From my blog, http://minlshawbookshelf.blogspot.com...

Julius Caesar wrote ten commentaries, covering his campaigns in Gaul (modern day France) and the Roman civil war. The Gallic War collects the first seven of these, with an eight commentary by Aulus Hirtius. Carolyn Hammond's translation comes with a lengthy introduction, a chronological list of primary events, illustrations of referenced geography, a glossary and end notes. Personally, I loathe end notes, because they provide relevant information but interrupt the reading process to access.

Caesar's years in Gaul are generally glossed over in most history courses. This is a phase in which Caesar's conquests brought prestige to himself and expanded the empire; that's nearly all I remember being discussed of these years (and I hold a degree earned in the field of history). Whether the credit for the ease of reading goes to Caesar or to translator Hammond is unclear, but I was impressed by how easily I followed these descriptions. Caesar refrains from bogging down his accounts with minutiae, and combat omits graphic detail. Remarkably, though, Caesar's narrative manages to paint vivid imagery with such ambigious writing.

If there is one complaint, it is that Caesar's campaigns all follow the same formula. A Gallic uprising is leaked, Caesar musters his legions from their winter quarters, the forces jockey to cut off one another from corn and seize the other's baggage, the courage of the Romans overcomes the pettiness of the Gallic forces, the Gauls send envoys to sue for peace, Caesar accepts hostages and grants them his customary clemency. Still, these eight commentaries offer fascinating insight into the mindset of one of history's greatest figures.

For instance, Caesar frequently mentions that the Gauls fight to win their liberty from the Romans. He makes no effort to downplay this motive; at no point does he suggest that the Gauls ought to be content to live under the rule of the empire. In fact, Caesar worries a few times that if he is unsuccessful in quelling a particular uprising, that the rest of the Gauls will be encouraged to fight for, and possibly win, their liberty. Simply put, this is the unadulterated perspective of a conqueror being shared.

My favorite commentary is the sixth, for it is in that book that Caesar offers some biographical information about his Germanic adversaries. More of this kind of information would make the rest of the commentaries more compelling, I think, but this is the perspective of a reader whose stylistic preferences were formed more than two thousand years after these texts were composed. ( )

You have got to give Caesar credit. Not only does he conquer half of Europe, but he is a darn good writer too! Much of the credit must go to the fine translation too I suppose.



Caesar's accounts on the war are great. With such coldness he reports that the bodies of the soldiers keep pilling up as to create whole mountais.



The siege of Alesia would be very good fiction, but as it is an all to real story, it becomes simply breathtaking. ( )

A propaganda work par excellence, this book describes Caesar's conquest of Gaul, along with battles in Germany and Britain. Interesting in its own right, the book is also fascinating for the spin which Caesar puts on actions that are of marginal legality, for example, when he crossed the Rhine, ostensibly to quell a revolt, but probably more about capital - political and financial. Well worth reading with an eye to the political context. ( )

For me, the book was intolerably boring, but that’s just a taste thing, however I did learn a great deal. For one thing, Caesar was a brilliant strategist and tactician. He was able to see ways to defeat the enemy that completely amazes me. His confidence in his abilities and that of his men, made him feared and respected by those who attempted to oppose his Rome. Some of the battles were won when the warring tribe was informed Caesar was on his way. They would send envoys of unconditional surrender and a plea of mercy to him before he’d even reached their land. He is, without a doubt, one of the top military minds in history.

Read my full review at http://thekoolaidmom.wordpress.com/20... ( )

1602 The Battle for Gaul, by Julius Caesar A new translation by Anne & Peter Wiseman (read 12 Dec 1980) This book is usually called The Gallic Wars. This is a new 1980 translation. I found it did not interest me much, so I just forced myself to finish it, and did not read it very attentively. Rather interesting events related, but I guess I'd sooner read a modern version of Ceasar's time in Gaul. ( )