Imagine a book about an unnecessary war written by the ruthless general of an occupying army鈥攁 vivid and dramatic propaganda piece that forces the reader to identify with the conquerors and that is designed, like the war itself, to fuel the limitless political ambitions of the author. Could such a campaign autobiography ever be a great work of literature鈥攑erhaps even one of the greatest? It would be easy to think not, but such a book exists鈥攁nd it helped transform Julius Caesar from a politician on the make into the Caesar of legend. This remarkable new translation of Caesar鈥檚 famous but underappreciated War for Gaul captures, like never before in English, the gripping and powerfully concise style of the future emperor鈥檚 dispatches from the front lines in what are today France, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland.
While letting Caesar tell his battle stories in his own way, distinguished classicist James O鈥橠onnell also fills in the rest of the story in a substantial introduction and notes that together explain why Gaul is the 鈥渂est bad man鈥檚 book ever written鈥濃�攁 great book in which a genuinely bad person offers a bald-faced, amoral description of just how bad he has been.
Complete with a chronology, a map of Gaul, suggestions for further reading, and an index, this feature-rich edition captures the forceful austerity of a troubling yet magnificent classic鈥攁 book that, as O鈥橠onnell says, 鈥済ets war exactly right and morals exactly wrong.鈥�
"This modern commentary on the Commentaries also 'lets you see Caesar the man and politician, not just the general he wanted you to see.'"鈥擱obert S. Davis, New York Journal of Books
"I rather like O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 asceticism. He sent me back to the original for first time in decades and drove home how rarely we approach these old warhorses with fresh eyes. . . . [O鈥機onnell] will convince you that Caesar was a very bad man indeed."鈥擬ichael Kulikowski, London Review of Books
"A vigorous, modern, and uncluttered translation."鈥擫awrence Freedman, Foreign Affairs
"Certainly one for the school library shelves or young friends and relatives (classicists or not) who may well be less acquainted with Caesar."鈥擜drian Spooner, Classics for All Reviews
"[A]n excellent translation . . . one that poses important questions about Caesar, his actions in Gaul, and the dying years of the Republic."鈥擜nthony Smart, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"James O鈥橠onnell has turned De bello Gallico into lucid, convincing, contemporary English. It鈥檚 a masterclass in translation, and a dangerously appealing introduction to 鈥榯he best bad man鈥檚 book ever written鈥�."鈥擟hristopher Whitton, Greece and Rome
鈥淛ames O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 version of The War for Gaul is as gripping and readable as Caesar's itself. Brisk, terse, and potent, the translation captures the meaning of the original. It is a marvelous achievement. I sat, I read, I loved.鈥濃�擝arry Strauss, author of The Death of Caesar
鈥淭o publicize his campaigns in Gaul, Julius Caesar invented a new genre鈥攁nd a direct, swift, but careful narrative style, like a tight skin around the events he recounts. James O'Donnell admirably renders this style in English, ventriloquizing Caesar's mysterious genius."鈥擲arah Ruden, translator of Augustine's Confessions
"This book invites us to rethink Caesar鈥檚 war commentaries not as epic history or grand adventure, but as highly political presentations. The introduction and notes provide rich context, penetrating insight, and grim wit, making clear that Caesar aims not merely to inform but to seduce. As James O鈥橠onnell so strikingly puts it, 鈥榓s you put down this volume, you have become Caesar.' "鈥擲teven Saylor, author of The Throne of Caesar
鈥�The War for Gaul is Caesar鈥檚 report of his conquest of Gaul, an amoral war and a vastly destructive prelude to political revolution at Rome. O鈥橠onnell does full justice to Caesar鈥檚 Latin, giving us an account as terse and understated as the original. The introductions preceding each Commentary give the modern reader a sense of the context that the ancient reader brought to the story and show us Caesar in the process of becoming Caesar.鈥濃�擟ynthia Damon, editor and translator of Caesar鈥檚 Civil War
"Caesar waged prose as he waged war鈥攊n ways swift, economical, and ruthless. One sign of the businesslike slaughter of this book is its author's famous use of the third person about himself. He made the mere word 'Caesar' a weapon to be wielded against his foes. O'Donnell enhances this fine translation by prefacing each yearly report from Gaul with a description of what was going on in Rome at the same time, allowing us to see how profoundly the two streams of action affected each other."鈥擥arry Wills, author of Rome and Rhetoric: Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"
鈥淢ost translations of Caesar give the impression that his style is weighty, ponderous, and, frankly, boring, but nothing could be further from the truth. James O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 version of The War for Gaul is much more successful than others in rendering Caesar鈥檚 taut, forceful prose in English. In replicating the economy and sweep of Caesar鈥檚 narrative, O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 version wins hands down.鈥濃�擩ames M. May, St. Olaf College
鈥淣o one has come close to capturing Caesar鈥檚 verbal celerity in anything like the way James O鈥橠onnell has. His disciplined application of a terse, bracing style is both readable and simulates something of the experience of the original audience. This makes for a gripping read and brings out what made Caesar famous as an author in his own time. A genuinely distinctive and valuable translation.鈥濃�擜ndrew M. Riggsby, author of Caesar in Gaul and Rome
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