An outstanding biography of one of the most important historical figures to ever live. Gaius Octavius was the great-nephew of Julius Caesar. He was from a noble family, but not an overly important one. Caesar saw something in the young man and was planning to take him on Caesar's campaign against Parthia. But the assassination of Caesar changed everything. Suddenly he was thrust into the forefront when it was learned that Caesar had adopted Octivian. Thus the fortunes of a little known young man grew until through skill, intelligence, and military strength he rose to become the first Emperor of Rome. Goldsworthy is an outstanding biographer and he excels at telling this story. This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand the history of Rome.

The first emperor of Rome ruled for 44 years. My introduction to Augustus was through historical fiction and I wanted to learn more about his life. This book was both more and less than I was expecting. The author obviously did a lot of research and wanted to share it all, but I would have preferred a more focused biography of Augustus. I didn’t really need to know about breast feeding practices, the age at which boys got their first haircuts and donned their first adult togas, or the name of Marc Antony's current concubine (Cytheris,if you care). Augustus didn’t appear in the first 10% of the book. He was 15 when first introduced.

A great deal of this book consisted of wars and marriages. I found that there was too much speculation and not enough entertaining narrative. There was too much “may have”, “might have”, “probably”, and “hints at”. For example, Scipio was chosen consul but he served for less than a year. The author writes: “We do not have any idea why this occurred, but the silence of our sources makes it unlikely that there was any sinister reason for the change.” It doesn’t seem right to draw conclusions based on the fact that you can’t find any ancient record describing the cause.

In any event, the author did provide a lot of information but I think I’ll keep looking for a biography of Augustus. I’ve rounded 3.5 stars up to 4.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

One of the more accessible of Goldworthy's book, this biography is well written, allowing those with no necessary knowledge of the period or the man to delve into the life of the first true Emperor, while providing the depth that those already familiar with Augustus will need to draw something from it as well.