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Augustus by Antony Everitt

What a fantastic book of history. It mixes facts and their interpretation in a proportion so perfect that it makes you walk through Rome that was two thousand years back. Augustus was a very great man, but he gradually grew into greatness. He was a physical coward who taught himself to be brave. He was intelligent, painstaking, and patient, but could also be cruel and ruthless. He is one of the few historical figures who improved with the passage of time. May I achieve the reward to which I aspire ... of carrying with me, when I die, the hope that these foundations I have established for the state will abide secure." His hope was fulfilled. Of all Rome's emperors, he reigned the longest; and his work lasted, with modifications, for many generations. How many statesmen in human history can lay claim to such a record of enduring achievement? Augustus had put the state in order not by making himself king or dictator, but by creating the Principate. The empire's frontiers were