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Germanicus

The Assassination of Julius Caesar by M. Parenti

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The book titled "The Assasination of Julius Caesar" by Michael Parenti, makes for compelling reading.

It provides a detailed account of the events leading up to, and including, the fatefull Ides of March.

 

Written from what I can only term a modern day "plebian" perspective, Parenti separates the book into chapters which compliment each other. They range in subject from discussions about Caesar the Popularis, to Cicero.....the conservative but brilliant orator who's position at the time was certainly anti Caesar, and whose same position has been adopted time and time again by historians ever since those fatefull days of the late republic...

 

...read the full review of The Assassination Of Julius Caesar by Michael Parenti

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Excellent review, Germanicus. Our Book review forum is really starting to come alive with member contributions.

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The Assassination Of Julius Caesar

 

Nominated for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize, there is a lot to dissuade the serious reader of Roman history in Michael Parenti's "The Assassination of Julius Caesar". A radical commentator on contemporary society and historical memory, Parenti applies a "Marxian-lite" analysis of the late Republic. In hearing a talk he once gave, one comment he made stands out; "One of the great pleasures of learning history is not the learning it but the unlearning of preconceived notions". To that end he has an axe to grind with historians of the era and, in the first chapter, he names names and takes few prisoners. The effect of all this is to put the reader off a bit. I was taken aback as Parenti railed against the "gentlemen historians" and the class based prism that they have used to interpret the assassination of Caesar....

 

...read the full review of The Assassination of Julius Caesar by Michael Parenti

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Good review, it spurred me to add mine of the same book from my Amazon reviews. Definitely a marxist interpretation, although one doesn't need to be a marxist to utilize that analysis. In fact I think it's not done enough and Parenti makes what is essentialy an excellent point, not only about Rome but all ancient history; that we see it through the eyes of the winners and those with a vested interest in the telling. Classical history is especially devoid of anything but the "brandy snifter" school, to our great detriment.

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Thanks Vigil, I read your review....and enjoyed it !

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