Augustus

"At the age of nineteen, this singularly unspectacular man literally inherited the vast Roman world from his great-uncle, Julius Caesar. He ruled it, and he ruled it astonishingly well, given the odds and intrigues against him. To establish his base of power, he was obliged to put down (by a subtle combination of force and guile) the challenges of such men as Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, and finally Marc Antony. Cast in the form of letters, memoranda, dispatches, John Williams' biographical novel offers dramatic insights not only into Augustus himself but into the Empire over which he presided. We see Augusts as his peers -- perhaps most important, his daughter -- saw him; finally we see this rather withdrawn man as he saw himself" -- Publisher's description, preliminary page [3].