As a student of ancient history I found the book very informative. Dr Goldsworthy's writing style is very engaging and easy to understand and I will definitely be reading his 'Augustus' and 'The Punic Wars'. I would definitely recommend this book for a serious student for ancient history/classics.

When I started reading this book, admittedly I did go into it with a vague idea about Julius Caesar due to other books such as Horrible Histories and just some general research on the internet. This book covers his childhood, his rise through politics, including confrontations with Sulla, and his rise to Consul and eventual conquest of Gaul. The account of his campaigns I found the most interesting simply due to being more interested in military history. The book then moves into the civil war and covers in much detail the political climate that surrounded these events as well as the military aspects. Finally the last 4 years of what had been an extraordinary life are some what skimmed over in comparison to the rest but still thrilling to read! Overall a masterpiece and also a true inspiration to my own work as a university student studying history.

I am in the process of applying to study Classics at University this coming September. I have read this book to give me some historical background into the life of probably Rome's most famous general. I have read other books in the Classical field before (as you would imagine) but without doubt, this one has been the most captivating. Goldsworthy's style of writing is informal but at the same time equally as informative as the more proper writers' work. The author goes into great detail about Caesar's campaigns in Gaul and he makes constant references to the "Commentaries on the Gallic Wars" written by Caesar himself. The whole build-up to the Civil War is very well covered and Goldsworthy is very concise about his reasoining for the arrival of the Civil War. His book also contains numerous maps and diagrams, which not only outline the vast expanses of the territories Caesar campaigned in, but also give a sense of how he led his men into battle, how he formed them up and how he always won the major battles. I think Goldsworthy does a terrific job of describing in detail the Battles of Pharsalus and Munda which, if you have any grasp of Roman history before reading this book, you will recognise as they were deciding battles in the outcome of the entire Civil War. Also, I don't know if Goldsworthy specifically intended to do this, but I always found myself wanting Caesar to win the battles against the Gallic and German tribes and the Pompeians in the Civil War. He also made me feel resentful towards Caesar's enemies, most notably Cato, who came to despise Caesar through the latter's military achievements. As I said, I don't know if Goldsworthy intended that but he certainly made me feel involved in the story which adds to his skill as an author. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Roman history. You don't have to be going to University to study Classics to read this book and appreciate not only the skill of the author but also the skill of Julius Caesar himself. I know people will try to put him down, saying that he was only in it for himself, but his clemency towards enemies and the way he rewarded his veteran soldiers particularly those in the tenth legion, seem to dismiss this claim. Caesar, no matter what anyone says about him, will always be remembered in history because he was and is one of the greatest generals to ever have walked this planet.