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Rating: 
Summary: A very humane insight into this mysterious historical figure
Review: An easy-to-read biography that presents Julian from a different perspective. Julian, the human being. A man trapped between 2 worlds. A man that dreams of bringing back the Old Roman glory and traditions. A man who perhaps would have succeeded if not for a twist of fate.
It is obvious that there was a substantial amount of research on the author's part. In my opinion, this book makes for great reading even if biographies or history are not the reader's cup of tea. "Talle lege!"
Rating:
Summary: An original and insightful account
Review: As a "lettered academic", I would have to disagree with Mr Clarkson's review. I found this text to be readable and entertaining, as well as thoroughly and accurately researched. Adrian Murdoch has accepted the challenge to historians to do more than merely report history, but to offer some analysis and interpretation of events. I would recommend his study to those interested both in this specific historical period, and in the development of Western religious thought.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid Popular History
Review: At first, I did not like the popular approach to this history of Julian the Apostate; however, by the time I finished, I realized that the popular style is really what the author brings to the discussion of Julian, especially in the last chapter. For example, we are given a modern travelogue to Julian's life and military campaigns. I can now retrace Julian's routes through Europe to Asia Minor (should I ever get the itch). The last chapter gives a short account of historical, artistic, and literary work on the subject of Julian, many of which I was not familiar with. However, he strangely omits recent historical accounts by G.W. Bowerstock, Athanassiadi Polymnia, or Roland Smith.The author offers a balanced historical account of Julian's life, discussing his strengths and weaknesses; however, there is not much new in the way of analysis or historical facts. Regardless, I enjoyed the read, although some of the modern analogies were a bit stretched.
Rating:
Summary: Great study of a fascinating figure & period
Review: Julian is an endlessly fascinating figure, and this biog is a well written & credible study of a true turning point in history. The section on the different ways Julian has been portrayed through history was particularly good, and the new material on his death was interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Great study of a fascinating figure & period
Review: Julian is an endlessly fascinating figure, and this biog is a well written & credible study of a true turning point in history. The section on the different ways Julian has been portrayed through history was particularly good, and the new material on his death was interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating parallels with modern events in Iraq
Review: loved this - a great and human insight into a period of classical history that normally gets ignored. I remember bits of classical Greece or Caesar's times, but hadn't ever looked at the later years of the Romans - the fourth century AD. The research has been well done, but condensed into a story about a single man - real insight into the society and structure of the late Roman times. And of course the whole episode of his invading Mesopotamia (Iraq now) was fascinating - from his mistakes and over-reaching to his eventual death. (The detective work round his cause of death was particularly interesting). Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Such a pity
Review: This book attempts to tell the story of the emperor Julian the Apostate, the most appealing and romantic figure in Late Antique history. The author has done a good job on assembling and marshalling the known facts of Julian's short but dramatic life but his book is marred by the author's crass English style and by his tendency, so common in today's unlettered academics, to assume that decisions with unfavourable outcomes are the result of stupidity or even folly on the part of the decision makers. For instance he states that the barbarians who had Julian under siege gave up the seige simply because they were bored! Academics must surely be aware that their defining characteristic is not intelligence bur diligence, even drudgery. Were they intelligent they would have chosen better paid work.
I will not belabour the reader with numerous examples of stylistical inadequacies but confine myslf to observing the the words "duplicitous" and "massive" are used in a most unfortunate way and that the word "arrive" is not known to the author.
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