The Conquest of Gaul (Penguin Classics)

I am not going to review Caesar, though I might praise him, rather the quality of the books I ordered together with the service. Both were better than those of other suppliers. The book itself was first class and the delivery left nothing to criticise. As my landlady will confirm, I am a confirmed print addict, being convinced that a stray EMP will one day take out our gadgets! Seriously when I am writing I need to have several open at once, when not I am constantly researching and need to lay my hands on information sans Google. Amazon, and their affiliates fulfil everything I need.

One of the few primary sources written by a general contemporarily to their campaign. Essential for understanding the war in Gaul, the first invasions of Britain and the set-up to the later Civil war. Translation is brilliant, very digestible and still stays true to the essence of the original Latin.

I had no idea that this account of historical events would be so fascinating. It's well worth reading. However, I'm reading a British Penguin Classics edition from the 1980s or maybe 90s(bought second hand) and I'm astonished that it was published with such a poor, and rather vague map inside. Where are the maps of the tribes? The Roman march routes? The battle locations? This could and should have been spotted and rectified before publication. You may want to try and find a publication with maps inside, or, I promise you, you will be searching online where, incidentally, there are some very good maps these days, but of course those didn't exist in the 1980s when this edition was published.

Just to have a first hand account from a time so long ago, and written by a man who is still famous, is already impressive. This is a classic of history, both in style and content, and this is an excellent translation. Accepting that Julius Caesar was an ambitious politician as well as an excellent General, he gives a concise and lucid account of the events in Gaul, in which he was a central figure. It is still a good read, and would withstand many more re-reads.

Caesar's conquest of Gaul makes for difficult reading as the Romans ransacked and massacred all who opposed them. Tens of thousands of Gauls died in various pitched battles in their efforts to retain their freedom and avoid slavery and subjection. Caesar was a remarkable man but made a ruthless enemy.

I have been meaning to read this book for years, and now that I have I wish I didn't read it so fast. It's fascinating how the tribes relentlessly rebelled against the Romans whenever caeser was away. I would have paid a lot more for this book if I had too.

Very interesting and will probably make you look a bit intelligent :) for lovers of the tv series ROME there is a mention of Vorenus and Pullo in here but don't get excited it is just a mention. The words of Julius Caesar himself. A master of PR.

A warmongering general has written an account of his conquests and quite a good one at that. Julius Caesar is one of the best people ever and makes me proud of the left handed race

Written by Julius Caesar, and offers a glimpse into the brutal world and times he lived in.

Must read.

A must read for any fan of Roman history. Cicero himself stated the Caesar was a fantastic writer and I must admit that there is not a single word wasted. I have read this book 6 times over the years and loved it every time.

Read the book by Julius Caesar on his campaign in Gaul. Interesting but slightly bland, with his unemotional and colourless mode of writing, recording facts, telling the story precisely and putting no spin on the material. Glad that I read it, making connection with the great man who died two thousand years ago, but have no desire to read another book by him.

Julius Caesar was one of the greatest military and political minds who ever lived. Reading Caesar's Gallic war memoirs a second time after the passage of nearly 50 years was a great reading experience for me. I first read it in my high school Latin class in the early 1960s, but most of what I had remembered was the Latin words and grammar, rather than the narrative itself. Caesar knew how to tell a rip-roaring adventure story. More than two millennia later his story is still exciting, with vivid descriptions of battles and the character of his adversaries, as well as enlightening explanations of why he used the particular strategies that he did. Of course he had a political motivation for writing his story the way he did, which makes the book even more complex and interesting. I'd strongly recommend reading this book in tandem with Machiavelli's THE PRINCE just to show how mutually supportive both books are. I basically liked the translation, despite the amusing Britishisms. (Example: "There were only five hundred of them, but the mere fact that German aid had come was enough to make these natives cock-a-hoop.") But I know how deadly some Latin translations can be when the translator sticks too closely to the Latin grammar. This translation is very readable with excellent notes by translator S.A. Handford and editor Jane Gardner. My only real complaint is that the maps at the back of the book are not nearly detailed enough to really be useful. This generally is considered one of the most important books ever written for many reasons. I'd recommend this translation, but I'd also suggest getting Chris Scarre's THE PENGUIN HISTORICAL ATLAS OF ANCIENT ROME, to enhance and further clarify the experience. Five stars.