The Assassination of Julius Caesar
A People's History of Ancient Rome
by Michael Parenti
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"Parenti . . . recreates the struggles of the late Republic with such
scintillating storytelling and deeply examined historical insight." --Publishers
Weekly
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"Savagely entertaining ... history at its most provocative ... [a] lively,
lucid tract." --Kirkus Reviews
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"With laser sharp research and analysis, Michael Parenti burns away
stale orthodoxy and distortion. What a remarkable people's history!" --Mark
Solomon, Professor of History Emeritus, Simmons College
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"Provocative and eloquent." --Howard Zinn
Most historians, both ancient and modern, have viewed
the Late Republic of Rome through the eyes of its rich nobility. They regard
Roman commoners as a parasitic mob, a rabble interested only in bread and
circuses. They cast Caesar, who took up the popular cause, as a despot
and demagogue, and treat his murder as the outcome of a personal feud or
constitutional struggle, devoid of social content. In The Assassination
of Julius Caesar, the distinguished author Michael Parenti subjects these
assertions of "gentlemen historians" to a bracing critique, and presents
us with a compelling story of popular resistance against entrenched power
and wealth. Parenti shows that Caesar was only the last in a line of reformers,
dating back across the better part of a century, who were murdered by opulent
conservatives. Caesar's assassination set in motion a protracted civil
war, the demise of a five-hundred-year Republic, and the emergence of an
absolutist rule that would prevail over Western Europe for centuries to
come. Parenti reconstructs the social and political context of Caesar's
murder, offering fascinating details about Roman society. In these pages
we encounter money-driven elections, the struggle for economic democracy,
the use of religion as an instrument of social control, the sexual abuse
of slaves, and the political use of homophobic attacks. Here is a story
of empire and corruption, patriarchs and subordinated women, self-enriching
capitalists and plundered provinces, slumlords and urban rioters, death
squads and political witchhunts. The Assassination of Julius
Caesar offers a compelling perspective on an ancient era, one that contains
many intriguing parallels to our own times.
Contents:
Introduction: Tyrannicide or Treason?
1. Gentlemen's History: Empire, Class, and Patriarchy
2. Slaves, Proletarians, and Masters
3. A Republic for the Few
4. "Demagogues" and Death Squads
5. Cicero's Witchhunt
6. The Face of Caesar
7. "You All Did Love Him Once"
8. The Popularis
9. The Assassination
10. The Liberties of Power
11. Bread and Circuses
Appendix: A Note on Pedantic Citations and Vexatious Names
What readers, editors, and other authors are saying about The Assassination
of Julius Caesar
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"A wonderful book" Richard Wiebe
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"A magnificent read" Peter Livingston
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"Fascinating . . . thrilling" Colin Robinson
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"Excellent, parts of it are great literature" Carlo Ferretti
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"Very impressive. It is a wonderful read! with a very effective use of
humor" Gregory Elich
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"So interesting and well-written . . . endlessly fascinating to see the
parallels to modern times" Marco Ugolini
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William Yates of Oneonta, NY , offered these observations with
the book's listing at Amazon.com
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"Parenti's discussion of the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar is radically
enlightening. His presentation, like a fork of lightning, illumines the
history of Rome. It's real and revelatory. I understand the history as
I never before did. I can relate it to my life experiences and give it
heft and dimensions because Parenti writes of and documents very well the
crucial forces that were at work. He makes clear what the "gentlemen historians"
with their upper class biases have so muddled. The words flow clear, the
concepts easily grasped. He has a sweet way with words. He adds a very
useful appendix that enables one on their own to penetrate into the scholarly
resources available.An excellent book."
.... for further information about Michael Parenti and his work, visit:
www.MichaelParenti.org
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