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Dec 17, 2009

Channing rated it:

Towards the end of his previous book, "Cicero", Everitt describes Cicero taking Julius Caesar's grand-nephew, the young Gaius Octavius, under his wing and introducing him to the world of Roman politics. In gratitude, the young Gaius winds up forming an alliance with Mark Antony and reluctantly agreeing to have Cicero killed (although he forces Antony to murder his uncle in exchange). Thus begins the rise to power of Rome's first emperor, later to call himself Augustus.

On on More...

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Apr 19, 2011

Linda rated it:

This book is an audacious attempt to cover in only 327 pages the rise to power and reign of Rome's first emperor. Not all my questions were answered, but I have a better understanding of the period having read this biography.

The author quickly introduces Augustus as Octavian, the handsome and astute great-nephew of Julius Caesar. Trained in public administration by Caesar, Octavian was a person of delicate health who never became the warrior that his great-uncle was. In fact, he l More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Sean rated it:

A solid biography of the founding father of the Roman Principate. Indulges in a fair amount of speculation, but I suppose that's what separates scholarly history from popular history, and the author gives you plenty of notice when he's off on a flight of (informed) fancy. Besides, given the paucity of reliable sources for much of Gaius's/Octavian's/Augustus's life, perhaps some speculation is called for.

Any student of Roman history should have a handle on the life and times of Impe More...

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Jul 16, 2011

Bob rated it:

This was a great read. While I am biased because I love this time period, the story of Octavius/Augustus is one of the great stories of history. I read this immediately after reading "Why the West Rules For Now" and it seemed to me that this was an excellent counter to the argument that the fate of civilizations is pre-determined by forces of nature outside the control of man. In Octavius'/Augustus' case, one man did affect the course of history. Two things I found amazing about hi More...

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Feb 04, 2010

Steven rated it:

Anthony Everitt follows up his excellent biography of the Roman politician, lawyer, and writer Cicero with a strong biography of the first Roman emperor, Augustus (born Gaius Octavius in 63 BC). If one add in Goldsworthy's well done recent biography of Julius Caesar, one then has a trio of excellent biographies that help make the political intrigues of Rome in the late Republic and early Empire come to life.

The challenges facing the author include holes in the life story of the man More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2009

Emalise rated it:

This was the first biography I ever read. Surprisingly enough, as I'm a Classics major with a concentration in Latin, I did not read it for a class. I've always had a certain fascination with Augustus even though I never knew too much about him. (It is hard for me to imagine him an any other way than as Simon Woods played him in HBO's Rome but that is not being very historically objective, now is it?)

Everitt successfully navigated the difficult feat of writing about a great man, on w More...

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Apr 27, 2009

Luke rated it:

Having read both Cicero and Augustus by Anthony Everitt, I can say there are two substantial differences between the two works: 1) Cicero is in need of an editor. There are quite a few run-on sentences or sentences that would be easier read with the addition of a comma or dash. 2) Cicero brings the person to life. You get a great sense of who he was and how he handled situations. Augustus, by the author's admission, is much more about the person's accomplishments, because that is the infor More...

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Apr 09, 2009

Rufusgermanicus rated it:

This book starts off well enough, but the problem is that the author doesn't keep interest. He starts from the position of a historical fiction writer, but then shifts awkwardly into straight-forward history. He doesn't have the knack for making the story interesting, and really, that's not entirely his fault. Augustus' story is one of anti-climax, of things falling apart, and of the birth of Empire, but in the guise of the old Republic. It's a story of change, and not one of clear direction. Th More...

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Nov 04, 2009

Kelly rated it:

This is a decent biography. It gives a good general lesson in the life of Augustus; including a great deal of material that most readers will have encountered previously in romantic epics and so forth. Indeed, it often seemed as though Mr. Everitt was more enamored of Mark Antony than perhaps he ought to have been. His parsing of political and strategic motivations inevitably leaves the impression that Antony has been wrongly treated by history. In any event, this telling of the life of Augu More...

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Sep 28, 2011

Ahuizotl rated it:

A very decent biography. Everitt assumes the readers has very little prior knowledge of the era, which can be frustrating for those with some background in the period. His Augustus (or more properly Gaius Julius Caesar) is not the Apollonian demi-god but a flesh-and-blood young man who ruthlessly murders political opponents, makes himself scarce during key set-piece battles that decided the fate for the Republic(if one could still call it that) and views family members as pawns in a dynastic c More...

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Jun 06, 2011

Owen rated it:

I listened to all 18 hours of this book on cd, narrated by a suitably British speaker, as Americans associate all empire with the Brits. Anthony Everitt seems to know details that we couldn't find out about contemporary leaders. Augustus paints a picture of the first true Caesar, the Princeps, who ruled Rome with virtually no bloodshed for decades, who outmaneuvered his superior Antony, and may well have held the position for so long simply because no one believed he would live. His will matc More...

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Aug 03, 2007

Margaret rated it:

A great follow-up to Cicero. Between the two of them you get a thorough introduction not only to these two men, but more generally to life in ancient Rome and its rise to empire. (It's a crazy story, if you hadn't heard.)

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Aug 05, 2011

Dan rated it:

This was a fantastic biography. Everitt draws from all the classical sources and puts together an gripping narrative of Augustus's life and the myriad surrounding events. The story flows smoothly and a good balance is struck between necessary details and larger events. The major figures of the period are all examined from both a political and a personal perspective as well as the surviving records allow and how their motivations shaped history comes together in a coherent chronicle of the earlie More...

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Feb 11, 2010

Ross rated it:

When most people think of ancient Rome they usually remember one person: Julius Caesar. He was a very influential person for sure. However, Octavian (Caesar's great-nephew) was the most important person in Roman history. According to the book, Octavian's (later known as Augustus) measures allowed the Empire to exist for another 500 years (1,400 years in the East). His careful and deliberate way of ruling the Empire provided a model for future emperors to govern by.

I really enjoye More...

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Apr 27, 2011

Joanna rated it:

An excellent, very readable history of Rome's first emperor. I found it amazing how much we use today in democratic governments that was first put in place by the Romans. Given that he lived 2000 years ago, and primary sources are difficult to come by and/or sometimes untrustworthy, Everitt pieces together the most likely scenarios while painting quite the soap opera of dynasty.

I have no idea why the TV series on Rome made Atia such an over-the-top character when this book shows how More...

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Sep 12, 2010

Elizabeth rated it:

I learned tons from this book about Caesar Augustus, the other Caesars, Roman education, naming conventions, political organization (or not), judicial system(s). Includes his relationships with Marc Antony, Julius Caesar, Augustus wife, children, adopted children (for political purposes), and especially his vehement punishment and exiling of his daughter Julia for infidelity and other social (and maybe political) missteps. I found it very readable and it filled in other readings on Mycenian, G More...

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Jul 14, 2010

Randy rated it:

Rome was politically uneasy in the aftermath of Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 B.C. Mark Antony and the Senate enjoyed a brief, uncomfortable detente, while Caesar's legions were stationed in the boot heel of Italy for a planned campaign in the east. A heretofor unknown eighteen year old named Gaius Octavius Thurnius--who had been at school in Macedonia--landed in Brindisi and began rallying Caesar's troops, using nothing but his new name and new fortune. Octavian was Caesar's grandnephe More...

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Jun 23, 2010

Jason rated it:

Anthony Everitt's "Augustus" is a solid biography on one of history's most influential people. Augustus, born Gaius Octavius September 23, in 63 BC, lived to the ripe old age of 77 and ruled the Roman Empire for almost 45 years...both staggering amounts of time considering the average lifespan 2000 years ago and the average lifespan of Roman politician.

He is arguably one of the most impactful individuals ever to roam the earth. His existence intersected Julius Caesar (his g More...

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Jul 28, 2010

Paul rated it:

I read this book last year 2007 and found that I had a very difficult time remembering much of what I read. In fact, I felt I didn’t even get a feeling for Augustus as a result of plowing through it. The second reading this year was better but it was still plodding and while there were high points, I had not noticed before such as descriptions of Court life in the Augustan era and family dynastic intrigues, it was still very slow even boring. What made is such was the preponderance of detail on More...

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Nov 25, 2010

F. rated it:

Everitt, Anthony
Now I'm not a big biography reader and probably wouldn't have cracked this one if it hadn't been assigned. But damned if I'm not enjoying it. Everitt makes a good biographer for several reasons. Rather than relate facts a la textbook he tells a story complete with family feuds, gossip, fashion, animal sacrifice, incest -- all those things that make ancient Rome so fascinating. Another point in Everitt's favor is the way he fills in cultural and historical background without More...

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Jun 18, 2008

Erik rated it:

I doubt that this recent biography on Augustus -- ne Octavian -- is the first to focus solely on the first emperor of Rome (as the dust-cover flap suggests), but I will agree with most critics and readers that this is a compelling read that manages to include many of the debates and nuances that make Augustus and his contemporaries so intriguing. If you're looking for confirmation of the scandalous affairs and sordid acts that were paraded on screen during the two seasons of HBO's breath-taking More...

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Jan 10, 2008

Rick rated it:

For years I’ve meant to read Everitt’s life of Cicero, which was published some time ago to acclaim. After following “Rome” on its two season-run on HBO, I added this to the list for my birthday this year when it appeared in bookstores at the end last year. I’d like to say it was great but it was merely informative and easy to read—not too dense or academic but far from compelling and not always convincing. Though the careful way Everitt navigates the sources, casting skepticism on some of the m More...

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Jan 22, 2012

Charles rated it:

"Make haste slowly" Augustus used to say, Mr Everitt does a good job of introducing us to the man who invented the office of Emperor of Rome. Unlike his more famous (in our time at least) uncle, Augustus not only won power, but created a system where the masses begged him to keep it, and the powerful were content to have the trappings of the old state, without the actual governance. Fascinating and intelligent Augustus still casts a shadow over our own time.

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Dec 30, 2011

John rated it:

Great book. I listened on Audible over a course of a several months. It was tough to keep the names of the family straight but clearly Augustus or Octavian was quite the political and military character. He was brutal and compassionate like his time and culture. I found Roman culture to be very similar to our own. Moralistic yet hedonistic and violent. I'm happy I listened to it. I learned a bit more about Roman culture and would like to read more.

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Dec 02, 2011

UChicagoLaw added it

"This is an easy entry into a part of world history that I knew next to nothing about. Others might find this offputting, but I appreciate the recognition of irreducible uncertainty surrounding relatively straightforward events. We might have confidence in our ability to identify significant military encounters, shifts in formal law, and major changes in societal power structures, but so much of interest remains in the fog." - Adam Samaha

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Feb 01, 2010

Greg rated it:

The second of Everitt's tryptich of famous Romans focuses on perhaps the most famous emperor. In an unusual move, two-thirds of the book takes place before Augustus becomes emperor (assumes the purple, as Gibbon so likes to write). Sadly, for such an influential person, little personal information remains about Augustus. Everitt contradicts a lot of conventional wisdom to be found in I Claudius and elsewere, especially about Livia.

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Dec 19, 2007

Reid rated it:

It has been nice to see a recent flourishing in the publication of narrative ancient histories meant for the larger reading public. Rubicon must stand out as the supreme example among them, if only for its readability and scope. Everitt, in contrast, is a great also-ran, his biography of Augustus presenting a well-balanced and well-ordered book on a very controversial historical figure. In particular, Everitt's information about Sextus Pompeius was an utter revelation, something I had completely More...

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Dec 16, 2009

Kelly rated it:

Very well done. Told as narratively as possible, almost in novel form at some points. Very engaging, makes you feel like you know these people. If you liked the HBO series, you'll like this book. It was a very easy read each time I picked it up, which is saying something as I read it during a very stressful time during which I didn't have a lot of time to spare. But I always enjoyed diving into it. You'd think that I'd need something a bit more relaxing. But not with the way this was written.
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11 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 17, 2009

Ryan rated it:

While the subject matter is fascinating at times, the lasting impression I had was: that's it? One would think that the biography of Rome's first emperor (arguably one of the most important people in the development of Rome and Western Civilization) would be much more profound. Everitt does have a nice writing style and his research is in-depth; however, some parts of Augustus' life and actions seem underdeveloped and leaves the reader a bit confused and frustrated.

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Jan 02, 2012

Jana rated it:

I finished Cleopatra and now I realize how much I don't know. This was a very enlightening, entertaining, readable (listenable in my case) biography of Rome's longest ruling emperor. His stable ruling, policies AND beautification of Rome lasted half a millennia. Perhaps Marc Antony wouldn't have fared so well?

Based on this one, I want to read the same author's Cicero as well.

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