"The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome" by Michael Parenti (short review)

    Amidst a sea of literature covering the Roman Empire, very few authors attempt to critically look at Julius Caesar. Most literature covering his life portrays him in an unsavory light, calling him a "dictator" and "oppressor". While it is true he was a conqueror winning resources through war and slaughter, Michael Parenti refuses to follow past paths of seeing Caesar as a unique evil. In his book, Parenti instead analyzes the various aspects of Roman life in order to show the material conditions that made him.
    Julius Caesar's assassination was not just about him; it was about the aristocratic senate he belonged to, the policies they wrote and enforced, the class conditions within society, the misogyny, and Roman conservatism. Cicero, too, is covered extensively, including his rather unique youth and how that led to his (word for despising) hatred of Caesar. Parenti leaves no stone unturned in his book to analyze why Julius Caesar was assassinated. This itself is a rather refreshing read, considering most books covering Caesar simply repeat word for word what Cicero had said about him two millenia prior.
    One of the few places that Parenti turns his eye from Caesar is in Cicero's chapter, analyzing the orator himself and his illustrious past that provides explanation for both his conservatism and his weight in modern interpretations of Caesar, from Shakespeare to the gentleman scholars of the nineteen hundreds. This chapter provides more context for the overall negative view of Caesar himself, as many contemporary sources of him were written by the aristocracy that had conspired against him.
    Parenti's book weaves an informative narrative that culminates and ends at the assassination of Julius Caesar and the immediate aftermath, never straying from his subject. An entertaining read, short by my standards, I would suggest anyone interested in Ancient Rome to read it. My only stipulation would be to not buy into Parenti's rather exhaulting view of Caesar, as after all, he was still a conqueror who upheld the class society that created and enabled him.