Augustus

First Emperor of Rome

By: Adrian Goldsworthy

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Caesar Augustus's story, one of the most riveting in western history, is filled with drama and contradiction, risky gambles and unexpected success. He began as a teenage warlord, whose only claim to power was as the heir of the murdered Julius Caesar. Mark Antony dubbed him "a boy who owes everything to a name," but in the years to come the youth outmaneuvered all the older and more experienced politicians and was the last man standing in 30 BC. Over the next half century, he reinvented himself as a servant of the state who gave Rome peace and stability, and created a new system of government-the Principate, or rule of an emperor. Adrian Goldsworthy pins down the man behind the myths: a consummate manipulator, propagandist, and showman, both generous and ruthless. Under Augustus's rule, the empire prospered, yet his success was never assured, and the events of his life unfolded with exciting unpredictability.

©2014 Adrian Goldsworthy (P)2014 Tantor Media

Stunning biography of Augustus

Great presentation including the background history, culture, societal norms which made the history more meaningful, richer, and placed events in the perspective of those times. George Sugiyama, MD

A Plausible but Uncertain Story

I appreciated the authors intellectual honesty and transparency about conjuncture and verifiable information. I now understand the last BC century and first AD century with a new and helpful clarity.

Informative

A pretty detailed account of his life and reign. As someway of a novice in this area some of the language was hard to get used to and follow. It’s engaging despite being a little difficult in that regard. A very interesting story.

easy to follow well written

very well written book goldsworthy always does an excellent job with any of his Antiquity novels about Roman literature plenty of references to Antiquity Works which makes it very easy to follow and put them into a timeline that's easy to understand

Beautiful.

This was well written and beautifully narrated. After I finished Goldsworthys book on Caesar: life of a colossus, I bragged and retold the story of Caesar to friends and family. Now after listening to the life of Augustus I can hardly wait to do the same.

Grat story

I loved the history of Agustus. I learned a lot about how Rome moved from Julius Cesar and the Republic to the empire.

Well written and narrated about an asshole.

Used his adopted dad's money and name to seize power and kill fellow country men.

The man who owed everything to a name

Who are the great historic figures? As a general rule we seem to consider those who had a great impact on their times and subsequent history as great, but if you were to ask people to name the great figures from Roman history you would likely get the names Julius Caesar, Cicero, perhaps the two Catos and Sulla. You might also get the names of some of the more notorious Roman emperors, Caligula and Nero, but would probably not get the name Augustus, although he had a far more lasting impact on Roman history than any of the others, including Julius Caesar. Perhaps Mr Goldsworthy is right in saying that part of that reason is that Shakespeare never wrote a tragedy about him, but his story, from being the young adopted son of Julius Caesar to his rise in power to being the most powerful and long lasting figure in Rome, is nothing short of astonishing and this book does a great service in explaining how the young Gaius Octavius rose to become the most powerful man in Rome and to live long enough to die peacefully in his bed at the age of 77.

This is the second of Mr Goldsworthy's biographies that I have read, the first being that of Julius Caesar, and the two books blend together nicely with the story of the young Octavius picking up with the assassination of Julius Caesar and, while the history of the Roman Civil War that stemmed from that event is interesting enough itself, the story of how young Octavius became Caesar Augustus, ruled Rome in a veiled monarchy and implemented relatively honest government was far more interesting to me. The fact that he was not a great general but relied upon his friend and associate Agrippa for many of his victories just seems to prove how great a man he was.

Mr Goldsworthy's writing is, as always, first class, and the story never failed in holding my interest. One of the things that I have found appealing in Mr Goldswrothy's writing is his constant honesty and even-handedness. When there is more than one explanation as to what might have happened, or in the circumstances surrounding some event, he always gives all of the possibilities along with his belief as to which is correct and why, and he never states conjecture as fact or describes the thoughts in the head of someone whose thoughts he could not possibly have known. The writing is straight forward and clear, the descriptions easy to understand and the influence of previous events always described. In short this is a great book, read wonderfully by Derek Perkins, and the reader can not fail to come away with a better understanding of the Rome of this period.

One last comment. Some have described Caesar Augustus as the cause of the end of the Roman Republic, but this book and the biography of Julius Caesar have done much to make clear that the Roman Republic actually died a long time before young Octavius set out to avenge his father's assassination. Julius Caesar stated that the Roman Republic was dead long before he brought his army back from Gaul and became dictator and Mike Duncan's book The Storm Before The Storm dates the decline and death of the Roman Republic back to the days of Pompey The Great and possibly earlier. If anything this book makes a strong case that Augustus' actions did more to save Rome than to destroy it, although those actions led directly to the excesses of some of the subsequent Emperors and the result of some generals plotting to become the next Emperor.

A great book, excellently read. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.

Exhaustive but Entertaining look at Augustus

Goldsworthy's exhaustive tome on the life and times of Caesar Augustus will thrill those of us obsessed with Ancient Rome, and the narration of Derek Perkins lends a regal and measured tone to the narration. Tracing his life from pre-conception (Julius Caesar's last 10 or so years) to a few years after his death, Goldsworthy gives the reader an unvarnished look into one of history's most dominant figures. From young avenging warlord to murderous Triumvir to moderate "first citizen" to de facto king, Caesar Augustus's life is at once sordid, fascinating, and, as the Romans who later deified him believed, immortal. I highly recommend this engaging and relentlessly informative biography. Those without a keen interest in the subject might be overwhelmed by the thorough recounting of Augustus's life, hence 4 stars overall.

Everything I Expected

Dr. Goldsworthy is the consummate historical author. His extensive knowledge and exhaustive research, coupled with his clear precise writing, enables the reader to make a quantum leap in understanding about Augustus and his times.
Thoroughly enjoyable by anyone who wants to know more about this fascinating time in history. This is a book I plan to read again.