Tiberius Caesar

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting
Review: A very interesting biography of an emperor who is not that well known. Interesting facts and information on him and his rise to power, his relations, and his last years.

Rating:
Summary: Reasonably Good Account of an Unlikely Political Career
Review: Tiberius Caesar was one of Rome's best generals: in his day he reorganized the Army of the Rhine and successfully repaired much of the damage resulting from the earlier loss at Teutoberg Forest. He won the favor of Augustus Caesar, who adopted him and thereby created the first occasion for one Emperor to succeed another. Yet Tiberius, for all his virtues, also goes down in history as one of the more unlikeable emperors, mainly because of his steadfast habit of alienating the powerful upper caste of Rome - an alienation made total when he pulled his tent and went to the Isle of Capri to govern Rome as absentee landlord. Baker sketches out the main events of Tiberius's life and provides a useful, readable history - if a little indiosyncratic in the analysis of Tiberius, and somewhat lacking in detail. There is probably a better biography out there but this is a very accessible and popular work which, for all its faults, probably outshines some of the academic biographies.