A brisk but clear and informative nonfiction look at ten of Rome’s emperors, starting with Augustus in 27 BC to Constantine in AD 337. Doesn’t try to be a deep dive/full biography of anyone but a competent summary of the rule of each.

Barry Strauss picks ten of the most interesting and relevant Ceasars in Roman history and details their place in history. He covers their upbringing, relationships in Roman society and overall influence on Roman history. I liked how Strauss used current references and celebrities to give a modern perspective on these Ceasars.

After a slow start this book was great. I really enjoyed it and felt it was very well written. My only criticism is that I wish it had been longer!

I adore history! Looking back into history reveals so much about humanity, whether it's our ingenuity, cruelty or our ability to love and change. Roman history is one of my favourites because it includes all of the above and more. Loyalty, betrayal, extravagance, torture, religious freedom, religious oppression, expansion, invasion. All of it is right there and all of it is also in Ten Caesars. Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ten Caesars discusses almost the whole of Roman imperial history, from Augustus to Constantine, which means Barry Strauss has to cover about 350 or so years in his book. He doesn't write about all the emperors that came between the two above, but has chosen the 10 "most important" ones. The book starts with a discussion of Julius Caesar, the origin of it all. From there we cover Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian and Constantine. Each of these made undeniable contributions to the Roman empire and its reputation. Hadrian's Wall still stretches across the UK. Istanbul is still a key city. Christianity is still a major religion. Rome is filled with triumphal arches celebrating battles and victories. So how do you cover all of that in around 400 pages?

Strauss' genius in Ten Caesars lies in covering both minute details that make the emperors seem more personable and also the grand scale consequences of their actions. None of the emperors get away entirely clean. Ten Caesars feels like sitting down for a fascinating conversation with someone incredibly knowledgeable and also funny. It doesn't feel like Strauss is talking down to his reader, which is very much appreciated from a history book. He never undercut the horror of the time period, the warfare, religious intolerance and murder, but he also celebrates some of the good things that occurred. One thing he actively tracks, for example, is how the Roman Empire slowly integrated the people it conquered into its ruling class, which I found fascinating. Strauss also payed attention the the people around the emperors, such as the mothers, wives, daughters, best friends and mentors who shaped the emperors and their policy. It added an extra layer of interest, for me, to Roman history.

Ten Caesars is not a deeply academic book. It is a very good guide to the ten emperors who made, perhaps, the most difference to the Roman Empire. This is an introduction to the chronology of the Roman Empire for those who don't have a definite understanding of it yet. I myself am somewhat aware, which means I had heard most of the names before but couldn't connect each of them to the right century or achievement. Ten Caesars gave me that grasp and also gave me plenty of jumping of points to do further research into. I enjoyed Strauss' writing a lot and he found a good balance between sharing historical information and writing an interesting book. Although it took me a little longer to finish than expected that had more to do with my schedule than with Strauss. As I said above, for those already well-versed in Roman history, Ten Caesars may not be the best read, but for anyone with an initial interest, Strauss' book is great.

I adored Ten Caesars! This is the perfect book for those who want to know more about Roman history before digging straight into the hard academia. Strauss is a great teacher and I will definitely be looking for his other books on Roman history.

It took me a while to get through this book. I really loved the writing style because it was informative and entertaining when the subject was sometimes not so interesting. I enjoy reading most anything about the Roman Empire and this was especially good because it had such a precise focus on these individuals. It could easily have drifted into text book territory but stayed engaging throughout.

I found this a useful book rather than an enjoyable one. It’s an excellent introduction to ten of the most important Roman emperors, succinct, well-researched and accessible to the general reader. An easy read, but perhaps rather simplistic for anyone with more expert knowledge of the subject. I found the writing rather uninspired, and the style didn’t particularly engage me. It’s probably a book to refer to when wanting to check some facts rather than one to sink into.

This book covers the lives of 10 Roman emperors between 27 BC and 337 AD, from Augustus to Constantine. There were a lot of additional emperors during this period, but they are not treated to their own chapters but are discussed only briefly. In most cases, I understand that decision since those emperors did not rule for very long and/or seemed to have uneventful careers. However, I was disappointed to see that Claudius and Caligula were given this treatment. I think they are two of the more interesting emperors, but they were both rolled into the chapter on Nero. I’ve also read “The Twelve Caesars” by Suetonius. This book is quite detailed and written in an entertaining manner, but it should not be viewed as a replacement for the older book, but as a supplement to it.

My idea of a good history book is one that makes me want to learn more about the topics discussed and this book accomplished that. I now want to read more about Hadrian and Constantine.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I wish this book had been longer and had more details. I enjoy history of any sort but especially this sort. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Barry Strauss is a classicist known for writing popular and accessible histories of ancient Greece and Rome. "Ten Caesars" continues with a brief history of the Roman Empire. Strauss' narrative focuses on the individual emperors, to the extent that the book is almost like ten miniature biographies. As other reviewers have noted, the book at times comes across as a bit too informal. Strauss wants to tell a story and get readers interested in the history, which is great, but this sometimes means there's a tradeoff between historical accuracy and drama. For example, he'll sometimes relate events as if he knows what was going through the emperor's mind. Most of this dramatization seems like logical speculation, even if it's likely we don't have historical documentation to definitely prove it. But just be aware before picking up this book that it's really geared towards general audiences and readers with less background in Roman history. If you've already read in-depth biographies of Augustus and Hadrian, this book might not be for you.

This book reminded me how much I love history, especially Roman history. The author keeps you engaged the whole time & it took me back to my high school Latin classes & learning about Roman history from one of my favorite teachers.

I highly recommend for anyone to read this book. It was well written & very interesting.

Barry S. Strauss reminded me how fascinating Ancient Rome was!

I have always been interested in the history of Ancient Rome. Even as a child I enjoyed reading Greek and Roman Mythology with constant bickering between gods and goddesses, with heroes performing impossible deeds and with mythological creatures like centaurs and nymphs. When I got older I read with equal fascination about Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Anthony and their adventures, I read about Nero burning people alive and feeding them to wild animals in the arena. I read about Claudius and his disastrous marriage to Messalina.

Anyway, "Ten Caesars" by Barry S. Strauss is written without too many details and gives a coherent picture of the most important characteristics and fates of ten Caesars that shaped the Roman Empire. The book is written on an entry level, so readers don't need any previous knowledge of history. The author writes about real people and what we know about them, how they lived and died, who they loved and who they hated. It is easy to immense yourself in the story of people that ruled the vast empire and needed to fear constantly for their lives. One mistake could mean the end of their rule and death of all their loved ones. The author treats historical sources with healthy scepticism. He presents difficult times and choices that these people faced, bloody conflicts and deadly intrigues that ended with assassination. The book presents the real "Game of Thrones" that took place thousands years ago.

To sum up, I very much enjoyed reading "Ten Caesars" by Barry S. Strauss. It is a great book, well-written and full of fascinating details. I recommend it to all fans of history and Ancient Rome.

I received "Ten Caesars" from the publisher via NetGalley. I would like to thank the author and the publisher for providing me with the advance reader copy of the book.

I love learning about history and this book held my attention from start to finish and I didn't want to put it down! I can't wait to buy a physical copy to keep for re-reading in the future.

Thankyou for giving me early access to this fabulous book. I am obsessed with this period of history and this writer captured so much of what I had imagined.

Thankyou

This was a good account of the Caesars, but I found myself wanting more colorful detail. It's clear the author conducted exhaustive research for the book and it shows. It did read dry in spots, but if you are interested in learning an overview of the Caesars, then I would recommend this book for you.

I enjoyed this book on the ten most influential rulers of rome. One complaint was i wish some events had more detail. But otherwise a good read

Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine to be a fascinating read. I give it five stars and recommend it for readers who are interested in Roman history.

Reviewed on podcast: http://mainebeacon.com/maine-gops-vice-chair-is-quoting-neo-nazis-will-republicans-do-anything/

I'm gonna jump right in and say that I highly enjoyed Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine by Barry S. Strauss. I randomly decided to read it when I saw it available to read on NetGalley because I craved some ancient history nonfiction. And I'm really glad that I did because I almost couldn't stop reading it. I'll even go as far to say that it's one of my favorite books of 2019 so far, especially in the nonfiction genre.

I do have to admit that before starting to read the book I was a tiny bit apprehensive about it because in each chapter one of the ten Roman emperors that are featured in this book is highlighted and the reason why that worried me a little is that most books like this (at least the ones I've read) don't go as deeply into the people or topics as much as I like. But I was actually pleasantly surprised with how the author tackled each emperor and I wasn't left disappointed in that way at all.

As the synopsis says, the emperors featured in the book are: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian and Constantine. As a huge ancient history fan I knew a little about most of these men but after reading this book I feel like my knowledge of them and the ancient world in general has grown so much more and that's exactly why I enjoy reading this kind of nonfiction. I just can't seem to learn enough about ancient history and the ancient Romans were so very fascinating.

My favorite chapters probably were the ones about Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. Why? I'm not entirely sure. I've always been pretty fascinated by these particular emperors and reading this book only made my interest in them grow. I also liked that, even though Caligula didn't get a chapter dedicated to him, the author did mention and talked a little about him in another chapter.

This review is getting quite long by now so I'm gonna round it up now but I also really wanted to say that at 432 pages this isn't a particularly short book but even so it didn't take me that long to read it and I found most of the chapters going by really fast because the way Barry S. Strauss wrote the book made it pretty easy to read and honestly it was just a great book that was really enjoyable. I definitely want to check out his other books as well. Also, I really want to buy a physical copy of Ten Caesars now. I need it on my nonfiction shelf!

Look, if you are a fan of the Roman Empire, then this should be the book you check in with first. Here's why: it's simply written, chronicles 10 Emperors giving insights on how their rise to power and alliances, but for me, what spiked my interest was that the author also talked about the women who contributed to each reign. Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about his book. In fact overall, I have very little complaints. It was well researched, well written, illustrated to my liking though I always would love even more photos or reproductions. What annoyed me was the fact that the author kept repeating himself, he referenced the previously mentioned caesars as if for the first time in practically every chapter, he repeated details about family connections from page 1 to page 600. In quite a few places it felt like this was a TV show where each episode HAD to be recapped for the viewer that maybe didn’t see it. And that’s the opposite of what i see a continuous history book should be doing, I get the importance of drawing connections with the past in a history book but every chapter is overkill,