Caesar, Life of a Colossus

Gaius Julius Caesar
The Tusculum portrait, perhaps the only surviving sculpture of Caesar made during his lifetime.

Caesar, Life of a Colossus is a nonfiction book written by Adrian Goldsworthy. It was published in 2006 by Yale University Press (519 pages) This is a biography of Julius Caesar. However, it is an outline of Caeser's life in the context of the many institutions with which he interacted: "Roman society, the politics of the senate, Gaul (ancient France)" as well as the army of that ancient republic.

One underlying structure of this book is to take the reader on a journey that follows "the many gambles, strange turns, and unlikely incidents in Caesar's career." The book is referenced with endnotes and an index, located in the back of the book, showing it is based on ancient scholarly sources. The work of sifting through these sometimes conflicting sources to the tell the story is also part of the narrative.

Additionally, a bibliography of scholarly commentary, published during our more modern age, regarding Julius Caesar and Ancient Rome during his lifetime, is also in the back of the book. Hence, although the author has written this book for the lay reader, it is also useful for scholarly study.