Just finished the bio of Caesar by GOLDSWORTHY - wow, not about the book, about HIM!1

[UTUSN]

What ENERGY before there was caffeine!1 He threw a bridge or two across the Rhine. The Germans laughed to see the short little dude/Romans. Nine years of constant battle. And they/somebody? begrudes him 3 months floating down the Nile with Cleo?!1

What a scurvvy dude was Cato!1 And what a WEASEL was Cicero!1 Pompey an empty balloon!1



Only 7% of the Senate was in the conspiracy (60). And they expected the rabble to love them (they were really really wrong).


The man pardoned his enemies, who went back to being his enemies after he pardoned them. What shits.

Oh, he had an IVORY chair. Later gold. Oh, knee-boots of red leather---is that why pope-us-RATZ wears RED hoofs?!1

[proteus_lives]

1. Caesar was one of a kind.

People like him don't come around very often.

Intelligence, skill, good looks, charm and unholy luck.

Did the book have the story about him and the pirates?

[UTUSN]

4. The pirates, yip. As I say, the book itself seems workmanlike

His announced premise was to stick to the basics that could be verified, not to dramatize what is clearly already dramatic in its own terms, and above all not to use events from after Caesar's life to impute motives and intentions in the man's own events, to take him for what happened not for what might have been future results. And the author is aiming at a popular dunce audience, me, so keeps everything simple such that at times I felt a teeny bit talked down to or like rabble or something.

GOLDSWORTHY's apparent favorite word is "massive" as in massive accomplishments, massive wealth, massive debt, massive numbers. But then his subject is massive. Plus, little ole me caught at least TWO proofreading errors, which I always find shocking, but especially in this book that is a product of Yale, even though our DUer Richardo who knows about books says that textual errors are common facts of book life.

[Aristus]

2. Rumor has it that the knee-high red leather boots were for

concealing and supporting varicose veins...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Hey, sounds good...would make a good x-mas gift for my brother, too.

I would like to read it, too.