 "I wanted Cicero to live!" | 2008-09-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: ABPZ330FEQ1GM |
| Even though I already knew the eventual fate of the great Cicero, I was still hoping somehow he would be spared his terribly unjust death. Man, this was history come alive! You really find yourself cheering for Cicero and depising his enemies. You feel the frustration and depression that Cicero himself must have felt at the slipping away of the Roman Republic, and you share his sadness when tragedy stikes. Its a shame that even more of his letters and books didn't survive to our time. If you have even a weak interest in Roman history, you will enjoy this book. Highly recommended. |
| |
| "Absorbing and well written biography" | 2008-07-28 |
| - Reviewed By nadiamant |
| This is a splendid biography of Cicero. The book is exceptionally well-written, its clarity a product of true mastery of a broad range of historical material. I particularly enjoyed the way that Everitt brings historical figures like Julius Caesar to life. The book retains a clear and sometimes critical view of its subject, keeping it from the realm of hagiography. Cicero emerges as a flawed but ultimately and perhaps accidentally principalled man. The highest compliment I can give Everitt's book is that I am now looking forward to reading Cicero's works. |
| |
 "Everett's Cicero" | 2008-03-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A15ZWA1ISGRTSD |
| Anthony Everitt does an excellent job with this introduction type book of Cicero. Gives a great account of the man as well as the people in his life. Vivid description and good amount of primary analysis. |
| |
| "Excellent Introduction to a Great Man" | 2008-02-25 |
| - Reviewed By seansullivan8 |
Odds are, you have heard of Cicero. Considered one of Rome's greatest orators, his writings are the main influence on how way we remember the last days of the Roman republic. The story of Cicero's life is the story of end of Republican Rome. All of the major players of the era: Caesar, Marc Antony, Cleopatra, Brutus and Octavian (soon to be Augustus) all make an appearance in his life. In his role as one of the world's first brilliant statesman and backroom player, Cicero was friends and enemies with all of them. From Everitt's book, it seems Cicero was, at times, courageous in his rhetoric and at times, he was cowardly. He always tried to see all the angels and jockeyed for a position that put him in the best place politically while betraying as few of his political convictions as possible. In the end, he wound up on the wrong side of Marc Antony and was killed.
The story in getting from provincial boy to one of the most powerful men in Rome is fascinating. I am no expert on Roman history. I have read no other biography of Cicero. But to my tastes, Everitt's biography of Cicero is excellent for the reader with a casual interest in this time period in Rome. Not only does it give us insight into what a complicated person Cicero was (both arrogant and generous; brilliant in the courtroom and terrified of physical injury) but also perhaps more importantly it is an excellent primer on the death of the Roman republic. The story of Rome's decent into dictatorship, the attempt at recovering republicanism, and then the reassertion of dictatorship is the stuff that western history is made of, and Everitt's book is a good place to get a sense of who did what when and what Cicero had to say about it. Recommended.
|
| |
| "Entertaining book on Cicero" | 2007-11-26 |
| - Reviewed By anaflynn |
| I enjoyed this book enourmously. It is easy to read and helps readers understand more about Roman politics and history. It probably has many incorrect interpretations but regardless of this it is entertaining. I will definitely try to purchase Elizabeth Rawson's Cicero-A Portrait since one of the other reviewers say it is even better than Everitt's book. |
| |
| "Marcus Tullius Cicero ..." | 2007-11-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: AHL11KWSWPVHJ |
I don't remember where I saw it but someone said something like "you can't spent your life without reading something about Rome", not the exact words by the way. I am not a fanactic or expert in Rome history, but I think that to read about Cicero, Caesar, Augustus or anything about this ancient empire is absolutely recommended. An it is important because you can see how was the Republic organized, how was to be a politician those days, why Caesar intended power as a sort of monarchy and so many facts that makes you think about the struggle of people to establish the best political system throughout history, a struggle that still reflects in todays politics, especially in those countries that have difficulty to learn the lessons of history.
Cicero was a great statesman, orator and prolific writer and while I was reading this book, I was recalling the images of the BBC series, Rome, which helped me to focus even more in the narrative. Despite Cicero's excellent intellectual skills, were not enough to save himself to the rage of Mark Antony -- but in any case, he managed to live a long life, a life to be remembered and perhaps celebrated to these days. |
| |
| "History at its best" | 2007-09-11 |
| - Reviewed By yellowtk |
| Extremely well written and informative. Cicero is truly brought alive with all his faults warts and all in addition to his magnificence as a Roman force in the republic. Bravo |
| |
| "Christmas shopping list" | 2007-08-08 |
| - Reviewed By kevinbartus |
This is a stunningly good book. It's very hard to even find a cogent review of Roman history, let alone one from such a personal point of view of one of the period's main protagonists.
Cicero's lifetime takes place smack dab in the middle of much of the "cool" parts of Roman history - Pompey, Caesar, Catalina... they're all here.
Sure, you miss the founding of Rome, but let's face it, back then Greece was way cooler.
And OK, admittedly you miss the Punic Wars, but you can pick those up later.
And fine, fine, there's some interesting stuff around the launch of the marketing program known as Christianity, but still...
Point is, Everitt absolutely nails what it means to write a good biography. Robin Lane Fox wrote a similarly good one of Alexander the Great.
Trick is, IMHO, to take a few liberties with interpolating what was PROBABLY going on in the mind of the subject, using whatever materials are at hand.
OK, so Everitt had a bit easier time of it, given that Cicero wrote pretty much everything in letters to his buddy Atticus, and we happen to have most of the material still.
With Alexander you get squat - a few scraps of hand-me-down literature that survived the burning of the Library of... uh, Alexandria, actually.
Anyway, the point is, "Cicero" is a great read, great history, and a great subject.
One point of contention? Everitt should probably just admit that Cicero, like pretty well all of his contemporaries, had gay sex at some point. You don't write love poetry to a young male slave if nothing erotic ever happened between you. Everitt's protestations to the contrary ring a bit hollow. |
| |
| "cicero" | 2007-07-10 |
| - Reviewed By tonyj398 |
| Very impressed with the speed at which the item managed to get delivered to me here in the antipodes. Nice book, seems to be well written [havent finished reading it yet!] and very succint. |
| |
| "History that reads like a novel" | 2007-04-28 |
| - Reviewed By andrisvirsnieks |
A fun way to gain an insight into Roman history. In this book you don't get to meet just Cicero but also the likes of Caesar. You will also be introduced to Cleopatra and Mark Antony but you will have to read the author's book about Augustus to find out what happens to them.
If you only have the time to read only one popular book about Roman history I recommend "Augustus", because this one leaves you with too many important loose ends at critical point in Roman history.
|
| |
Expedited Available
