Rating: 
Summary: The Constancy of Political Life
Review: The dust jacket of Everitt's attractive biography quotes a perceptive English reviewer, who observes, "Of all the arts, that of politics has advanced least since the days of Greece and Rome." Upon closing the book, my overwhelming sense was that Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson and, yes, Bill Clinton would have done perfectly well in Julian Rome. The broad contours of the political game have, in the intervening two millennia, acquired several strips of veneer and a few layers of varnish, but they are immediately recognizable in this briskly paced work. Pompey's political ponderousness, Caesar's bright dexterity, and Cicero's conservative deliberateness all find ready parallels in this and every other age. Gain, glory, and fear are here the prime motivators--generalize to politics Thucydides' famous observation that men will go to war for any of these three reasons and you will have neatly summarized all political motive--and Everitt nicely sifts through the ample historical record to relate how the great men of the late Republic clambered for the pinnacle as the challenge of Julius Caesar loomed.For readers not particularly well versed in Roman history, Everitt does particularly well in quickly situating Cicero's life in the great events of his day, the context of an expanding empire, and the daily life of a Rome that had no city government as we would know it--little public security (private guards for the wealthy, nothing for the rest), sanitation, services, or urban administration. An accretion of checks and balances (so admired by our own founders) caused politic to deadlock, with each of the major protagonists offering solutions that either restored, or to circumvented, the formal primacy of the Senate and Rome's great families. Throughout, Everitt renders intelligible a bewildering tangle of events and human interactions. He shows Cicero standing at the center of these great events--with the exception of the plot to kill Caesar, of which he knew nothing (but you who know your Shakespeare will have known this as well...)--or, less charitably, desperately working the Roman public relations apparatus to "seem to stand," on firm Republican principals. At those times when when his cause fails--perhaps as a result of words or long harbored grudges that return to haunt him--Everitt's statesman retires to one of his well-appointed villas and the life of the mind, turing to his beloved philosophy and the composition of the writings that comprise his greatest legacy. I dock this commendable biography a star for an insufficiency of documentation and the generally cursory handling of Cicero's ideas. Yes, yes, I recognize this is popular biography, but some particularly quirky looking passages beg for sourcing and don't get it, while other, better known material gets copious sourcing (and with endnotes, by page and passage, rather than with numbered end- or footnotes). As for Cicero's rich store of written ideas, the major works are dutifully listed, their contents for the most part cursorily described. I for one would have appreciated a broader, deeper discussion, but concluded that Everitt viewed his chapters on the works as necessary drudgery required by the life and legacy and as impediments to his narrative design (he does in fact refer to the authoritive scholarly studies in a bibliographic appendix). The author seems too eager to gallop off--perhaps to the cheers of most readers--on his thrilling, often bloody, tale. And so he does. (And why didn't someone at Random House point out to the design people that the Coliseum, which graces the dustjacket, was erected more than a century after Cicero's death? A particularly shameless attempt to cash in on the Russell Crowe picture.) This is nevertheless a very worthy book and a solid--and solidly entertaining--introduction to the timeless world of Roman politics. Highly recommended.
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Summary: On the brink...
Review: Rome has always seemed to me like a city just on the brink of anarchy. After reading "Cicero: the Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician," I've had my impression enhanced. Rome has always been a city on the brink of anarchy, and Cicero lived at a time when Rome had gone over the brink more than once. Rome is an amazing city, and it has provided a home to amazing men. Cicero was not the least of these, and by the title of the book, he may have been one of the greatest. Cicero was a self-made man who spent a lifetime proving himself in the courts, in politics, and in literary output. And prove himself he did, right up to his proscribed death. Was he above cutting a deal? No. Did he defend the less than defensible? Yes. Did he toady to those more powerful? Sometimes. He was, after all is said, a politician. This book moves quickly, gives great insight into the times, and presents a title character as no more than human, and no less than captivating.
Rating: 
Summary: Lawyer-Statesman
Review: Cicero's life and accomplishments provide both education and inspiration. By studying the life and history of great men we can often catch a glimpse of what made them great. In Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician, Anthony Everitt does just that. His presentation of the facts surrounding Cicero's life provide great insight into the character of Rome's greatest lawyer-statesman. Furthermore, the book provided a good overall description of the Roman form of government that was easy to understand. I highly recomend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the history of Rome as well as a great man.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous biography of Rome's greatest orator
Review: Having picked up a copy a year ago through the UK this biography has become a definitive guide to Rome's greatest orator, a detailed analysis of the concept of the novus homo and a succinct history of the fall of the Roman Republic.
Everitt may not set out to, but what he achieves is to show Cicero as a man who, even more than Cato, encapsulates the death of the Republic as the triumvirate take it steadily faster toward Empire. The rise and fall of a man from whom most of our twenty-first century depictions of the Late Roman Republic and its mores stem is laid bare. The one benefit Cicero brings is an ability to more accurately assess his state of mind through his letters to Atticus. As such, you could argue that this modern work holds more claim to being a biography than any other historical figure from antiquity. The source is primary; as such, fundamentally biased; but a biography doesn't really seek to present a strictly historical factual view.
Without synposizing the entire work, Everritt takes a chronological approach to Cicero's life, rather than thematic and we get the 'set stage', from birth to somewhat theatrically described death. Throughout we see the world of Rome through the eyes of a man who, whilst intellectually realising the old world is over, emotionally struggles to keep it, wishing to remain a player. Indeed, it is only at the very end of his life, after his return from exile that we see a Cicero unencumbered by personal fears who epitomises the last defiant stand of the Republic.
Everitt has produced a text that must become standard reading for any student of Roman history and the only 'complaint' is that we've had to wait so long for this marvellous effort.
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Summary: Outstanding Historical Biography
Review: Anthony Everitt's "Cicero" is a biography of a figure from antiquity that reads as if it was written about a 20th Century American President. That's because a large amount of the great Roman orator's correspondence luckily has survived the 2000 plus years since his death. Cicero was a great tragic figure, a conservative and a republican (small "r") fated to live in a time of great turmoil that resulted in the death of the Roman republic (and his own). In the end, his philisophical writings helped crystalize Western thought and still affects academics and statesmen to this day. All of this from a man who held the highest Roman Reublic office (that of Consul) for only one year and had little military experience in a time when great generals were both feared and revered. Everitt tells Cicero's story in a superbly readable narrative style that marks the best history writing these days. He explores his subject's political career and personal life while deftly setting the backdrop of the times in which he was a chief actor. Everitt pays particular attention to Cicero's stormy life long relationship with Julius Ceasar, that archenemy of republicanism who nevertheless had a soft spot for the cantakerous philosopher. Ceasar's assassination is the crucial event upon which Everitt's narrative pivots. Overall, "Cicero" is an outstanding work of biography that will be greatly enjoyed by history buffs and even by more casual readers.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book
Review: Everitt's style is wonderful! The book isn't overwhelming with facts and is paced perfectly. It is a light and casual read, but at the same time comprehensive and critical. If you are often bored with reading history, you don't need to worry about this book, it is a complete pleasure and delight to read. This isn't one of those books you pick up and read about 1/4 of and never look at it again. Aside from all this, the book offers a rare insight into the life of Cicero and also the function of the legal system and trials. The author does a great job of presenting a two-faced Cicero, his actions in public life and then his private correspondance with his good friend Atticus. Along with all this, the reader gets one of the best overviews of the fall of the Roman Republic that I have ever read. I can hardly hold my pants on waiting for his next book on Augustus.
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Summary: How to do it right
Review: A real gem of a biography. The presentation of Roman politics is the clearest I've seen. Everitt's ense of place is distinct and palpable. Cicero emerges as a very human combination of statesmanship and self-serving smarminess. All in all, this is one of the best books on the Roman world that I have ever read. I look forward to the author's promised biography of the Emperor Augustus.
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Summary: Res Publica
Review: This charming and quite haunting biography of Cicero highlights one of the great moments of historical transition. As the last survivor of the Axial Age's political breakthrough to a first democracy in the Greek world, the Roman Republic, hardly a democracy, endured, and then endured some additional time, and then passed away in the ruin of empire and the oblivion of human freedom. Cicero's resistance and opposition is the most classic gesture of defiance, and this account of the great master of rhetoric going down with the ship is well done, on a subject forever topical, check the news. As the author notes the founders of the American, yes, republic, were steeped in Cicero, and seemed to have picked up where Cicero left off. Excellent tale.
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Summary: A modern biography on such a great subject was long overdue.
Review: Anthony Everitt clearly states his aim very early in this book - "to restore him (Cicero) to his proper place in the pantheon of our common past" - and he pulls it off in this successful political biography. Everitt brings together history, characters, and political intrigue to create a real person in a real city - Cicero in Rome. Whereas beforehand Cicero was "Selected Works" or "Collected Letters," Everitt brings him to life as a lawyer in the Forum, a leader in the Senate, an outcast in exile, and more. Everitt writes with authenticity and clarity. His explanations of building political connections as well as the daily activities in the Forum put you right in the scene unlike anything else I've read about Cicero. It really magnifies every speech of his that I've read before. Then Everitt portrays the key figures of the time. He shows how a few ambitious and gifted Romans manipulated the government for their own gains - all of which as Cicero leaves us nothing less than a timeless political legacy. In doing so he unsuccessfully tries to save the Roman Republic from dictators and the future emperors. A modern biography on such a great subject was long overdue. However, as fascinating and enjoyable as the political biography was, I would have liked to read more about Cicero as a philosopher and writer (in addition to his letters). Not enough was devoted to this aspect of his life. Unfortunately, there will probably not be another similarly talented biographer willing to fill in this gap.
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Summary: "do ut des" - "I Give So That You Give"
Review: I would highly recommend this book! If you have read John Adams by David McCullough then you should definetely checkout this book. John Adams loved reading Cicero (his favorite) amoung other Latin & Greek legends. This book is a very finely tuned and constructed book, so the average person who is illiterate or literate in Latin Classical Studies will enjoy this book. Thanks to public education, I was largely ignorant and found myself able to understand and deeply thankful to the author; who's careful work and care to explain about Rome's society, practices, culture, and etc. This book is a wonderful introduction to classic latin studies. The first chapter is very interesting and contradictory to Shakespeare's Caesar. The author skillfully manages to weave the interesting life of Cicero with a great introduction to Ancient Rome. I would suggest that you read about 10% (around 30 or so pages) of the book, and you'll be sold on it. I must of spent two to three hours in the bookstore reading this book, and I had to buy because I wasn't able to part without the book. Don't worry about the author going over your head and talking about stuff you don't know in Latin or etc. Because the author expains it in clear and plain English and provides enough modern day references and clues that it remains highly accessible to the average American. I'm looking forward to the Author's next book. Keep up the great work. Cicero is an icon of huge importance and influence still to this day, so don't wait and BUY THIS BOOK!!!
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