JULIUS CAESAR

The schoolboy's image of Julius Caesar as soldier, tactician, journalist and statesman is to this biography as the image on a bas-relief is to a statue by Bernini. Michael Grant has written a story of ambition, intrigue and social skulduggery. From Caesar's youth, through his army career and into the political arena, Grant recreates this legendary figure through meticulous scholarship and narrative power. The resulting picture is complicated and believable--and the devil's own challenge to read aloud. Long sentences packed with names, dates and parenthetical phrases demand the listener's attention. The labyrinthian tangles of Roman politics challenge the memory. Runger's clear diction; sedate, measured reading pace; and attention to punctuation help the listener follow the thread and come to a new understanding of the man at the center of those turbulent times. L.R.S. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: NOV/DEC 96]