Augustus

The book is an excellent overview of the reign of Augustus and covers many aspects of this fascinating person. Although thorough, it is never stuffy or "scholarly", making it an easy read for anyone not acquainted with Rome's first emperor's achievements. It can be a stepping stone for further reading.

Superb summary of the life and times of Augustus. A collection which does not really take either side of the Augustan debate overall and simply presents the information in an accessible and crystal clear many. Excellent book.

Not an easy read. For learned historians not amateurs. if you're the latter you'll not make it through this book.

To compose a thorough, balanced biography of a figure so significant and complex as Augustus in just 186 pages is a daunting task. Karl Galinsky, a foremost authority on Roman history and an expert on the Augustan period, has succeeded brilliantly. This book is an extraordinary resource for focused study of Rome's first emperor, and also for a more general study of the political and cultural history of the early imperial period. Written in a concise and engaging style, Augustus: Introduction to the Life of an Emperor is both highly informative and a pleasure to read.Octavius (who eventually was given the honorific title Augustus) was eighteen years old when thrust into the tumultuous and dangerous military and political events that followed the assassination of his great-uncle and adoptive father Julius Caesar. Galinsky begins his book by considering Octavius' youth and family circumstances, thus giving the reader a sense of the person who was suddenly to gain prominence. Octavius endured thirteen years of civil war before defeating Marc Antony in 31 BCE and becoming Rome's first emperor. Galinsky relates this harrowing rise to power without embellishing or glossing over Octavius' various shortcomings. He applies this same evenhanded approach to the emperor's 45-year reign, helpfully critiquing as overly simplistic the notion that this was a "Golden Age."This is not to say that Galinsky diminishes in any way Augustus' many positive qualities and achievements. On the contrary, the emperor's skillful means and steadfast perseverance are on display throughout the book. His special ability to appropriate longstanding cultural traditions for the purpose of fortifying the empire, and therefore his rule, comes across clearly and in a manner that provides the reader with an extraordinary overview of Roman culture of this period. For example, on two occasions Galinsky explores the relevance of Vergil's Aeneid. Readers will marvel at Galinsky's paragraph on the poet's "bold experiment to modernize Homeric epics" (p. 145)--a model of concise, informative, and provocative scholarly analysis. This is complemented later in the same chapter by a similarly compelling section on Vergil's portrayal of Dido (pp. 157-8).For the reader seeking a sound general study of Roman culture, the book provides brief but highly informative explanations of many topics, including: attitudes toward children; astrology; life expectancy; the place of women; adoption--and all of these by the end of the first chapter. The summary explanation of the comet of late July 44 is the best I have ever come across. The same goes for the treatment of Cleopatra and the "Egyptomania" that she helped foster among the Romans. Important technical terms like "Augustus," princeps, auctoritas, and potestas are explained straightforwardly and with a keen sense of relevance for Augustus and his reign. Another nice feature involves comparison to aspects of modern culture, such as in Boxes 7.5, "Global Cultures," and 8.3, "Augustus Today: A View from Outside Academe."Many other boxes, inevitably placed at just the right point within the narrative, feature excerpts from ancient texts, affording the reader a clear sense of sources from which historians derive their perspectives. The book also includes several helpful apparatuses: "Note on Major Ancient Sources," maps and site plans, a genealogical chart, a timeline (with just the right degree of detail), and numerous illustrations with clear explanatory captions.These various features are complemented by a writing style that is pleasing and enticing, drawing on current phrases and cultural allusions and implementing a good dose of humor. The book is a masterful summary treatment of one of history's most intriguing and influential figures. Notably, it complements rather than reduplicates the author's earlier book, Augustan Culture (Princeton, 1996), itself a remarkable and highly admired scholarly achievement. Augustus: Introduction to the Life of an Emperor further evinces Karl Galinsky's unsurpassed knowledge of Augustus and his period, along with his formidable skill in presenting history in an accessible and engaging manner. All readers will be grateful for these attributes and for this excellent book.

This is an excellent, up-to-date treatment of Rome's first and greatest emperor, and it is an enjoyable read. In fact, this book is so engaging that you will find it hard to put it aside, once you have read the first page. As a winner of several teaching awards, Karl Galinsky knows how to communicate with a non-specialist audience on a very high level. Abundant in detail and yet never overwhelming, this very informative book offers so much more than just a retelling of Augustus' life, amazing as it was. A great asset is the boxes, which offer a rich and lively array of contemporary sources, ranging from Augustus' birth sign to Livia's prescriptions for nervous tension, and even analogies with American global culture. Yet what makes this book really unique - and a great deal more accessible than many others - is the combination of expertise, wit, and engagement that are constantly on display. Comments like the one on Horace's bed are priceless. And so are some of the section titles. Augustus left a huge mark on world history, and this superb book makes us understand him and his times. Karl Galinsky's introduction to Augustus belongs in the hands of anyone interested in ancient Rome and in great figures of world history.

Karl Galinsky's "Augustus" is an excellent discussion of the life of Augustus, Rome's first emperor. Galinsky's book is a manageable length, and it includes a great deal of important information without being overwhelming. The writing style is clear, concise, and easy to read, with an occasional bit of humor. The narrative is fluid and exciting, and it is able to capture the drama in certain periods of Augustus' life. Both experts of Roman history as well as newcomers to the subject will be able to learn from this book. The informational boxes provide interesting supplemental material that provides background information or emphasizes certain points. The book uses ancient sources very effectively, allowing the reader to get a glimpse into the life of Augustus. Galinsky places special emphasis on Augustus' upbringing and the people who shaped him during his youth. He also discusses in great detail the way in which Augustus succeeded in gaining absolute control within the Roman Republic, while managing to preserve Republican institutions and traditions. In addition to the book's writing and content, its production quality is also excellent. The book is well bound and is filled with interesting pictures and maps, all printed on quality paper, that help the reader visualize the people and places mentioned in the book. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in Roman history, political history, or biographies.

Product arrived promptly in the condition described. It is background reading for degree course, so still on the pile, but looks extremely interesting.

This is an excellent and informative book which manages to make Augustan history fun without sacrificing the complexities of the subject matter. The main text takes the form of an accessible, lively and often humorous chronological narrative, which introduces all the most important scholarly debates and source material. The book is punctuated throughout by self-contained boxes which introduce and discuss a selection of texts, images, and anecdotes about Augustus and associated characters. This arrangement makes the book very user-friendly, and also means that the time-challenged can dip in and out of the text, enjoying the latest thinking on topics such as `What did Cleopatra look like?', and `Livia's Prescription for Nervous Tension'. The wealth of useful supplemental material includes maps of the Empire and the city of Rome, Augustus' family tree (very helpful!), and black and white photographs of material sources (monuments, statues, coins, papyri and more), all of which are integrated into an absorbing discussion of Augustan politics and culture. Highly recommended!

This is the Augustus book for those, who are already familiar with the basic facts, but would like to find out, where current research is seeing new development

Whereas the Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus (Galinsky ed.) gives a broader and more generic introduction to the Emperor Augustus and his age, this book is more an indepth introduction to Augustus as a person and his accomplishments. All the familiar subjects are being dealt with in a way in which Galinsky shows his authority in the field; his rise to power, the new political enterprise, his friends & family, the cultural prosperity and the pax augusta and its implications for the whole of the empire. It is the more academic version of Pat Southern's biographical "Augustus" , but it is more general and less specifically cultural minded than Paul Zanker's iconic "Augustus und die Macht der Bilder".A very good read and provides a good introduction f.e. for first year uni students

The book was for my son who is an english highschool teacher and he named hisnew son Augustus, he was just thrilled to receive this and enjoyed the book verymuch.