Lives of the Caesars (Oxford World's Classics)

While everyone knows Suetonius for being shocking or scandalous (which does not disappoint), the humor in some of these biographies gets overlooked. I don't think it's an exaggeration when I say that I laughed more reading this book than any book I've ever read. Both Nero and Caligula's biographies specifically made me bust out laughing numerous times.

I’ve only read the parts on Julius Caesar and Nero so far. This is a great source which summarizes the lives of these emperors and Julius Caesar. It does leave you wanting more but it’s a perfect introduction to classical Roman history.

I can't get enough of reading about ancient Rome and the Caesars, and I've only recently gotten around to reading Suetonius' work. The book itself covers 12 of the Caesars, and does so in varied detail. In a way, it's like reading a National Enquirer article about the Caesars. Some of the research into Suetonius' tales are based on gossip, but it's juicy gossip with some truth in there somewhere. But great reading nonetheless.The translation is very readable, and is able to clearly tell us about those 12 men who led Rome to various degrees of success. But I think that's kept this book from falling into forgotten literature is that the book is highly readable due to the salacious stories about the dalliances of the Caesars. Still, a highly worthy read and would make for a great place on your bookshelf, digital or otherwise.PS: Amazon needs to fix the description of the book and include Suetonius as the author and list the translator second. I've noticed this as a trend among Oxford World's Classics.

According to historians, Suetonius’, “Lives of the Caesars,” isn’t always accurate. Be that as it may, his histories reflected the scuttlebutt on Roman streets during those times, so that’s an accurate history in itself and one that’s fun and easy to read, rather like the tabloid version of the rulers of those days. I read Suetonius immediately following a read of Tacitus: compare and contrast. Anyone interested in Roman history will enjoy Suetonius and encounter the origin of many famous quotations.

The publisher has fixed the issues with the kindle edition (see below). This book is a great read and the kindle edition is now as it should be.Below is the first review when the text was flawed by poor rendering of the text: First, there are no hyperlinks to the end notes, which are essential in a work that can sometimes be obscure. A real pain in this work. Also, the rendering of this text and another Oxford world classics text I bought (Tacitus' Annals) is rendered very poorly so that when you search for a term, that term will often not show up because it does not recognize the word. This is also shown when you highlight a passage and go to "my highlights and notes" to find that the text often shows up garbled because it has been rendered poorly. The translation and notes are fine, but the problems I'm having with the text make this a bad purchase.

I found this book educational as well as entertaining. I love the era of the Roman Empire and believe we could learn much from them. That being said, this book delves into the Cesarean lineage complete with all the murder and lunacy associated with this time in history. Highly recommended for any ancient history buff.

Of course, when dealing with an ancient book, you are at the mercy of the translator. Here the translation is a bit iffy, and coupled with Suetonius's jumping bean style, makes for a difficult read. Still, much of what we heard on the history channel over the years comes from ancient writers such as Suetonius, and others whose works survived the ravages of time. Must give A for effort.

I haven't got the opportunity to read this book yet, but reading the ancient Roman and Greek historians is the only way tobegin learning history. I'm 1/3 way though the "Rise of the Roman Empire" by Polybius and am truely amazed at the intelligence and perception of the author. This book is more enlightiening than any history book I ever read even in the modern age. Hail Ceasar!. Hail Rome!

Fascinating ancient biopic of early Caesars. Especially captivating (& horrific), Caligula & Nero, but noteworthy on giants such as Julius Caesar & Augustus/Octavian, too. As ever, Oxford World's Classics offer excellent endnotes to illluminate & extend, including further reading

Sam Clemens was said to carry this book around with him: in my view, no better recommendation can be sought!

Great value and excellent service very pleased

You know what the Caesars did? They had sex with lots of people, and ate a lot of food, and killed lots of people, and had sex with some more people. A great read :-)

Item overall in good condition but some text underlining.