- Opening quote by or about the featured villain/villainess - Historical map, annotated with key locations from person's life - "A Wicked Web" featuring allies and enemies - Historical photos and etchings - Boxes with additional information - Photo documentaries: six to eight pages of photos and captions telling the person's life - Timeline, glossary, additional sources - Engaging narrative nonfiction written at a very accessible reading level
For an adult this book is a quick read, with plenty of illustrations and info boxes. Denise Rinaldo does a good job of presenting the basic facts of Caesar's life, with some helpful short-term background information added in for context. Overall, it's a fine introduction for anyone seeking "just the facts" on one of history's big names, and is ideal for the middle-school or high school audience to whom it is geared.
Perfect book for a review on Caesar’s life. Fast read that does a good job of posing questions and giving first-hand accounts of his life. The maps, pictures, timelines, and graphics are really helpful as well. Yes, it’s simplified but it’s exactly what I needed in order to refresh my knowledge on someone who was for a short time, he most powerful man on Earth.
Julius Caesar was a the emperor for life of rome. He became the dictatior of Rome by force and turned the Roman republic into a empire. He was a great example of corruption in our government today. And that is why we learn from him. I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about government.
Informative and fun book for middle schoolers. This parent learned a few things, too! The book presented information in a variety of ways including narrative, pictures and captions, a timeline and questions for discussion.
Originally started reading this with my brother in order to get him into reading and ended up really liking this. I'm not one for informational books but the way this book is set up makes it super easy to read and understand.
Quick and entertaining middle grade read that taught me a couple things, like the meaning of the expression "Crossing the Rubicon". Intended to be rad in the context of studying ancient history.
The informative book, Julius Caesar, is well written by the talented author, Denise Rinaldo. This book mainly focuses on how Julius Caesar was so powerful and important in Roman history. First, Julius Caesar was born on 100 B.C.E. He was named after his father, Gaius Julius Caesar. When Caesar was twelve, a civil war was going on. On 88 B.C.E, Sulla, a Roman consul, killed Caesar’s uncle, Marius. Moreover, just before Caesar was sixteen, his father died as well. This led Caesar to take control. “Now Caesar took over as the head of his family, left to fend for himself in a troubled city.” (Rinaldo, 29) However, on 82 B.C.E, Sulla had returned. He had also made a list of his enemies, and all of them would be executed. Caesar wasn’t on the list because Sulla thought of him as a powerful ally in the future. On 81 B.C.E, Caesar meets Sulla, and he is not happy with Caesar’s wife. Sulla wants Caesar to divorce with Cornelia. But, Caesar refuses, and Sulla then decides to arrest him. “Fearing for his life, Caesar had no choice but to flee.” (Rinaldo, 36) After Caesar runs away, he becomes a fugitive in the hills of central Italy. Meanwhile, Sulla is searching for Caesar, and each night Caesar had to find a place to hide in. Luckily, his mother had friends that were allies with Sulla during the civil wars. As a result, Sulla quits searching and forgives Caesar. At the age of twenty years old, Caesar travels 1,000 miles to the east of Asia, in which the governor sends him to fight in the Aegean Sea against the Greek city, Mytilene. This got him an award, which was the, Civic Crown. After that, Caesar learns that Sulla had died. So, he returns to Rome, and in 62 B.C.E, he is elected as the praetor. It didn’t last for long because in 59 B.C.E, he was elected consul along with Bibulus, a politician. Furthermore, Caesar’s first major battle as consul was in Gaul, where he then became considered as a war hero. This made Caesar one of the richest and most popular men in Rome. However, Caesar’s army defeated Pompey, who was a political leader. He still wasn’t captured. But, since the Egyptians have been partners with Rome, they have helped Caesar. In 48 B.C.E., the Egyptian pharaoh, Ptolemy XIII presented Caesar with Pompey’s head in a basket. Lastly, Caesar was chosen to be the dictator of Rome. Sadly, on the spring of 44 B.C.E, his friend Marcus Brutus assassinated Caesar by stabbing him several times. Thus, Julius Caesar was a powerful and important figure in Roman history.
This informative book had left the readers thinking about many questions. To begin with, the first question was, ‘What is Julius Caesar famous for?’ Well, Caesar is famous for helping the Romans conquer more land. He also led Rome to achieve many goals that many political leaders were not able to. As a dictator, he became one of the most powerful people from Italy. Next, the second question was, ‘Why did the author want to write this book? Denise Rinaldo wanted to write this marvelous book because she wanted to show who Julius Caesar was and what he had done to change Roman history. The author also wanted to get the readers interested on knowing Julius Caesar’s life, from his early years to his years as a dictator. Furthermore, the third question was, ‘What photograph in the book was the greatest? In this book, the greatest photograph would probably be the one where, Caesar is awarded with the Civic Crown. This photograph shows the reader how important Caesar was to the Romans and how much respect he had received for being courageous during his battle against Mytilene. Lastly, the last question the reader had was, ‘What is another title you would give this book? Why? A great title that would suit this topic would be, The Life of the Roman Dictator. This title suits this book because it tells the reader that the book will be about an important person in Roman history. As one can see, Julius Caesar had changed Rome and had also made it clear who ruled the Mediterranean.
Julius Caesar is a marvelous book that had the reader with many recommendations to certain kinds of people. First of all, my favorite part in this marvelous book is when Julius Caesar was chosen to be the dictator for Rome. This shows the reader what Caesar has accomplished because of his tremendous success. But, my least favorite part is when Caesar died on 44 B.C.E. It is a sad moment for Rome, since they had lost a war hero. Next, if I were to read another book by this author, I definitely would because Denise Rinaldo is incredibly talented. Her books are full of details, which keep the readers interested on knowing more. Lastly, I would recommend this book to people who like Social Studies. I would also highly recommend this book to people who want to know more about Julius Caesar and what he has accomplished throughout his life. As one can see, this marvelous book led the readers to know more about Julius Caesar.
I really enjoyed reading this biography. I think this would be a good bio to read for middle grade if they are familiar with Julius Caesar and Roman history and for those older (YA and adult) if they are not familiar. This was written in a more narrative style than most non-fiction these days, so it was interesting and easy to read. It was not a dry textbook-style biography/history book. Plus, I know enough about this time period that I felt the author wasn’t too biased in her writing. You generally can tell the author’s perspective or viewpoint and I felt she remained pretty neutral in her telling her story of Caesar.
I liked the format enough that I plan on reading others. I hope all the authors write them as well as she did.
The nonfiction informative book Julius Caesar was written by Denise Rinaldo. This story is a biography of the famous Roman emperor, Julius Caesar. The book opens when Julius Caesar was born in 100 B.C. to Aurelia and Gaius Julius Caesar. When Caesar turned seven, he went to explore the outside world of Rome and accompanied his father to the senate. Over the years, Caesar because an ambitious military commander. He formed an alliance with Pompey and Crassus and they dominated the Roman empire together. Caesar’s main conquest was conquering Gaul, and he finally accomplished it around 58 B.C. This led him to become the new roman emperor. Suddenly, a civil war happened in Rome and Caesar defeated Pompey, but received a horrifying gift from Crassus. He was given Pompey’s head chopped off. As a Roman emperor, Caesar changed the Roman empire, which led him to his main achievements. He granted citizenship to residents from different provinces, he increased the penalties of theft and murder in order to maintain rule in Rome, he launched massive building projects that created thousands of new employments, and he established the roman calendar which was similar to the one of Egypt. Unfortunately, Caesar encountered his last moments on the senate floor in 44 B.C. He was stabbed 23 times by the senators because they feared he was getting too much power and was going to build a dictatorship along with calling himself a monarch.
The reader can learn five important facts about Julius Caesar through reading this book. Primarily, Caesar was the roman emperor who conquered Gaul. Furthermore, the alliance with Pompey and Crassus as a military commander strengthened him to become an emperor. Tertiary, he launched massive building projects that created thousands of new jobs. Then, he was stabbed 23 times by the senators because they feared he was getting too much power and was going to build a dictatorship along with calling himself a monarch. Most importantly, Caesar established the roman calendar which was similar to the one of Egypt. This book is noticeable as a nonfiction book because it is a biography based on a true person, Julius Caesar. Every detail given in the book is sincere about an ancient roman emperor’s life and achievements. Another appropriate title that would be given to this book is The Ambitious Military Commander because it gives a clue to the reader about the main character’s personality. The name of the protagonist is not usually helpful because the reader has to guess and picture the story in his mind first.
This book is recommended to middle schoolers because it has an appropriate level of understanding and middle school is the period of time where students should gain more knowledge about ancient history and emperors. The most important part of this book was when Caesar’s accomplishments were told: he granted citizenship to residents from different provinces, he increased the penalties of theft and murder in order to maintain rule in Rome, he launched massive building projects that created thousands of new employments. This was an attractive part because the reader of a biography always searches for the accomplishments of the person’s life and how he/she became known as a hero or a villain. The least remarkable part in this book was when Caesar was stabbed 23 times by the senators because they feared he was getting too much power and was going to build a dictatorship along with calling himself a monarch. This shows the end of the life belonging to a hero and a roman emperor who greatly impacted Rome in several ways.
I feel that this book series is amazing! This book called Julius Caesar gave me great information even after I wanted to learn more so I did some research of my own about this subject. But from the book I learned that Julius was alive during 100 B.C! That was a LONG time ago. During the time of one of history's first great experiments in democracy held in Rome's central square, Julius did something. Attacked! He rose from his chaos to rule rome. He gained power and started a civil war. I'll let you find out if he won or not. This book was very interesting. To hear about the stories of fights for power the people he killed. All for one thing, POWER. In the time before Caesar Rome was ruled by rich aristocrats. He started a war to become sol dictator of Rome! Come and read this adventure of a horrible war. Did he win power or loose it all with the death of many people. Find out... If you dare.
Julius Caesar: Dictator for Life by: Denise Rinaldo Biography 128 pages Julius Caesar was born on July 100 B.C in Rome. He was a Roman general, statesman, Consul, and later on the dictator of Rome. Julius Caesar played a critical role in the events that led to the undoing of the Roman Republic. In 60 B.C, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed a political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. After several wars and Crassus's death Julius Caesar became the the dictator of Rome, turning a Republic city into a dictatorship. In the process of becoming dictator Julius Caesar also married Cleopatra. Because of all the political conflicts On the Ides of March ( March 15th) 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated at the age of 55 by a group of senators led by Marcus Brutus in Pompey Rome.
I gave this book 4 stars because this was a really interesting book that had a lot of good information. I never really in deepth new who and what Julius Caesar was and did, but this book really helped me get to know a lot of facts and stuff that I hadn't known before. I had heard of him lots of times but I only new a few stuff about him and I think this was a good chance for me to get to know more about him. I personally like the Wicked History series type books and I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a short and information filled book about Julius Caesar or really anybody in the Wicked History series.
This book is a book written by Denise Rinaldo talking about Julius Caesar. As I kept reading this book, I learned many new facts about Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was born in the year 100 B.C. He proved himself as a redoubtable military general by conquering Gaul, which is located in France. But that's not all, Julius Caesar also invaded Britain twice-in 55 B.C. and 54 B.C. Julius Caesar had massive political power. As a dictator, he had the right to veto the Senate. He was so powerful that he was given the status of a God. In the Roman coins, usually there are Roman God's faces on the coins; Caesar was so powerful he decided to put his face on the coins to have the status of a God. On March 15, 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was murdered. On that day he had a meeting with the Senate, which were about a group of 20 people. First, Servilius Casca struck his blade into Julius Caesar's back; then all of the other senators had their turn to struck their blade into Caesar. After being stabbed 35 times, Julius Caesar then had his last breath. Therefore, Caesar didn't because of a sickness, but because of an assassination.
I would recommend this book to all people who are interested into ancient rulers, emperors, or dictators. This book made me learn many new facts as well as facts that I already knew. If I would have to rate this book, I would rate it 4/5 stars.
Summary Julius Caesar, part of an aspiring noble family in Rome, came to power through the course of office ranks in the senate over the course of several decades. When he did, he declared that the Optimate party would be in rule (the party for the people) and also declared that he was the absolute leader/dictator of Rome after his campaigns in Gaul and Spain. His military expansion helped convert the Republic to an Empire and his rule was supposedly meant to bring more freedom to the citizens and to bring in better laws. He was assassinated by a large group of senators and Marcus Brutus, ending his long reign and setting path for Augustus Caesar.
My Thought(s) Julius Caesar was arguably one of the best leaders in his time and in Roman history. Most people have heard of him and his surname is responsible for many leader titles because of his success. (Kaiser, Tsar, etc) I knew a lot about him before going into this book so all of it wasn't really foreign to me, but it helped refresh my memory and it did give some things that I didn't know including the fact above that his name influenced the Russian rulers at one point enough to change their King title to 'Tsar'. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Roman history.
This series is great. They are quick reads with a lot of pertinent information on some of the most significant men and women in history. They are all considered to be "wicked" for some aspect, but are also very intriguing as well. This particular one was the one I wanted to read since reading another in the series. I like that it not only tells about their more famous exploits, but also some of the lesser known ones as well. You get to read about the younger days of Caesar and what led up to the day he dies, one of the most famous days in history. Though you know how it ends, it still is nice to see how it got there. There are many other books you would go to for a more in depth look at this icon, but this is a good starting point.
The great dictator Julius Caesar had many secrets. People think of him as a great leader and a powerful militant, and while he was all of these things and more, he also had a tinge of cruelty about him. The book Julius Caesar: Dictator for Life by Denise Rinaldo provides insight on his youth and rise to power as well as his private life. While Caesar is not usually considered mean and/or wicked, he did have some qualities about him that would nowadays be deemed evil. He is not known for being a cruel emperor, but he was not perfect. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Caesar as a person rather than an emperor because the information given concerns Caesar’s life off the throne. This book is part of the Wicked History series.
Author: Denise Rinaldo Genre: biography Length: 128 Julius Caesar was born in 100 B.C. A couple of years after he was born his uncle Marius began to fight agents Sulla. They waged war on each other. But sadly Sulla’s army where the victors of the war. Later Caesar took control of Gaul. After that Caesar began to get more and more power until he became director. Then a group people in the senate called the liberators crowded around him and killed him.
I gave this book four stars. Because I learned things I didn’t know. The author did a good job explaining it. Also has a map and a time line. Overall, these are the resigns that I give this book four stars.
Cesar was a powerful man. This book shows and describes that some people thought of him as a hero and others as a threat. He came from a mildly rich family, was liked by his teachers and was smart in a lot of ways. He learned that if you don't show empathy you will be a great leader. He got more cruel over the years and eventually was assassinated by his “friends”. They took the risk, because they thought he was getting out of control. This is definitely a must read if you like history.
Julius Caesar: Dictator for Life by Denise Rinaldo, tells the life of Julius Caesar, the man who caused democracy in Rome to disappear for hundreds of years. It is very factual yet still kind of interesting. I like the way that the author wrote it in the form of a story so that it was more captivating to it’s readers. One strength about this book is that it is short, so it is not very boring. I would recommend this book to people who want a quick non-fiction read.
We are reading Julius Caesar in class, and I got curious (as I do each year) about how close Shakespeare's play is to the actual events. The answer: Pretty Darn Close! This book was by no means comprehensive, but it did provide context and give background to many of the characters and situations involved. I'm glad I read it; I plan to read more.
A fantasticly interesting read about Julius Caesar and a must have for any elementary/middle school classroom or library. Students learning about Ancient Rome and this powerful although short lived dictator who changed the coarse of history and ended the Roman Republic forever, will love this book.
Attention all educators! This is a great nonfiction book for students. This is a part of the Scholastic Wicked Emperors series. The book is engaging and includes timelines and pictures. The series is appropriate for students in middle school and high school.
A very quick read; I was able to check this out before school, and turn it in by lunch. I say quick, but that does not make it uninteresting. This book provided great knowledge about one the most popular people to ever be in one of these books.
Julius Caesar wanted to become the ruler of Rome. But there was many challenges such as beating out other enemies and trying to become the most powerful. So Julius Caesar worked the hardest he could and was very brave and dedicated, and because of these actions, he became the ruler or Rome