★ 09/08/2014
Historian and biographer Goldsworthy (Caesar) showcases his deep knowledge of Ancient Rome in this masterful document of a life whose themes still resonate in modern times. Augustus, heir to Julius Caesar and architect of the pax romana, receives a detailed examination of his quasi-mythic public life; one that "speaks of immense and highly focused ambition, and of great political skill, but also of luck." A strong narrative emphasis ties the work together and is enriched by evocative details of Roman life, whether it be bathing practices, voting tendencies, or the contemporary significance of Virgil. Readers may be surprised to find ancient precedents for still-visible cultural phenomena, such as the celebrity status accorded to politicians, public delight in scandal, and leadership "constantly reinforced by... propaganda." Similarly, those attuned to contemporary politics may appreciate Augustus's struggle to initiate a unified Roman order and peace in the fallout of a failing state beset by civil war, political division, and corruption. Despite the work's density, the overall effect that Goldsworthy generates is of meeting a man whose life seems hardly distant from the modern experience. While ancient cultural practices can often feel foreign, the political motivations and machinations, the familial relations and emotions, ring as true today as at the turn of the Common Era. Maps. (Sept.)
Augustus: First Emperor of Rome
Narrated by Derek Perkins
Adrian GoldsworthyUnabridged — 18 hours, 25 minutes
Augustus: First Emperor of Rome
Narrated by Derek Perkins
Adrian GoldsworthyUnabridged — 18 hours, 25 minutes
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Overview
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.
Editorial Reviews
"Superb. . . . Augustus is a first-rate popular biography by a skilled and knowing hand, a fine companion to Goldsworthy’s Caesar."—Steve Donoghue, Washington Post"Impressive . . . Mr. Goldsworthy . . . moves nimbly around other important evidence about Augustus’ life . . . The resulting life is, in one sense, deeply unified. This is a welcome corrective to traditional presentations."—Brendan Boyle, Wall Street Journal"Goldsworthy's true expertise is as a military historian, and this is what really gives his biography its strength and bite: his depiction of Augustus's relationship with his legions is masterly."—Robert Harris, London Sunday Times"Goldsworthy capably guides us over the rapids of 'modern scholarship.' He challenges stories that are repeated often but never questioned, . . . [and] is particularly sound on senatorial power struggles and the use of marriage to cement or break political alliances. . . . [Augustus] is the most trustworthy [portrait] we are likely to get."—Nicholas Shakespeare, Daily Telegraph"[Goldsworthy,] the author of the best-selling Caesar: The Life of a Colossus, . . . relates [Augustus’] military victories, the hairbreadth escapes, the diplomatic successes and the dark family quarrels with a storyteller’s brio, bringing alive the empire’s tense standoffs with Eastern kingdoms such as Parthia and along the way giving us some quite wonderful readings of poets such as Virgil and Horace. . . . [Goldsworthy’s] insights and inferences are superb throughout. . . . Augustus is a first-rate popular biography by a skilled and knowing hand, a fine companion to Goldsworthy’s Caesar volume."—Steve Donoghue, Washington Post"Historian and biographer Goldsworthy (Caesar) showcases his deep knowledge of Ancient Rome in this masterful document of a life whose themes still resonate in modern times. . . . A strong narrative emphasis ties the work together and is enriched by evocative details of Roman life. . . . The overall effect that Goldsworthy generates is of meeting a man whose life seems hardly distant from the modern experience. While ancient cultural practices can often feel foreign, the political motivations and machinations, the familial relations and emotions, ring as true today as at the turn of the Common Era."—Publishers Weekly, starred review"Goldsworthy’s prodigious biography of this first and greatest Roman emperor is thorough and well-researched. . . . Goldsworthy is a superb historian and talented writer, . . . [and Augustus] will likely join the pantheon of biographies of a truly great Roman leader. . . . Goldsworthy reminds readers . . . that human nature does not change. Augustus cultivated what passed for the Roman media as assiduously as any American politician today woos Fox News or CNN. One gets the impression that Augustus would have adapted well to 21st-century politics while still ruling wisely."—Gary Anderson, Washington Times"The dramatic rise and long rule of Caesar Augustus is the subject of Adrian Goldsworthy’s substantial new biography, Augustus: First Emperor of Rome. The book is a fascinating study of political life in ancient Rome, and the parallels with our own political system are numerous and interesting. But the discontinuities between America and the Roman Empire are just as revealing."—Nick Romeo, Christian Science Monitor"In too many of the numerous histories of this period, Augustus as an individual is blurred, if not overlooked, as strange as that may seem. Goldsworthy’s goal is to rescue the life of Augustus from the history, limning the passions, cruelty, and wiliness that made up that often-dismissed character. . . . Adrian Goldsworthy’s fine new biography tells the founder’s story as it deserves to be told."—Michael Auslin, National Review Online"Goldsworthy (Caesar: Life of a Colossus, 2008, etc.) obviously has ancient Rome in his bones, and his biography of Augustus is also a solid chronicle of Rome and its development. . . . Goldsworthy questions why Augustus has slipped off of many historians' lists of great leaders, which include Julius Caesar, Alexander, Hannibal and Hadrian. He provides plenty of reasons why he should be at the top of those lists."—Kirkus Reviews"Augustus is the greatest ancient Roman leader, . . . and yet, [he is] something of an enigma. Adrian Goldsworthy’s wonderful biography will change all that. Augustus is revealing of its subject’s character and the time in which he lived, judicious on his shortcomings, and rich in portraits of secondary figures—everything a biography should be. . . . Augustus is the best sort of biography because it inspires readers to make these comparisons [between ancient times and our own], without making them explicit. It deserves wide readership, and, in the best way, demonstrates the truth of Petrarch’s famous query: 'What else is all history, but the praise of Rome?'"—Ted Lawrence, Washington Free Beacon"Adrian Goldsworthy has done it again. His biography of Augustus, just released by Yale University Press, is the most balanced and nuanced explanation of how Augustus succeeded. . . . The book reads like a novel in part, perhaps, because, having written several novels, Goldsworthy has learned to think about motivation. He is clearly the best Roman historian of our day."—Martin Lobel, PhDiva.com"An absolutely must read for Roman history fans and students of the Julio-Claudians."—NS Gill’s Ancient Matters"The 2,000th anniversary of the death of Augustus has renewed interest in the man regarded as the founder of the Roman Empire and its first emperor. With a canny sense for timing, acclaimed military historian Adrian Goldsworthy has published a new biography of this important, and still controversial, historical figure. . . . Goldsworthy presents the known facts of the life of the enigmatic and complex Augustus evenhandedly. He admirably charts the events of his rise to power, revealing him variously as a second-rate military commander, clever manipulator, confident showman and consummate politician."—Lindsay Powell, UNRV"A biography that can interest scholars, but also be read with ease by anyone interested in the ancient world. Goldsworthy has an unusual ability to make his detailed histories readable and interesting to a general audience, and that is a rare talent. I recommend it very highly."—Richard Weigel, Bowling Green [KY] Daily NewsWon an Honorable Mention for the 2014 American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE) in the Biography & Autobiography category"Goldsworthy peers like a master jeweler into the strange cold diamond at the heart of Roman history—the emperor Augustus—and reveals the whole Roman world reflected in its facets. But the book itself is warm with human sympathy, elegant writing, and the sheer joy and love of history it evokes in its reader."—J. E. Lendon, author of Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity and Song of Wrath: The Peloponnesian War Begins"Goldsworthy has produced an elegantly written and well-argued biography of Augustus that pulls no punches. Sifting through the literature of the Augustan Age, he brings together the ancient evidence with the best of modern scholarship, producing a meticulously researched, but highly readable, volume on Rome’s first emperor. The result is a study on the nature of leadership, the wielding of power, and the price to be paid by both."—Col. Rose Mary Sheldon, Virginia Military Institute"For all his importance, Augustus is often an enigma behind a classical façade. Goldsworthy’s Augustus reveals all the drama and detail surrounding Rome’s first emperor. Brimming with energy, scholarship, and wisdom, it is a history book to savor."—Barry Strauss, author of Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar and the Genius of Leadership"Augustus splendidly completes the trilogy that started with Caesar and continued with Antony and Cleopatra. It is the best extended treatment in English of Augustus' career and his many contradictions."—Karl Galinsky, University of Texas at Austin
"Perkins's narration introduces us to a man who changed his world utterly, ending a generation of civil war and transforming the decaying and corrupt Roman Republic into the greatest empire the world had yet seen." —AudioFile
"The dramatic rise and long rule of Caesar Augustus is the subject of Adrian Goldsworthy’s substantial new biography, Augustus: First Emperor of Rome. The book is a fascinating study of political life in ancient Rome, and the parallels with our own political system are numerous and interesting. But the discontinuities between America and the Roman Empire are just as revealing."—Nick Romeo, Christian Science Monitor
"Goldsworthy’s prodigious biography of this first and greatest Roman emperor is thorough and well-researched. . . . Goldsworthy is a superb historian and talented writer, . . . [and Augustus] will likely join the pantheon of biographies of a truly great Roman leader. . . . Goldsworthy reminds readers . . . that human nature does not change. Augustus cultivated what passed for the Roman media as assiduously as any American politician today woos Fox News or CNN. One gets the impression that Augustus would have adapted well to 21st-century politics while still ruling wisely."—Gary Anderson, Washington Times
"Goldsworthy's true expertise is as a military historian, and this is what really gives his biography its strength and bite: his depiction of Augustus's relationship with his legions is masterly."—Robert Harris, London Sunday Times
"Impressive . . . Mr. Goldsworthy . . . moves nimbly around other important evidence about Augustus’ life . . . The resulting life is, in one sense, deeply unified. This is a welcome corrective to traditional presentations."—Brendan Boyle, The Wall Street Journal
"Superb. . . . Augustus is a first-rate popular biography by a skilled and knowing hand, a fine companion to Goldsworthy’s Caesar."—Steve Donoghue, Washington Post
"...Goldsworthy’s intended audience can be grateful for having so measured a guide who has also provided them with excellent maps, a glossary of terms and personalities, and an outline of the senatorial career. Yale University Press must be congratulated for high production values that make this book a pleasure to handle and read."—S. J. V. Malloch, University of Nottingham
Augustus splendidly completes the trilogy that started with Caesar and continued with Antony and Cleopatra. It is the best extended treatment in English of Augustus' career and his many contradictions.”—Karl Galinsky, University of Texas at Austin
Won an Honorable Mention for the 2014 American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE) in the Biography & Autobiography category.
"A biography that can interest scholars, but also be read with ease by anyone interested in the ancient world. Goldsworthy has an unusual ability to make his detailed histories readable and interesting to a general audience, and that is a rare talent. I recommend it very highly."—Richard Weigel, Bowling Green [KY] Daily News
For all his importance, Augustus is often an enigma behind a classical façade. Goldsworthy’s Augustus reveals all the drama and detail surrounding Rome’s first emperor. Brimming with energy, scholarship, and wisdom, it is a history book to savor.”—Barry Strauss, author of Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar and the Genius of Leadership
An “authoritative and always interesting new biography.”—John Gray, New Statesman
The 2,000th anniversary of the death of Augustus has renewed interest in the man regarded as the founder of the Roman Empire and its first emperor. With a canny sense for timing, acclaimed military historian Adrian Goldsworthy has published a new biography of this important, and still controversial, historical figure. . . . Goldsworthy presents the known facts of the life of the enigmatic and complex Augustus evenhandedly. He admirably charts the events of his rise to power, revealing him variously as a second-rate military commander, clever manipulator, confident showman and consummate politician.”—Lindsay Powell, UNRV
Adrian Goldsworthy has done it again. His biography of Augustus, just released by Yale University Press, is the most balanced and nuanced explanation of how Augustus succeeded. . . . The book reads like a novel in part, perhaps, because, having written several novels, Goldsworthy has learned to think about motivation. He is clearly the best Roman historian of our day.” —Martin Lobel, PhDiva.com
Augustus is the greatest ancient Roman leader, . . . and yet, [he is] something of an enigma. Adrian Goldsworthy’s wonderful biography will change all that. Augustus is revealing of its subject’s character and the time in which he lived, judicious on his shortcomings, and rich in portraits of secondary figures—everything a biography should be. . . . Augustus is the best sort of biography because it inspires readers to make these comparisons [between ancient times and our own], without making them explicit. It deserves wide readership, and, in the best way, demonstrates the truth of Petrarch’s famous query: ‘What else is all history, but the praise of Rome?’ ”—Ted Lawrence, Washington Free Beacon
"Goldsworthy capably guides us over the rapids of 'modern scholarship.' He challenges stories that are repeated often but never questioned, . . . [and] is particularly sound on senatorial power struggles and the use of marriage to cement or break political alliances. . . . [Augustus] is the most trustworthy [portrait] we are likely to get."—Nicholas Shakespeare, Daily Telegraph
Goldsworthy has produced an elegantly written and well-argued biography of Augustus that pulls no punches. Sifting through the literature of the Augustan Age, he brings together the ancient evidence with the best of modern scholarship, producing a meticulously researched, but highly readable, volume on Rome’s first emperor. The result is a study on the nature of leadership, the wielding of power, and the price to be paid by both.”—Col. Rose Mary Sheldon, Virginia Military Institute
"In too many of the numerous histories of this period, Augustus as an individual is blurred, if not overlooked, as strange as that may seem. Goldsworthy’s goal is to rescue the life of Augustus from the history, limning the passions, cruelty, and wiliness that made up that often-dismissed character. . . . Adrian Goldsworthy’s fine new biography tells the founder’s story as it deserves to be told."—Michael Auslin, National Review Online
"A fascinating exploration of the life of one of Rome's most stable and yet still mysterious emperors. . . . This vast accomplished book . . . is a book to read avidly but also dip in to, to enjoy the huge range of characters and events."—Jennifer Selway, Daily Express
"Like Goldsworthy's biography of Julius Caesar, this is essential reading for anyone interested in Ancient Rome."—Natalie Haynes, The Independent
Goldsworthy peers like a master jeweler into the strange cold diamond at the heart of Roman history—the emperor Augustus—and reveals the whole Roman world reflected in its facets. But the book itself is warm with human sympathy, elegant writing, and the sheer joy and love of history it evokes in its reader.”—J. E. Lendon, author of Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity and Song of Wrath: The Peloponnesian War Begins
Unlike fiction, the narrator of nonfiction audiobooks is not expected to dramatize, interpret, or impersonate. The narrator should clarify, pronounce correctly, and then stay out of the way. Derek Perkins does this admirably, down to using the classical Latin pronunciations for most names. But certain names, such as Caesar, are too well known in their anglicized pronunciations to restore to the originals. Perkins’s narration introduces us to a man who changed his world utterly, ending a generation of civil war and transforming the decaying and corrupt Roman Republic into the greatest empire the world had yet seen. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
2014-07-08
Historian Goldsworthy (Caesar: Life of a Colossus, 2008, etc.) obviously has ancient Rome in his bones, and his biography of Augustus is also a solid chronicle of Rome and its development. Born Gaius Octavius, the great-nephew and adopted son and heir of the murdered Julius Caesar, Augustus emerged triumphant from the subsequent brandings, proscriptions and power struggles and was elected as the youngest consul ever. It seems everyone had his own army after Caesar's death, and Caesar was shrewd enough to realize he needed to rely on talented men like Agrippa to defeat his enemies and take his place during his repeated attacks of ill health. It was also Agrippa who built the new infrastructures in Rome and throughout the empire. In fact, during much of Augustus' reign, Agrippa did the work and happily let Augustus take all the credit. The author, who consults on documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic and other outlets, recounts the civilizing of Rome and makes sense of the political structure, as well as the strong reliance on family in politics and society. In Augustus' 40-plus years of power, the empire expanded without the need for war—the reputation of Rome was sufficient to scare off any potential enemies. Augustus and Agrippa instituted new regulations for the army, trimmed the size of the senate, changed taxation, founded the police and fire services, and built roads, aqueducts and bridges. Augustus also made sure to visit each of the provinces. Instituting the beginning of 250 years of peace and stability, he was lauded by Horace, Virgil and countless others. Goldsworthy questions why Augustus has slipped off of many historians' lists of great leaders, which include Julius Caesar, Alexander, Hannibal and Hadrian. He provides plenty of reasons why he should be at the top of those lists.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170574858 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Publication date: | 08/26/2014 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 907,204 |
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