Tries to argue that the Republic could have been saved. Not sure I was persuaded.
Very good read though. ( )

Wonderful tale, superbly researched and told ( )

This is an excellent account of probably the most famous assassination in history, an event that shaped the future development of one of the ancient world's greatest empires, and whose effects are thereby arguably still felt today. It explores the motivations of all the key players, so far as we can determine them based on the primary and secondary sources we have and reasonable surmise. It analyses the political and other factors that led to individuals and groups in Roman society supporting or opposing Caesar and his threat (or not if they did not see it as one or did not mind) to the ideals of the Roman Republic. This was a Republic that had flourished for four and a half centuries since an alleged ancestor of Brutus, one of the leading conspirators, threw out the last of the semi-legendary kings of Rome and established the Republic, so this was a very high stakes conflict. The story is dramatically and colourfully told, and the principal personalities brought out very clearly: this includes Decimus who, while playing as important a role in the conspiracy as Brutus and Cassius, is much less well known, probably largely as he is overlooked in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. A great read. ( )

A short, interesting history of the act I most remember from high school Shakespeare. I found the aftermath of the assassination, leading eventually to Augustus Caesar and the end of the republic, the most interesting. ( )

This is a fine telling of the reasons for the assassination, the motives of the many players, the deed itself, and the aftermath. It will confirm the image you may have of Brutus and Cassius from Shakespeare--but will also teach you a great deal about a third conspirator, Decimus, who played a major role in the assassination. This is a book to read in a compressed time frame, since the narrative gets complicated and there are many, many names that appear throughout it. (Readers should also be prepared to see the words "perhaps" and "possibly" more than they're used to, but that's not the author's fault.) Strauss conveys well the fix in which the assassins found themselves when he notes, "Only the legions could save the republic from being run by the legions." In other words, the conspirators, motivated by a distaste for Caesar's growing military might, found after his death that they needed that might to keep the peace. The modern parallels are in neon. ( )