Caesar, Life of a Colossus

Caesar, Life of a Colossus is a biography of Julius Caesar written by Adrian Goldsworthy and published in 2006 by Yale University Press It outlines his life in the context of the many institutions with which he interacted: "Roman society, the politics of the senate, Gaul (ancient France)" as well as the army of that ancient republic.

Within that framework, during his fifty-six year lifetime, he fulfilled many roles: "including a fugitive, prisoner, rising politician, army leader, legal advocate, rebel, dictator – perhaps even a god – as well as a husband, father, lover and adulterer. Few fictional heroes have ever done as much as Gaius Julius Caesar."

One underlying structure of this book is to take the reader on a journey that follows "the many gambles, strange turns, and unlikely incidents in Caesar's career." The book is referenced with endnotes and an index, located in the back of the book, showing it is based on ancient scholarly sources. The work of sifting through these sometimes conflicting sources to tell the story is also part of the narrative.

Additionally, a bibliography of scholarly commentary, published during our more modern age, regarding Julius Caesar and Ancient Rome during his lifetime, is also in the back of the book. Hence, although the author has written this book for the lay reader, it is also useful for scholarly study.

About the author
Adrian Goldsworthy attended St John's College, Oxford University where he received a Ph.D. in Literae Humaniores (Ancient History) in 1994. His first book,The Roman Army at War, 100 BC - AD 200 was published in 1996 and based on his Ph.D. thesis entitled The Roman Army as a fighting force, 100 BC-AD 200. He was a part-time assistant professor at King's College London, and was later an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame, London for six years. He has lectured on Greek and Roman history and taught a course on the military history of World War II at Notre Dame. Currently, he is a full time writer, preferring this occupation to teaching.

Before publishing Caesar, Life of a Colossus he wrote two other important books on Roman history: The Complete Roman Army and The Fall of Carthage. He has subsequently written five other books about aspects of life in Ancient Rome. The latest one was published in 2018 entitled Hadrian's Wall