I, Caesar : Ruling the Roman Empire

Library Journal

Inspired by a boyhood teacher and surviving monuments of Roman culture, Grabsky, a TV documentary maker, wrote this book to accompany I, Caesar, an A&E TV history series. In this respect, it resembles T.K. Rabb's Renaissance Lives: Portraits of an Age (LJ 1/93), but Rabb, a professional historian, produced the more original, knowledgeable, and exciting work. Still, Grabsky has written for the curious general reader a lively and evocative sketch of Roman imperial history, focused around Julius Caesar, Octavius Augustus, Nero, Hadrian, Constantine, and Justinian and based on translations of the best-known Roman historians. Major political (but not economic or cultural) developments in the 600 years of the Roman empire are discussed, and Grabsky shows a sensitivity to the lives of women and ordinary people. Sweeping generalizations, however, lead him into errors of fact, critical terms like republic and empire are not adequately defined, and a lack of familiarity with the recent literature results in long-outmoded interpretations. The book contains a useful map and many apt, imaginative, and beautiful illustrations, but they lack informative captions. An optional purchase for public libraries.--Bennett D. Hill, Georgetown Univ.,Washington, DC