Roman historian Suetonius wrote The Twelve Caesars in the second century, and many subsequent writers have appropriated the title. In this latest example, British journalist Dennison (Livia, Empress of Rome, 2011, etc.) summarizes Suetonius and other ancients (Pliny, Tacitus, Cassius Dio, Josephus) as well as scholars today, who often quarrel with their interpretations. Lacking strong opinions himself, the author delivers agreeable biographies of Julius Caesar and 11 subsequent rulers. Caesar is a surprisingly attractive character. Although fiercely ambitious, he was not particularly bloodthirsty, often pardoning opposition leaders who later turned against him, Brutus among them. The changes wrought during his few years as dictator strike us as reasonable in light of the disorder and corruption of the previous 50 years. They also struck most Romans this way, and his assassination was the work of an aristocratic minority. His grandnephew, Octavian, required a brutal decade to set things right before taking power himself as Augustus and ruling rather well for 40 years. Of his successors, only one, Vespasian, was popular at his death. Reigns were often short; eight emperors died violently. Domitian, murdered in A.D. 96, was the last of the 12; five competent rulers followed, but for accounts of those, readers must consult Edward Gibbon. Sticking to biographies, Dennison emphasizes his subjects' upbringings, family relations and personal qualities, which, more so in the bad emperors, includes a wearisome amount of sexual activity, debauchery, murder, torture and betrayal. The author includes a family tree for both the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the Flavian family. Dennison provides a capable series of portraits, but those searching for a richer analysis of Roman culture and government during this era should read Adrian Goldsworthy or Michael Grant.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The author of Livia, Empress of Rome (2011) imitates Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars. Designed to interest readers in the original, it characterizes ancient Rome's top dogs, from Julius Caesar to Domitian, through several means. Handling cautiously the salacious details in which Suetonius reveled, Dennison relates the reputations Suetonius, augmented by Tacitus, imposed on the--well, what were the leaders of the Roman Empire to be called in the first century CE? The title implied the nature of the regime. Dictator-for-life Julius Caesar posed as a restorer of the Republic, as did the princeps (first citizen), Augustus. It fell to the later Caesars in the sequence to forthrightly acknowledge a monarchy by adopting the title of emperor. Not that all of them were interested in government. The lurid images of Caligula and Nero as appetite-driven psychopaths derives from Suetonius, who, as Dennison underscores, favored the military chieftain who emerged victorious from the civil wars of 69 CE, Vespasian. With lapidary pith, Dennison wrestles with the calumnies and biases of ancient sources to produce fascinating portraits.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2010 Booklist

Seeking to write popular history, Dennison (Livia, Empress of Rome) has constructed a narrative that his classical forbears, Suetonius, who wrote the original Twelve Caesars, and Roman historian Tacitus, would instantly recognize and appreciate. Although classified as biography, the book does not delve into the lives of the Caesars from Julius Caesar to Domitian so much as it presents a gossipy history of their reigns. Dennison wants also to shed light on Suetonius and Tacitus themselves, while encouraging readers to return to those sources. Heavy on scandal and short on critical analysis, his book fails to achieve his stated goal. We learn every last detail of each of these men's purported sex lives and murderous appetites, but very little about their accomplishments. Dennison mostly gives lip service to the nature and veracity of the original sources and why they might want to smear a previous emperor. Modern scholars have debunked many of these myths and though Dennison occasionally accepts this, he is still eager to embrace the salacious, as well as quick to judge according to modern mores. VERDICT Rapidly paced and full of trashy details and anachronistic judgments, this is not responsible history, but it may be popular with the History Channel crowd. Serious students should look elsewhere.-Evan M. Anderson, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.