murders of slaves, conquered soldiers, Jews for causes such as birthday celebrations or public entertainment. It is not good enough to have recourse to historical patronisation - different times, different morals. Torture and grizzly deaths hurt as much then as now.A great book which I will reread now.

for me. Good book

I bought this book because I have always been fascinated by Ancient Rome & the stories of the caesars. the stories of each of thecaesars are very comprehensively told with a short bio of each at the end also with a small story of how each one fits into the whole.If you wish to find out about some of the fascinating characters of Ancient Rome then this is the book for you.

all good - as described - and quick delivery

If you want to learn more of the Caesars don't buy this book unless you have a high tolerance for an affected prose style, a huge vocabulary and, crucially, already know a great deal about their lives. Halfway through the first chapter, on Julius Caesar, I got the impression that the author was not so much imparting knowledge but opening discussion with the reader, who he assumes already knows as much as he does. You will learn nothing from this badly written book which I bought on the strength of excellent press reviews. Don't believe the reviews and don't buy this book.

Whilst the subject is fascinating and there is much interesting detail I found the book quite heavy going as the language seems unnecessarily flowery.In spite of this I am still glad I purchased it .

It does what it says and that is a refreshing change for a book these days. It gives a very easy to read account of the twelve caesars and a high level aspect of their time in power, a good reference book.

I bought this book as I had read reviews which suggested that this was an excellent introduction to the subject. As someone who knows virtually nothing about Roman history, this was exactly what I was looking for. Or it should have been. It hasn't taken me this long to read a book in a LONG time. To add some context, I do have both a BA and MA in History and getting to grips with a new historical topic is something that I don't usually struggle with.However, the structure of Dennison's book was incredibly difficult to follow and far from being a good introduction makes many assumptions of prior knowledge. Frequently Dennison will summarise the characteristics of an emperor and then say 'and we all know what this led to.' No. No, I don't. That's why I was reading what has been billed as a good introduction to the subject!Dennison leaps backwards and forwards chronologically and offers interesting snippets of events that never go far enough. I realise covering twelve emperors is a big ask and he is limited in what can be included, but all this book has provided me with is an indication as to which of the twelve Caesars I would now like to find informative, lucid books on! I also found that he didn't always make contradictions in the sources clear enough. He would present something as a fact and then several pages later say the opposite! Why not just clearly mention that the sources disagree?This book must be aimed at an extremely niche market. I certainly would not recommend it to anyone who wants a good introduction to the subject! On the other hand, anyone who already knows about the Caesars is unlikely to find this very informative - although you may at least stand a chance of following Dennison's ramblings!Ultimately, something is very wrong when a booklover like myself finishes a book by resoundingly slamming the pages shut and shouting, 'finished!' so loudly that I scare my cats.

Historical reading

The writing style is perfect for me- an amateur anthropologist. well spoken without the feeling your in a history class- I venture to say that after you read this you will wonder how anybody survived the centuries of Caesar rule, and how any of the Caesars themselves survived. ( hint- Julius Augusts was not the only one murdered by his best friend). The narrative is in a close chronological style without the myopic attributes that is so common in historical books. I loved it- a great night time read on my kindle-jt

It would be hard to outdo Suetonius in the history as gossip style of writing but this book may well succeed. It gets across the essential history of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors in a chatty, gossipy, but historically well-researched style. Simply a delight to read

Good book. Little light on some details but a good introduction

I was a bit disappointed in the book although it has had excellent reviews.It certainly is more graphic in the salacious details of the various Caesars but at the end of the day what more is there to be learn't about them that has not been published by Seutonius and others?