Two thousand years after Julius Caesar's death, the civilization he inspired in Rome still lives on everywhere in Europe and the western democratic world.

All men are riddles, but none was more so than Caesar. He rocked Rome with reforms; his name became a symbol of authority and majesty; and he held more power than any other conqueror in history. His burning dream was to organize Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East into one single unit; and he became master of the world of his time.

John Gunther delves into a history studded with heroic memories to present this engrossing picture of a man who was egged on to desperate measures by feverish ambition. He traces Caesar's stormy life—his young, his struggles to get ahead, his marriages, and his romance with Cleopatra, one of history's most fascinating women. We march with Julius Caesar through the nine-year conquest of Gaul, and the hotly-contested battles in Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean. We see the glories he tasted such as no Roman had ever known before or since. And we see him cut down in the prime of life.

More than a brilliant military chieftain, more than a colossal solider and statesman, Julius Caesar was a complex man. In this fascinating book, John Gunther clearly shows us the riddle that was Caesar and re-creates the events, the times, and the forces that shaped the life of the man who came, who saw—and who conquered!

From the dust jacket