Customer Reviews

Rome at War: Caesar and his legacy (Essential Histories Specials)

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A good book in the Osprey tradition. It basically is 3 books in one from the Osprey publications. Many good maps and outlines of battles. Not as in-depth as some other books, but a great starting place for anyone interested in the Roman war machine

Recently I have become very interested in Roman history and have found this book to be a good overview of the empire from Caesar's time forward. This text as aforementioned is a compilation of: The Gallic War, Caesars's Civil War, and Rome at War 229-696. It covers in very brief summary the major actions/wars of the Roman empire both Western and Eastern parts but due to its length 288 pages is very brief on some subjects such as battles and commander bios. That being said the most important battles: Siege of Alesia, Pharsalus, Thapsus, and Adrianople are diagrammed and some detail is provided in describing the battle. What made it a very good book is its appreciation of not just the army but of the socio-economic factors at play that either strengthened or weakened the army and how that played an integral role in the outcome of war. Overall a good book I would recommend to others