Trying to clear away the "twaddle" that surrounds Julius Caesar, Dando-Collins (Caesar's Legion) provides a page-turner of a history describing step-by-step the events leading to the assassination of Julius Caesar and the impact of his removal on the collapse of the Roman Republic. Caesar's rise to power and his limitless ambition posed an immediate threat to the survival of the Republic, which caused fear and consternation in those, such as Marcus Brutus, who nobly wished to defend Roman democracy. Brutus and his fellow senator Cassius planned the assassination and, with the help of yet other senators, carried it out on March 15, 44 B.C.E. Public sentiment originally favored the Liberators, as the assassins were known, but, thanks to the scheming of Marc Antony and the fickleness of the crowds, Brutus, Cassius, and others were forced to flee the city. In the months that followed, Antony and his sometime ally, Caesar's heir, Octavian, destroyed the Liberators only to later wage war against each other. Antony's ultimate defeat led to Octavian's installation as the first emperor, Augustus Caesar. The dramatic story examines the roles of soldiers, politicians, philosophers, wives, and mistresses with perhaps too much emphasis placed on the ever-popular Cleopatra. 2 maps. (Feb.) (Publishers Weekly, December 21, 2009)

?

Atlas. Author's Note. Introduction' PART ONE THE CONSPIRACY. I January 26, 44 b.c.: Seven Weeks before the Assassination. II February 15, 44 b.c.: The Lupercalia. III February 22, 44 b.c.: The Caristia Reconciliation. IV February 24, 44 b.c.: Pressuring Brutus. V March 1, 44 b.c., The Kalends of March: Dictator for Life. VI March 2, 44 b.c.: Recruiting Fellow Assassins. VII March 7, 44 b.c.: A Visit from One of Caesar's Generals. VIII March 9, 44 b.c.: Porcia's Secret. IX March 14, 44 b.c., Afternoon: Cleopatra and the Equirria. X March 14, 44 b.c., Evening: The Best Sort of Death. PART TWO THE MURDER. XI March 15, 44 b.c.: The Ides of March: Caesar Awakens. XII March 15, 44 b.c.: The Ides of March: In the Dark before Dawn. XIII March 15, 44 b.c., The Ides of March: Caesar Must Suffer Caesar's Fate. XIV March 15, 44 b.c., The Ides of March: The Crime. XV March 15, 44 b.c.: The Gathering Storm. PART THREE AFTERMATH AND RETRIBUTION. XVI March 16, 44 b.c.: Pleading for the Republic. XVII March 17, 44 b.c.: The Jostle for Control. XVIII March 18, 44 b.c.: The Liberators Gain the Advantage. XIX March 19, 44 b.c.: Caesar's Will. XX March 20, 44 b.c.: Caesar's Funeral. XXI March 21, 44 b.c.: Antony Consolidates His Grip. XXII March 24, 44 b.c.: Enter Octavius. XXIII March 27, 44 b.c.: The Name of Caesar. XXIV April 7, 44 b.c.: Wise Oppius. XXV April 10, 44 b.c.: Caesar's Heir. XXVI April 11, 44 b.c.: Octavian Meets with Antony. XXVII April 14, 44 b.c.: The Aedile's Refusal. XXVIII April 22, 44 b.c.: Octavian Seeks Cicero's Support. XXIX May 11, 44 b.c.: I Don't Trust Him a Yard. XXX May 18, 44 b.c.: Undermining Antony. XXXI May 31, 44 b.c.: Reforming the Praetorian Cohorts. XXXII June 2, 44 b.c.: Antony Outsmarts the Senate. XXXIII June 7, 44 b.c.: No Plan, No Thought, No Method. XXXIV July 13, 44 b.c.: The Last Day of Brutus's Games. XXXV July 20, 44 b.c.: The Liberators' Manifesto. XXXVI July 28, 44 b.c.: Cicero's Departure. XXXVII August 16, 44 b.c.: Like Hector the Hero. XXXVIII August 30, 44 b.c.: Cicero Returns to Rome. XXXIX September 15, 44 b.c.: The Liberators Reach Greece. XL September 23, 44 b.c.: Octavian's Nineteenth Birthday. XLI September 28, 44 b.c.: The Plot to Assassinate Antony. XLII October 9, 44 b.c.: A Dreadful State of Affairs. XLIII October 18, 44 b.c.: Antony Joins His Legions. XLIV November 4, 44 b.c.: Octavian Recruits an Army. XLV November 18, 44 b.c.: The Road to War. XLVI November 27-30, 44 b.c.: Anthony's Legions Rebel. XLVII Early December 44 b.c.: The Rise of the Liberators. XLVIII Second Half of December 44 b.c.: Antony Makes His Move. XLIX January 1-4, 43 b.c.: Debating Antony's Fate. L Late December 44 b.c.-Early January 43 b.c.: The First Assassin to Fall. LI February 4, 43 b.c.: State of Emergency. LII April 14-26, 43 b.c.: The Mutina Battles. LIII May 7, 43 b.c.: Cassius Overruns Syria. LIV May 30, 43 b.c.: Lepidus's Betrayal. LV August 19, 43 b.c.: Octavian Charges Caesar's Murderers. LVI Early November 43 b.c.: The Triumvirate and the Proscription. LVII December 7, 43 b.c.: Killing Cicero. LVIII October 1-21, 42 b.c.: The Battles of Philippi. LIX Judging the Assassins and the Victim. Notes. Bibliography. Index.