Sons of Caesar

"Does the world need yet another book on the Caesars and the fall of the Republic? Well, yes, actually, as long as it is written with the clarity and probing analysis of Phillip "Maty" Matyszak. In The Sons of Caesar, the good Cambridge doctor of history offers a penetrating study of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the convoluted and dysfunctional family that presided over Rome's transition from Republic to Empire"...

Continue reading the review: Sons of Caesar.

For further insights, read the Interview with the Author

Highly recommended for anyone interested in the early empire.

"The self-interest and internecine struggles of the Roman elite alienated the Roman people whose lives and lands they blighted. The cynical contempt of Rome's aristocracy for their own political system proved all too contagious and, even as they accepted the bribes, the electorate came to despise the bribers. ... in short, by the first century BC Rome was ripe for a military coup led by an aristocrat."

From the above.

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This should re-ignite something.

Thoroughly enjoyed the interview wit Maty.

Congratulations to all concerned

Very well done. Congrats, Maty, on the new book (and the one you're working on), and great interview by all.

Great review, Ursus. Congrats on the new book, Maty.

And -- thanks, Maty, for answering my question in the interview!

-- Nephele

Great interview Ursus, I found it enlightening. Maty's new work on Mithridates of Pontus sounds very interesting, as were his views on Caligula and Tiberius.

I read "Sons" shortly after it was initially published and despite my lapse in memory as to the details, I believe Ursus captured the spirit quite well. He has a natural flair for relating in his reviews what he has read and it's been quite enjoyable to watch him continue to expand in this area. Unlike what can sometimes occur in professional reviews of academic publications his style is quite personal and informative without an air of elitism or pretension. I have been quite inclined to delve into some topics that I would normally not simply based on these reviews.

As for the interview... I still very much want to read "The Political Sociology of the Roman Republic from Sulla to Augustus", despite Maty's trepidation over the re-work. If it's any incentive at all, you would be guaranteed at least 1 sale.