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Rating: 
Summary: Practical reference
Review: Anyone having reason to look for information on the emperors from Agustus through Romulus , and including the tetrarchy should get this book. Excellent maps and plans, geneological tables, reproduction of a portrait bust or coin per emperor along with the biographical sketches of one to four pages ( a few longer). The text is arranged in sequence, table of contents giving a guide to individual emperors. Also included is a key to arcane Latin terms such as "Comes Sacrarum Largitionum": essentially the financial minister controlling mints and currency and in charge of purchase of military uniforms. And an index of Latin authors and index of maps and charts rounds out the collection. This is a useful book for anyone sorting out the classical period, for coin collectors, history buffs, etc. A great addition to a personal reference library
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have!
Review: The incomparable Michael Grant delivers again with this erudite anthology of concise yet richly rewarding bios of the rulers of Imperial Rome, from Augustus thru the end of the Western Empire. Each Imperial bio is structured roughly the same, covering family background, methodology of accession, overview of reign, a general judgment of the character of both the Emperor and his time in power, and then more often than not quotes from primary sources like Suetonious or Dio Cassius giving contemporary physical and psychological descriptions of the Princeps. All the entries come with a thumbnail sized portrait of the subject, either lifted from sculptured busts or numismatic sources.What truly makes this book work is of course Grants smoothly lucid prose, equally suitable for scholar and laymen alike. He command of classical history is so complete, he can embody vast amounts of useful information in just a few paragraphs. As a source book for research or as reference for the casual reader, this book cannot be beat.
Rating:
Summary: The Centuries of Augustus
Review: This is a particuarly useful guide to each and every Roman emperor - including usurpers/failed coup leaders who called themselves emperor, and including East and West. It is a terrific "gap-filler" if one is seeking a biography of an obscure or forgotten Augustus. (Contrary to received Hollywood wisdom, the princeps was usually called "Augustus," the title "Caesar being reserved for the heir apparent or junior emperor.) This is particularly useful when we get to the cast of thousands who occupied the throne in the Third Century. Grant's great strength is his sobriety: he refuses, utterly, to be drawn into hysterics about mad emperors like the fool Commodus (as caricatured by Joaquin Phoenix's in "Gladiator") or the sun-worshipping Heliogabus (compare the more credulous popular works which insist Heliogabus was a depraved hemaphrodite), and he disdains the "whig" history which tends to idolize the later Christian emperors and demonize those earlier rulers who threw churchgoers to the lions.
Rating:
Summary: The Centuries of Augustus
Review: This is a particuarly useful guide to each and every Roman emperor - including usurpers/failed coup leaders who called themselves emperor, and including East and West. It is a terrific "gap-filler" if one is seeking a biography of an obscure or forgotten Augustus. (Contrary to received Hollywood wisdom, the princeps was usually called "Augustus," the title "Caesar being reserved for the heir apparent or junior emperor.) This is particularly useful when we get to the cast of thousands who occupied the throne in the Third Century. Grant's great strength is his sobriety: he refuses, utterly, to be drawn into hysterics about mad emperors like the fool Commodus (as caricatured by Joaquin Phoenix's in "Gladiator") or the sun-worshipping Heliogabus (compare the more credulous popular works which insist Heliogabus was a depraved hemaphrodite), and he disdains the "whig" history which tends to idolize the later Christian emperors and demonize those earlier rulers who threw churchgoers to the lions.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have!
Review: This is an excellent book which offers an overview of the emperors of Roman history, beginning with Caesar Augustus (the "august one" who was first among equals). This book does not and cannot provide an in-depth view of each emperor's life and times & politics. Indeed, great individuals such as Augustus, Claudius, Hadrian & Marcus Aurelius warrant entire volumes dedicated to them separately. However, Grant does a wonderful job of giving his readers a "taste" of each ruler's reign as well as some useful (and sometimes colorful) anecdotes about their lives. This is a tremendous book for those who would like a nice quick-and-easy history of the Romans who wore the purple. For those who would like more in-depth books that cover certain epochs (and I hope there are many of you out there), Grant has written books such as "12 Caesars" and "The Antonines" & some others which go into much more detail, but have less scope (timeline wise) than the present book.
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