Caligula: The Mad Emperor of Rome

by Stephen Dando-Collins

Explore all of the murder, madness and mayhem in Ancient Rome during the reign of the mad emperor, Caligula.

In this book about Rome's most infamous emperor, expert author, Stephen Dando-Collins' chronicles all the palace intrigues and murders that led to Caligula becoming emperor, and details the horrors of his manic reign and the murderous consequences brought about at the hand of his sister Agrippina the Younger, his uncle Claudius and his nephew Nero.

Skillfully researched, Dando-Collins puts the jigsaw pieces together to form an accurate picture of Caligula's life and influences. Dando-Collins' precise and thorough examination of the emperor's life puts Caligula's paranoid reign into perspective, examining the betrayals and deaths he experienced prior to his time in power and the onset of a near-fatal illness believed to have affected his mental-health.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Biography, Roman History, Audiobook, Royalty

272 pages, Hardcover

Published July 30, 2019

About the author

Stephen Dando-Collins is the multi-award-winning author of 48 books. British reviewer, noted playwright Robin Hawdon, says that Dando-Collins is "the modern age's foremost dramatizer of Greek and Roman history," while American reviewer bestselling military author Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman has described Dando-Collins as "a literary giant." Considered an authority on the legions of ancient Rome, Dando-Collins has written ancient and modern history, children's novels, scientific nonfiction, and biographies. The bulk of his works deal with military history, ranging from Greek, Persian and Roman times to American, British and Australian 19th century history and World I and Word War II.
Many of his books have been translated into foreign languages including Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Russian, Albanian and Korean.
His most acclaimed book on the ancient military, 'LEGIONS OF ROME,' was the culmination of decades of research into Rome's imperial legions.
Dando-Collins aims to travel roads that others have not, unearthing new facts and opening new perspectives on often forgotten or overlooked people and aspects of history.
He has two new books in 2024: 'CAESAR VERSUS POMPEY: Determining Rome's Greatest General, Statesman & Nation-Builder,' (Turner, US), and 'THE BUNA SHOTS: The Amazing Story Behind Two Photographs that Changed the Course of World War Two,' (Australian Scholarly Publishing).

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did he really appoint his horse to Senate? Did he really commit incest with his sisters? Did he really try to erect a colossal sized statue of himself in the Temple of Jerusalem? Did he really set Pontius Pilate free?

This account of Caligula attempts to settle myth from reality while separating his cruelty with his dark humor. Rather than starting at his reign, this begins when Caligula is two years old. It recounts his father, Germanicus, and his successful campaigns under Tiberius. The reader experiences Germanicus’ heavy influence on the empire and on Caligula. Germanicus is the primary focus until approximately 18% (on a Kindle). Upon the death of Germanicus, the reader is thrown into familial conspiracies, senatorial plots, and marital affairs that saturate Caligula’s environment while growing up.

It isn’t until 27% (on a Kindle) that Caligula is deemed emperor. Caligula’s aqueducts, two new legions, rebuilding projects, and constructions are detailed. It is at 34% under the chapter “Enter that Monster” that Caligula is recorded to have changed in behavior after having suffered and survived influenza. His obsessions with the arts, sex, and entertainment are accounted for. It is with these obsessions combined with his lavish spending, paranoia, unpredictable violent outbursts, and the jealousy of others that lead to his demise.

The summation leads to the finale of Caligula’s mental health. Depression? Schizophrenia? Bipolar disorder? Hyperthyroidism? Wilson’s Disease? The author goes through various mental health conditions to support evidence on his claim concerning Caligula’s mental health.

Being only 287 pages on Kindle (or 272 pages hard copy), this is a crash course on Caligula. It is full of interesting facts and fascinating tidbits of history. The comparison between Trump and Caligula at the end was speculation and possessed too many opinions that should be left to the reader.
Many thanks to Edelweiss and Turner Publishing for this copy in exchanged for my honest review.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for my undergraduate senior thesis, which is on Caligula, and... holy shit.

The author unironically claimed that Tiberius was a pedophile that forced Caligula to have gay sex as a boy. Are you actually kidding me? The author picks and chooses what he wants to present from primary sources. He claims that Caligula engaging in incest with his sisters is just simply slander and probably didn't happen... then turns around and takes Tiberius being a "pedophile" at face value? Even though sources like Suetonius say that he was on Capri with scholars and philosophers, not little boys in a pleasure garden? Are you KIDDING me? I actually laughed at loud when I read those parts.

Also, some parts were written with an almost narrative quality. He fabricated dialogue between certain historical figures, which (though admittedly makes it more compelling to read) does not have much of a place in biography, in my opinion. At least not ancient biography. Biographies on more modern figures have a wide variety of sources that can be used to piece together a story so well that you can make it have a narrative feel, but ancient sources are so scarce that to inject narrative just comes across as a fictional.

Dando-Collins is admittedly a good writer, just the information was... not good, at all. He should have just written a fictional book about Caligula if he wanted to say that Tiberius was a pedophile and put narrative scenes into his book. Did he get the idea of Tiberius being a pedophile from the 1979 pornographic movie Caligula? Because I genuinely don't know what ancient source even says that. Also -- the section of Caligula being compared to Trump. God. People need to stop doing that. They're both "bad" people, that's the closest comparison that can be made. Just because you know who Caligula is and want to flex your knowledge of ancient historical figures does NOT mean you should write an article saying that he is like Trump. Dando-Collins humors this, and lists all the comparisons between them, which are so vapid and surface level. I swear to God, one comparison is "they both like sports." Like... bro... stop...

Sorry if you ever see this review, Dando-Collins. I feel bad I'm tearing this biography apart. But I've done so much research on Caligula (and I'm an undergrad that's doing this thesis in only a few months!) that this book was borderline offensively wrong. I'm going to include it in my thesis on a discussion on the trap of writing modern biographies on Caligula. Thanks for the material, Dando-Collins. Your biography wasn't that bad, I'm just a nerd writing about ancient and modern depictions of Caligula and this is perfect for my biography section.

[Ed Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was "bad, and dangerous to know," but was he "mad?" Probably not. Perhaps a little bit of temporal lobe epilepsy or bipolar issues, or something else which we will never know for sure, but not insane.

Others have made this argument before. For example Caligula: A Biography. That book is great, but focuses almost entirely on his adult life.

This book examines the whole drama-filled life of Gaius "Caligula" and his family; and boy, what a life! The fact that he didn't go insane is almost surprising. The fact that he was paranoid and cruel is no surprise at all; he wouldn't have survived otherwise.

Popular stories of him, like I, Claudius, exaggerate his behavior, and even invent false episodes. But there is no need for that. The real stories are wild enough. (The falsifications started very early, so there is always some doubt about what exactly happened. But we do know that he did not, for example, impregnate his sister and then kill the fetus. That is pure drama.)

If you know nothing about Rome in AD 1-50, then this might be a tough starting point. There are so many characters and they have so many similar-sounding names. But if you know of and can keep track of the most important characters, this is one hell of a story.

The final chapter compares characters from ancient Rome to contemporary American politics. I could do without that chapter, as I can make my own comparisons. Still, the book as a whole is highly recommended.

(Since I read an uncorrected advance copy, I will not comment on any errors I noticed, as they may be fixed before publication.)

[Justin Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not expect to encounter Trump Derangement Syndrome in a book about Rome. Th author devotes an entire hate filled last chapter to smear the President including saying the President has dementia. This last chapter wreaked an otherwise good book. I hope the author gets therapy.

[Alex Pler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenida biografía que casi se lee como una novela. El autor bucea en la actitud despótica y errática de Calígula y su turbulento reinado para dilucidar si era "solo" alguien cruel o padecía algún trastorno mental, quizás bipolaridad. Pero al leer cómo durante su infancia vio morir asesinados a casi todos sus parientes y colaboradores y cómo sus amigos y él mismo fueron prostituidos por su propio abuelo Tiberio, lo raro es que no hubiera reinado como lo hizo. Hay episodios que dejan Juego de Tronos en una chiquillada. Como nota mejorable: el último capítulo del libro intenta establecer un paralelismo entre Calígula y Trump, y lejos de añadir actualidad, creo que le resta valor a la obra.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book attempts two tasks and does so unevenly. On the one hand, the author wishes to rehabilitate the reputation of Caligula to a great extent and demonstrate that he was not so bad of an emperor as many people claim and in fact had very good reasons for what he did, even though what he did is hard to determine given the historical record that we possess. On the other hand, the author struggles with the desire of many people to connect Caligula with Donald Trump as being a suitable historical comparison. Admittedly, the author does not go full anti-Trump, but there is far too much discussion of handshake style and what it may mean and far too much speculation about issues of mental health, and the author's attempts to absolve Caligula of being a monster by considering him to be merely bi-polar does not necessarily fully clear him of his guilt for his crimes, and certainly if one looks at his short reign and its brutal end, he made a serious mistake in alienating so many people through his hijinks and his efforts at humiliating others. And of course, in seeking both to be a revisionist history that uses modern "insights" from psychology as well as a relevant work that speaks to contemporary political concerns, this is certainly a book of our time, if not a bad book by any means.

This book is 29 chapters and a bit more than 200 pages long, making its chapters generally very short. The book begins with maps, photographs, and an introduction. After that the book begins with a look at Caligula's early childhood (1, 2), his father's triumph (3) and violent death (4), as well as a sham of a murder trial after that (5). This is followed by how Caligula was nursed as a viper (6), while his grandmother brought down the powerful Sejanus (7). Talk about yielding the upper hand (8), showing his ambition (9), and being hailed as Caesar upon the death of Tiberius (10). After this there are chapters about his monstrous beginning (11), the death of his sister (12), his spendthrift ways (13), and his marriage (14), invasion of Germany (15), and his walking on water (16). Further chapters deal with Caligula's phony triumph (21) after a war (20), as well as the mounting victims of his regime (22), his loss of friends (23), and the forming of (24) and execution of (25) a plot to kill him, avenged by his uncle Claudius (26), after which the author deals with Nero's reign (27), the question of madness (28), and the supposed similarity between Caligula and Trump (29), after which the book ends with notes, a bibliography, and an index.

Was Caligula a mad emperor of Rome? That depends on what one means by mad. is it mad to sleep with the wives of others as a means of humiliating the powerful or to exhibit fits of depression and mania that made it impossible to behave in a way that would be appropriate for a Roman emperor. But this book's defense of Caligula amounts to one of those Russian dolls that, simply reveals another aspect of madness. If Caligula was not necessarily out of his mind in the way that others would assume, the author still points out that he suffered from mental illness (in the author's case, the assumption is manic depression, otherwise known as bi-polar disorder) that was not treated because of limitations in ancient sorcery when compared with contemporary pharmacology. Similarly, the author considers Caligula to have been massively paranoid, and that adds to the level of mental health concerns one would have about him, and the unsuitability he had in ruling over the Roman Empire or anything else. After all, those who cannot govern themselves do not deserve to govern others.

[Rebeka · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the beginning and the end Stephen Dando-Collins falls into the habit of an academic, trying to invent a reason applicable to the modern, regular-people world as to why his research is important. He doesn't realize that it's just plain interesting all on its own. You don't need to compare ancient Romans (rather unsuccessfully) to Donald Trump or Harry & Meghan for it to be a valid piece of work.

For most of the book however, he relates the life of Caligula, a famous and short-lived Roman emperor, who, legend says, made his horse a senator. Dando-Collins tries to separate fact from fiction, and I cannot judge with what accuracy, because I lack the background.

Still, for a newbie like me, this is a good, entertaining read on one of the emperors, while still being seemingly historically accurate - Dando-Collins does cite his sources and, for the most part, refuses to speak in absolutes.

This book is full of random facts on Roman life, which I appreciated, like this quote on chariot racehorses:

The chariot corporations ran stud farms around the empire and had their own fleets of ships fitted out to carry horses from province to province. Always on the lookout for the best steeds, they also sent agents to general horse sales. By law, those agents had first pick of horses on sale, even ahead of dealers buying horses for the Roman army.

Here is an example of how Dando-Collins tries to infuse his text with impartiality, which I very much appreciated:

In May 1944, during World War II, the museum caught fire, and the Nemi ships were destroyed. Retreating German troops were accused of deliberately setting fire to the museum, although U.S. Army shells landing in the vicinity at the time may have been the cause.

And here is an example of how Dando-Collins sticks his nose in topics in which he does not belong in. He has no background or experience with mental illness, only the definitions offered in DSM-5, which, as anyone knows, is simply not enough to be able to diagnose anyone. Here is his attempt at diagnosing Caligula, and Donald Trump, a living person:

Neither Caligula nor Trump fall into the category of psychopath, whose defining qualities include a poor socioeconomic background, criminal behavior in childhood, and a suicidal tendency, none of which can be attributed to either man.

[Jolinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 sterren, als je het laatste hoofdstuk even negeert waarin de auteur Caligula en Trump probeert te vergelijken (ik gok zo dat de auteur democraat is)

[Quinby6696 Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating biography of Caligula. Dando-Collins debunks some of the more outrageous stories about Caligula - like his making his horse a consul which was quite possibly just a joke. Caligula had a dark, sometimes twisted sense of humor. The author finds it unlikely that he had sex with his sisters. However, there is plenty of evidence that Caligula was a cruel and impetuous ruler and caused the deaths of multiple people. Comparisons of Caligula to Donald Trump have been out there even before Trump's election in November of 2016. An interesting part of the book is in the last chapter where Dando-Collins talks about the similarities and differences between Trump and Caligula. As he says, comparisons between historical figures centuries apart is not a new thing for historians. Witness Plutarch's early work comparing a collection of such figures. Dando-Collins doesn't believe either Caligula or Trump fit the profile of a psychopath, but he does believe they both exhibit the characteristics of sociopaths - not able to recognize mistakes, lack of empathy, no childhood friendships, and many more. He does not believe history will treat Donald Trump kindly, but as he says, the final determination will come from historians far in the future.

[David Turko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fascinating. It is full of interesting facts and tidbits of Caligula's life. I really didn't know much about Caligula before this book but now I'm very interested to know more about Roman history

[Enrique Hernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy buena la comparación de Caligula con Tramp

[Lluis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divertido, atrevido y simpático; aprendí

[Andrew Reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Dando-Collins' Glaring, Stylistic Caligulan Biography Is Worthy Of Both 'Gladius Et Pugio'.

'Caligula: The Mad Emperor of Rome' by Stephen Dando-Collins is an interesting beast to be sure. The trade paperback edition I own is about 225 pages in length. I'd never read a book by Dando-Collins, I had very little in the area of preconception on what to expect upon diving into it. On the surface, 'Caligula : The Mad Emperor of Rome' is structured in a way that's relatively similar to some of the contemporary biographies on Caligula which adopt a more scholarly, factual approach in regards to their composition & substance, such as Anthony Barrett's 'Caligula : The Corruption of Power' & Aloys Winterling's 'Caligula : A Biography', but the resemblance is only skin-deep, as this book is very dissimilar to either of those two, in many ways. There's a short introduction, followed by the work itself, which is apportioned with additional notes & annotations which correspond to sections in the back of the volume, providing the reader with supplemental information to enrich his or her enjoyment of the book. And it is an enjoyable read to be sure. There's a lot to be said for the way 'Caligula : The Mad Emperor of Rome' is written, because it reads quickly & doesn't bog you down with detached historical citations & overly studious observations if you're just a casual Roman history fan looking for a stylishly-penned, mostly historically-accurate narrative of Caligula's story. If that's what you're looking for, that's exactly what this book provides.

'Caligula : The Mad Emperor of Rome' is composed of twenty-nine chapters, & with the exception of perhaps two of them, all are of easily-digestible size. The writing is mostly above-average & laced with 21st-century comparisons, similes & analogies to assist new readers in immersion with the era of history 'Caligula' takes place in. Aspects of Roman culture, or famous people in Caligula's time are given modern comparisons (i.e. - Agrippina the Elder & Germanicus are likened to Jackie Kennedy & J.F.K.). I've a feeling a lot of hardcore history fanatics are going to cry foul about this book, for a lot of reasons, but I think it's absolutely important for people to understand that this was meant to be a more universally accessible, historical narrative accounting of Caligula's life & reign. It wasn't supposed to be the de facto successor to Barrett's 'The Corruption of Power'. There are a ton of things about this novel that I enjoyed immensely; its accessible-yet-stylized appeal being but one of them.

For the people reading this review that aren't familiar with Gaius Caligula's history, I think one of the most glaring truths to be ascertained early on is the dominant female presence the women close to him fostered in the young man's childhood & subsequent reign. Early on, every male that could have cultivated paternal or filial protection for Caligula was either poisoned, assassinated, or exiled/starved to death. As a result, Gaius looked to his beautiful, formidable mother, Agrippina the Elder, to serve as a role model to emulate. His paternal grandmother was Antonia the Younger, daughter of the legendary Marcus Antonius. And Caligula had three royal, Roman patrician sisters with Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla, & Livilla, who were all the adult blood relations remaining to him by the time he seized power in 37 A.D. In 'Caligula : The Mad Emperor of Rome' I feel that Dando-Collins does a superb job of bringing the females in Caligula's life to the forefront of the narrative & keeping them there, as they should most assuredly be, as much as possible for the purposes of the story. Because it's a documented historical fact that Caligula both relied upon & showed favoritism to women while he was in power, which really should not come as a surprise, due to females playing such an instrumental role throughout his life. Gaius had such affection for his sisters that his desire was for the Roman people to view the three on a comparable level as his own. And the majority of Gaius Caligula's female 'calesti sanguine ortam' (that's Latin for 'blood relatives') were famous for their charisma & for their beauty.

Actions Caligula precipitated, such as ordering the manufacture of commemorative Roman currency celebrating his mother Agrippina & his three sisters is mentioned. He effectively utilized their overpowering sex appeal (all of Caligula's sisters & his mother were reputedly gorgeous to behold) to provide a constant visual reminder of the dominant female Julii presence to the citizens of Rome. Dando-Collins even brings the seldom-mentioned sexual tutelage which Gaius received personally from the renowned Roman courtesan Pyrallis into the narrative, which impressed me in its attention to detail.

In one of the later chapters, Dando-Collins goes into a great amount of depth, thoroughly elucidating upon one of the least-explored areas of Caligulan lore, that being the decadent, extravagant & flamboyant coterie of imperial freedmen that Gaius surrounded himself with while he ruled. The handsome Greek Gaius Julius Callistus, his hedonistic daughter Nymphidia & her son Nymphidius Sabinus are seldom found in Caligulan works that I've read, but they are often-mentioned here. His 'ab epistulis' (secretary of correspondence) Obulus & his imperial spymaster Protogenes appear as well, & perhaps most notorious of all, the infamous Egyptian 'libertini' Halycon, an ex-slave whose razor-barbed insults & humiliating mockeries became spectacles which entertained the emperor tremendously. 'Caligula : The Mad Emperor of Rome' does appropriate justice to the seldom-visited areas of hedonistic pleasure & decadence of Caligua's reign that historical sources often omit or minimalize.

'Caligula : The Mad Emperor of Rome' also demonstrates another strength that I haven't seen done quite to the level of effectiveness that Dando-Collins manages to pull off here : He successfully uses accredited historical sources from antiquity & combines them with modern biographical works to draw some nice conclusions for folks who might be newcomers to Roman history looking to get their feet wet. Suetonius' 'The Twelve Caesars' is frequently mined for subject matter, as is Tacitus' 'The Annals','The Histories','Agricola' & 'Germania', not to mention Cassius Dio's somewhat-suspect 'The Roman History' & numerous works by Philo of Alexandria, Pliny the Elder, the philosopher Seneca ('Epistles' & 'On Firmness'), even Petronius' 'The Satyricon' managed to find its way into the lineup. These aforementioned classical works are complemented by various modern bios written by a robust group of authors : Barrett's & Winterling's work with 'Caligula : The Corruption of Power' & 'Caligula: A Biography' I've mentioned already, & Lee Fratantuono's 'Caligula : An Unexpected General' as well as the less-recent J.P.V.D. Balsdon's 'The Emperor Gaius' also make appearances & references. If you've read some of these titles I just mentioned it does enrich the experience of reading this book, but it's definitely not required to do so. The historical background you need to have fun with this book is pretty much zilch, Dando-Collins does a good job of fleshing things out for readers.

There's also a comparison of Donald Trump to Gaius Caligula as the topic for the final chapter in the book which should get people appropriately riled up. If you take into consideration the fact that Gaius Caligula died at the age of 28, & Donald Trump is now 74 years old, their personalities would probably generate some fairly volatile were it possible to sit them down next to each other. Dando-Collins utilizes contemporary works on 45th President such as 1987's 'The Art of the Deal' that Trump co-authored with Tony Schwartz & Bob Woodward's 'Fear : Trump in the White House' from 2019.

Overall, I would recommend 'Caligula : The Mad Emperor of Rome' for people looking to read a stylized, fun narrative of the 'Mad Emperor' Gaius Caligula's reign. It reads like a well-directed episode of HBO's classic drama 'Rome' but with well-integrated 21st-Century commentary to keep readers engaged & engrossed in the storyline. The story of Caligula's life & reign would be a marvelous premise for an HBO Original Series, I'm quite sure they could take Gaius' story in a direction that would have more widespread appeal than Penthouse 'Caligula' B-movie from the 1970's. Books like this could help with the subject matter being more popular. In any regard, the book is fantastic & I wholeheartedly recommend it to you if what I've written about it strikes a chord with you at all. I hope it assisted you in forming an opinion of whether or not you want to read it.

[Tahlia Fernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main part of the book is quite good; interesting, informative, and well written.

In spite of me enjoying the bulk of the book, the author makes a number of mistakes that ruined the book for me by the end. The author makes the mistake of pulling modern figures into a history book before they have completed their lives and no further mistakes or redeeming actions can be made. This causes the book to age badly in certain areas, especially where Germanicus and Aggripina the Elder are compared to Harry & Meghan (the book was released in 2017; this definitely did not age well). The other issue was the proposed thesis at the beginning of the book for the last chapter. I strived to keep an open mind, although I very much dislike modern American political opinions (or any political views) being forced upon me in a history book on antiquity (or any time).

The book's main flaw is that it chooses to compare a modern day politician to Caligula. And the bias shows. It's quite unfair to compare any modern day American politician - no matter how disliked - to Caligula, who would vindictively kill others or order them to kill themselves. The author goes to far. It's a shame. This book was good except at the end. A history book really, really needs to leave modern & living figures out of the book. Especially in such an overblown comparison to a politician who does not literally cause others' deaths in the way Caligula did.

Most politicians seem to be narcissists on some level or another; that does not make most politicians comparable to Caligula. I wish that the description of the book had let me know the thesis of the last chapter of the book beforehand; I would not have purchased it. I don't read history for the author to ram their political views down my throat. I like to think I'm intelligent enough to make connections myself if they exist. The last chapter has left a bad taste in my mouth.

This kind of dramatic hyperbole is like comparing everyone one doesn't like to nazis. It's ridiculous. If you can stomach the last chapter, this book is great... or if you skip the last chapter altogether.

Dear authors of history books,
If you decide that you are a political pundit as well as a historian, please at least be honest about that in the description of your book. Not everyone who reads about ancient history desires to read about modern American politics; some of us read to escape that or -- shockingly -- aren't American, and might not care to have America sprinkled into everything.
Yours truly,
A Disgruntled Reader

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy in return for an honest review.
This book is chockablock full of interesting facts and covers Caligula’s life with shorter overviews of his father’s and his successor’s. Dando-Collins is obviously a very versed and through Caligula researcher.
Personally, I would have liked a more dramatic telling of some of these unbelievable tales, but maybe that is why I normally read novelizations more than straight non-fiction.
I am not sure I agree with his conclusions about Caligula’s mental health, but it is hard enough to diagnose someone alive now, near impossible to diagnose someone from 2000 years ago.
Normally I wouldn’t read about a historical character and try to find a modern day equivalent, but Dando-Collins states at the beginning that he wants to compare and contrast the emperor with President Trump. This meant I was comparing and contrast the figures throughout the book. And I have to say, I don’t see them as the same. They may share some narcissist qualities, but Caligula is just an entire order of magnitude worse than our President.
Anyway, it is worth the read if you are interested in a comprehensive biography of the mad emperor at only 277 pages. And you will understand why he was assassinated after only 4 years.

[María Engracia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estaba reticente a leerlo después de leer varias reseñas en prensa y alguna entrevista al autor esperaba más de lo mismo, pero finalmente me he animado y me he llevado una grata sorpresa con su lectura. No solo se lee rápidamente, sino que además el autor, buen divulgador, no da su opinión (puesto que no es historiador) y se limita a dar los hechos que narran las fuentes y a reproducir las hipótesis de grandes especialistas.

Se trata, por tanto de un compendio de erudición donde tiene cabida desde Graves hasta Winterling. Un análisis exhaustivo a la vida de Calígula desde varios puntos de vista.

Lo que no me ha gustado es el presentismo que utiliza el autor en algún momento (lo típico de comparar el mundo antiguo con el actual) que los divulgadores creen una herramienta útil y yo creo que está fuera de lugar. Tampoco me ha parecido correcto comparar a Calígula con Donald Trump en el último capítulo.

De todas formas lo recomiendo, me ha parecido una biografía amena y estupenda para conocer un poco mejor al emperador y su contexto histórico.

[Christan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed several of Stephen Dando-Collins books on the Ancient Roman World. This wasn’t one of his stronger efforts, but it was entertaining and informative nevertheless. Does it matter if Caligula (known officially in his day as Gaius Caesar) was insane, or just or mean and twisted? His actions were horrific regardless of intent. Lord Acton’s quote (power tends to corrupt ...) rings true for anyone, at anytime, who is given authority, without the ability to wield it properly. Lord Acton also stated that, “Great men are almost always bad men.” Was Caligula a great man? He was certainly notorious. Was he a bad man? Yes, definitely. Was he a weak and malleable individual, heavy influenced by many other men and women in his orbit? Oh, yes. The last chapters comparison of Caligula and Donald Trump is an incredible stretch and completely unnecessary to the book.

[Nick Broderick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the historical part of the book was well written and a great introduction to Caligula and his entire life, start to finish. The author’s take on contemporary politics, however, seemed out of place. It wasn’t needed and took away from his otherwise good work. He can write his own political commentary if he wants to, but please put it in its own book, not slipping it into the final chapter.

[Maranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written account of Caligula’s life. Not much new info but a good story telling by author. The best part is the final chapter comparing Caligula to Trump!

[Tekken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonäe, järjekordne raamat Caligulast! Pealkiri ei tõotanud midagi head, aga algus oli asjalik ja enam-vähem sama tase püsis lõpuni, kuigi võrdlus Trumpiga (samuti viide Sussexi hertsoginnale) oleks võinud ka olemata olla. Mina kahtlustan, et Trumpi peatüki soovitas lisada marketingiosakond, kes oli veendunud, et see trikk kõnetab tuhandeid pahaaimamatuid lugejaid, kellele hullu keisri nimi on paremal juhul tuttav filmi järgi.

Kui Anthony Barrett väitis, et Caligula oli pigem Stalini-tüüpi autokraat ja Aloys Winterling pidas teda Rooma keisri kohta päris normaalseks, siis Dando-Collins pakub välja mitu võimalikku diagnoosi. Täpselt nagu Mithridates VI puhul eelistan mina ära oodata, kuni ajas rändamine taskukohaseks muutub, ja ise asja uurida. Kurikuulsa keisri iseäralikku huumorimeelt arvestades oleks seejuures mõistlikum temast veidi kaugemale hoiduda.

Ilmselt on Dando-Collins kõik läbi lugenud, mis inglise keeles Caligula kohta leidub, ja ise ka asja uurinud. Kogu see inf, mis nt Siegfried Obermeieri raamatus puudus, on siin olemas, kaasa arvatud kontaktid gladiaatorite ja egiptlastega, Rooma toodud obelisk, too kurikuulus sild ja päris pikk Nemi järve laevade kirjeldus. Möödaminnes mainitakse ka uusimat teooriat nende laevade hävimise kohta. Dando-Collinsil on igasuguste kurioosumite suhtes üldse hea nina – nt Julius Caniust ei mainita Caligulaga seoses mitte just üleliia tihti.

Caligula-vastaste vandenõude osa oli nõrgem kui Barrettil või Winterlingil, aga atentaadi kirjeldus oli jälle korralik. Nero peatükk jättis suht igava ja mõttetu mulje.

Kokkuvõttes päris lahe lugemine: mitte üleliia põhjalik, aga ikkagi nauditav. Autorile soovitaks praegused marketingimehed lahti lasta ja samas vaimus jätkata.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book - as someone who knows nothing about any roman emperor thinks anyway. That being said - the author seems to paint a more sympathetic picture of Caligula than I have previously considered. So if you're thinking of reading this and getting all the super crazy stuff you see in the movies, you might be disappointed. There are strange things for sure to the modern day reader, however they had more to do with Roman culture than the peculiarities of one man.

I would have given this book a higher score but it seems clear that this author has TDS - and I found that annoying. This topic does NOT make up the bulk of the book - but the last chapter or two are comparing Trump to Caligula - and it's just crazy. For me that was a drag on the main material - which was as I said, fascinating to me.

So if you too suffer from TDS - you'll LOVE the end of the book. If however you just wanted a book that talked about a historical figure you weren't familiar with - I still recommend it, just skip the last two or three chapters.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 3 out of 5]

After an engaging introduction, the author spends six or seven chapters relating to affairs that Caligula had no direct involvement with. In short, it's off-topic, which is a pet hate of mine in biographies.

The narrative becomes more interesting once Caligula becomes the focal point, but I found the style a bit dry and my concentration often wavered.

I feel the author carries on too long after Caligula's death, too, so once again it's off-topic. Summarising what happened to those close to Caligula is fair enough, but it goes on too much for me.

I stopped reading altogether when reaching the last chapter, which is about comparing Caligula to Donald Trump. Not because it's DT; it wouldn't matter which current personage the author chose, it's the whole idea of attempting something like this.

Some people may like this kind of comparison, but I like my biographies on long-dead people to remain within their lifespan.

The book does have interesting passages, so I've rated it three stars, not two.

[Zac Curtis · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrative of Caligula's reign was for the most part clear and provided plenty of detail about his reign and character. As a whole the book felt light on analysis and more of just a rehash of his entire reign from the primary sources. Dando-Collins is heavy on analysis at the beginning of the book and at the end, ultimately I found he was not being consistent to what he scrutinized and what he didn't. I wish there was more of a defense, a reason as to why he acted the way he did. Considering the source material is so hostile, it's quite possible there is no other reason than insanity and evil. It does sound like other authors he referenced in the book took stronger looks at the reasoning behind his actions. The last chapter is something I could have done without, but it didn't affect my opinion on the book.

I'd read other books on Caligula before this one, but as a simple narrative on his reign this is a fine read. If you want more analysis look elsewhere

[Haelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10. Wasn't that bad, considering I had to read this for school, but it wasn't really the best either. It provided a good deal of information about Caligula, from his youth to his death, but there were times that felt as though it was more narrative than informational. However, this was still a pretty good book with a lot of information.

I think that something that was pretty prominent in this book is the power structure. Now, because Caligula was the emperor (and a popular one at that), he got away with doing a whole lot of things that no one else would be able to, showing how powerful being at the top of the power structure can be. However, being at the top is also very dangerous, which is shown by Caligula being assassinated by multiple people below him on the power structure. The thing I find interesting about this power structure is the fact that despite the person at top doing terrible things and being assassinated, the power structure continued to stay the same for centuries instead of changing.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"No one becomes a villain in an instant."

This is the second historical biography I have read, and though it is likely less accurate, it is far more entertaining. It's written in a style where people are "quoted" speaking, so it feels more like an exciting story. Man, the Roman times were wild, glorious, and messed up. It was great getting to know a little more about the time, and one of its more colorful emperors.

3.5/5 Stars

[PJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read on an interesting historical figure. I don't know that the author really makes a point for Caligula not being mad, even if some of his actions can be explained as logical. I don't necessarily think the book needed to dwell into the comparison of Trump and Caligula. In all honesty I didn't even both to read the chapter because it seemed so unnecessary.

[James Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have two issues with this book. First. The author seems to sympathize with Gaius' cruel actions, commenting that they are the result of a "misunderstanding of his strange sense of humor." The second is the author writes of Pontius Pilate as if he actually existed.

[somebody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though the book is extremely entertaining and I really appreciated the two last chapters which serve as a satisfying conclusion, I cannot rate this book any higher. I'm not fond of translations yet judging from the comments I daresay this is an underlying issue of the book itself.

[Jeremy Maddux · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this doesn't reinvent the wheel with the character/historical figure, it at least hits all the high notes with his life and career.

[Alireza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich and accurate, I haven’t read any book about Caligula, but I think you can find all things you like to know about him and his era.