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Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar
The first biography of thefinal man to stand against Caesar—whose principles and defiance became a rallying cry for future revolutions
He was Rome’s bravest statesman, an aristocratic soldier who slept on the ground with his troops, a Stoic philosopher and staunch defender of the sacred Roman tradition, who inspired early Christianity: This is the story of Marcus Porcius Ca...more
He was Rome’s bravest statesman, an aristocratic soldier who slept on the ground with his troops, a Stoic philosopher and staunch defender of the sacred Roman tradition, who inspired early Christianity: This is the story of Marcus Porcius Ca...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
October 16th 2012
by Thomas Dunne Books
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This is an impressive work of popular history, focusing on the life and times of one of Rome's strangest politicians.
Cato the Younger was the great-grandson of the famously puritanical Cato the Elder (he of "Carthago delenda est" fame, or however it goes.) Growing up in the shadow of his great ancestor's reputation, and following his own proclivities toward abstention and self-denial, he became an acolyte of Stoic philosophy and adopted a wide range of extremely eccentric behaviours, from wearin...more
Cato the Younger was the great-grandson of the famously puritanical Cato the Elder (he of "Carthago delenda est" fame, or however it goes.) Growing up in the shadow of his great ancestor's reputation, and following his own proclivities toward abstention and self-denial, he became an acolyte of Stoic philosophy and adopted a wide range of extremely eccentric behaviours, from wearin...more
The first biography of the final man to stand against Caesar—whose principles and defiance became a rallying cry for future revolutions
He was Rome’s bravest statesman, an aristocratic soldier who slept on the ground with his troops, a Stoic philosopher and staunch defender of the sacred Roman tradition, who inspired early Christianity: This is the story of Marcus Porcius Cato.
Cato’s life is a gripping tale rich with resonances for our own turbulent politics. Cato grappled with homegrown terroris...more
He was Rome’s bravest statesman, an aristocratic soldier who slept on the ground with his troops, a Stoic philosopher and staunch defender of the sacred Roman tradition, who inspired early Christianity: This is the story of Marcus Porcius Cato.
Cato’s life is a gripping tale rich with resonances for our own turbulent politics. Cato grappled with homegrown terroris...more
Brendan Rowe A very well-researched and entertaining account of Cato the Younger. The author makes some attempt to reconstruct the childhood of the man (as Roman stoic philosophy discounts any concept of childhood as we know it) and attempts to debunk some myths of his early life.
There is an issue with typographical errors, however. While this can be overlooked since they occur maybe one every five pages and can be forgiven due to the overall word count, the nature of them does change the contex...more
There is an issue with typographical errors, however. While this can be overlooked since they occur maybe one every five pages and can be forgiven due to the overall word count, the nature of them does change the contex...more
This is a very readable biography of one of the most interesting characters of the late Roman Republican era. Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger was a very conservative Senator and did everything he could stop the plans of the populares, those politicians who catered to the masses. In particular, he hated Caesar, perhaps in part because Cato's half-sister Servilia was Caesar's mistress. After Caesar finally wrapped up the Gallic wars and wanted to stand for consul without entering the city (because...more
Fourteen out of fifteen chapters consist of an engaging biography of a classical figure who deserves to be better known, to which I would have given four stars. The prologue, final chapter and epilogue betray a stereotypically American solipsism in which the impact of Cato's life on our sainted "Founding Fathers" would seem to exhaust his contemporary relevance, and the authors hint broadly at the lessons they hope readers will draw from his life--lessons that are, at best, disputable.
I enjoyed the thorough historical context the authors gave to Cato's life, and the boook certainly left me with some lasting images and moving quotes (one from Lucan proved to be a favorite), but the most memorable remnant from this work will be the conundrum over whether an almost unwavering adherence to an ideal is admirable or ill-advised. Also, another point that struck me was the authors' negative treatment of Cicero versus the positive treatment of Cato. While I realize there is much in Ci...more
An interesting book with great potential, but wildly uneven in its pacing, unclear in its narrative, helter skelter in its topic choices, and prone to far too much remote psycho-analysis. The authors take time out to explain nuances of late Republican politics that aren't relevant and skip points that are. The citations and resources are good, the use of them not so much. Still, not bad for the first biography of the man himself in 2,000 years.
The best account of Cato's life I have ever read, and an extremely fair one, examining his many failings as well as his successes, but also examining Cato's impact and importance. I urge all Stoics, all Classicists, and really, anyone with an interest in Ancient Rome and especially the last years of the Republic to read this book!
Cato is a model for the idea that uncompromising integrity is likely to lead to uncompromising failure. One of the parts of the book I found most interesting was Goodman's concluding discussion of Cato's "afterlife" as a figure to emulate.
A sympathetic biography of a singularly unsympathetic, yet courageous man. Goodman and Soni have produced a seamless, very well written and researched biography.
A biography that's professional, yet lay-friendly, in tone; dense, but still informative (especially for a Roman history novice). This one might actually end up in the personal collection, it's that good. Cato was a fascinating, frustrating man.
As a lover of history, I don't believe I'd never read about Cato before. What an incredible life. "Rome's Last Citizen" was an excellent read, providing plenty of context to explain the uniquely brilliant life of Cato the Younger. I even went to see Goodman and Soni speak about the book at the Cato Institute in DC -- both were excellent, entertaining guys who seem to have found a topic they love. Great work!
Engaging if not always well-written narrative of the life of Cato. Sometimes clumsy in its relation to current American politics. Any committed classicist will at a minimum enjoy the minute detail.
As I read this book I couldn't help but compare Rome at it's worst with the continuing problems coming out of Washington. An excellent book to read now!
May 17, 2013
Sharon Desruisseaux
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Cato to me also seemed a rather foolish reactionary, leader of a pack of...more
Dec 16, 2012 06:39pm