Do You like book Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga Of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion And The Armies Of Rome (2004)?
An interesting and enjoyable book that provides a detailed view of some of the major Roman military encounters through the eyes of the 10th Legion. The most detail is devoted to battles of the civil war that ended the Republic. The book is a bit hard to get into at first, but the last 2/3 are quite a bit of fun. One caveat--Caesar's Legion is meant for readers who are fairly familiar with Roman history of this period. I believe the book would be far less enjoyable if one were not already knowledgeable regarding the general events described.
—Tony
Firstly I must make an admission that I am no expect on this area of history. However I do appreciate a good historical account and that is what you will find with Dando-Collins book on the Roman 10th Legion. I have always enjoyed history books covering this period of time and I was prompted to buy this book after reading Major Clunn’s excellent book In Quest of the Lost Legions, which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in Roman history.In Stephen Dando-Collins book Caesar’s Legion the reader is offered a rarely seen look at the battles and campaigns of Rome’s Legions during the time of Julius Caesar. The centerpiece of the book is the 10th Legion, raised by Julius Caesar and used by him throughout as his elite shock-troops. Not only does the book provide you with an interesting and detailed insight into the 10th Legion but also the author provides you with a detailed narrative of the battles and campaigns fought by Roman Legions throughout the known world.We read about the officers and men of the 10th Legion including its recruitment, training, makeup and organization along with detailed descriptions of their fighting. The book details all the known campaigns and battles, from the English Isles, Gaul and Italy to the Middle East. The story covers the campaigns against rebelling tribesman in Gaul and Germany to the many set piece battles against other Roman Legions during the Civil War. The narrative continues with the life of the 10th Legion after the death of its founder, Julius Caesar. We follow the Legionaries to the Jewish fortress of Masada and read about the campaign against the Jewish Zealots with its grim ending.The book is easy to read with a smooth and descriptive narrative. The story is well researched and has a number of maps to assist the reader in following the campaigns of the 10th Legion. No illustrations are provided which is a slight disappointment but more than made up for with the rich narrative. This is a great story and I am sure that anyone who enjoys good historical accounts with love this story of "Caesar’s Legion”.
—'Aussie Rick'
In Caesar's Legion Stephen Dando-Collins provides readers an account of the most famous Roman legion, the Tenth, that both novices and enthusiasts of Roman history can enjoy. Dando-Collins writes in his introduction that thirty years of research went into this book. The wealth of information presented in the narrative and several appendices makes it show. The book also relies primarily on a wealth of classical sources (Polybius, Tacitus, Plutarch, etc.), and Dando-Collins also does well at presenting all accounts when there are conflicting ones, and pointing out probable or definite errors in the classical sources. There is also a series of maps at the beginning of the book for readers to reference as they progress through the narrative.Despite the wealth of information, Caesar's Legion doesn't get bogged down in the details. The prose is easy to read, and pleasant, and the chapters are broken up into easily digestible lengths. Dando-Collins also usually uses modern place names and modern ranks in place of Roman ones. This is both a strength and a weakness of the book. Modern terms are easier for the general reader to follow, but if you're interested in further classical reading, or you've already done some, it's not very helpful, since most works use the Roman titles and place names. The maps also could have been better, in a couple of ways. While it's nice that there are several maps included at the start of the book, they would aid the reader better if they were inserted in relevant parts of the narrative instead. The maps are also all large scale, regional maps, so there isn't much detail. There are no battle maps to help the reader trace the course of the many battles related in the narrative.Despite a couple of weak spots, Caesar's Legion is an enjoyable, accessible book that both general readers and Rome enthusiasts should enjoy.
—Andrew
