ePub The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar; W. A. Macdevitt in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great work for study of the ancient Gauls or even French history.By M. YoungbloodI would give this 4 stars were it not for the fact the format of the book is a little plain and there are numerous typos; which is inevitably my fault since I purchased a rather cheap edition; but price was not the only thing influencing my decision; Macdevitt's translation was one of the simplest ones; with no annoying overly pro-Caesar or overly pro-Gaulish prefaces; poor English translations over-shadowed by pages of beautiful Latin; or bizarre un-professional and ill-suited British characteristics in the English such as ''cock-a-hoop''. Anyways; I'm not reviewing this as a student of Latin or even of Rome (though I can see this work would be convenient for that) but as an amateur yet highly engrossed student of ancient Gaul and French history. Like any Roman; Caesar can't be wrong and is biased against the Celts; but he's a political and military figure writing propaganda letters back to Rome; I don't expect standing ovations or ceaseless applause for the people standing in the way of his goals; and I'm not particularly offended. Of course; study of the Gauls would be 20 times less messy if the most detailed records of their society; politics and doings in history had not been written by disinterested foreigners who typically resented them and believed in stereotypes. Still; this book is one of the best options for an in-depth student of the Gauls; so on with the description: Caesar includes a large portion in one of his books which endeavors to tell us a little of Gaulish culture and politics; and I would say he was quite accurate in ascribing to them a certain favoritism for Mercury (Roman rendering of a Celtic deity associated with travel and commerce; perhaps Lugh); since there is much archaeological evidence to support post-Gallic Wars era worship of a Celtic deity renamed Mercury; especially in Auvergne; where (according to Pliny; I believe) a colossal statue of him carved by a Roman or Italian sculptor was erected. Caesar also provides a similar following section dedicated to the Germans; though some of what he says about their religion isn't in accordance with information provided by later authors; but after all; he was a very preoccupied person and he had less experience with them than with the Gauls. So; for anyone getting started studying the Gauls; I recommend beginning your journey in the tale of this passionate;; metallurgic and impetuous people reading Caesar's book; a firsthand account of many of their actions. Besides; the arrival to the story of Vercingetorix in chapter seven is worth it's weight in gold; I must say he's an interesting ancient historical figure; and probably my favorite to read about. Besides; the Arverni are my favorite tribe.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great story; okay translation; bad cover artBy DonnaGot this book and have been reading it for a few days now and enjoying it. The translation here by Macdevitt sometimes gets me lost in the details and there's even grammatical errors sometimes in the book.The worst part about this book is the cover art. It could not be a worse representation of the art it's supposed to depict. It's overstretched and really could have been done differently; and better if it looked like it took more than 10 minutes in photoshop.This isn't the book you put on a shelf or out in the open. It's the type you hide from visitors before you get a different copy.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Wow!! What a treat to be able to ...By The HikemasterWow!! What a treat to be able to read Caesar's words after 2;000 years!!! What a learned individual----makes him more of a 'real' historical personage.