The Gallic Wars
"The Gallic Wars" is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Roman conquest of Gaul, in modern-day France. Books I through VII are Caesar's own written dispatches to the Roman Senate, while Book VIII was added later by Aulus Hirtius.
Stats for nerds
11recommend
44mentions
42people
2009–2024years
27% recommend66% neutral7% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- "Art of war", Sun Tzu -- only partially applies to modern wars, still a great reading. Many to the point maxims to understand life, history and the world.
"The Gallic Wars", Julius Caesar -- for the enjoyment of reading a 2k years old book by a major historical character. Probably more interesting if you are french, belgian or german. Truly epic ending with the battle of Alesia. The staging of this battle is almost unbelievable although to date, every archeological finding has only confirmed the description made by JC.
Both are short, direct, self contained books.
- On History: Not textbooks, but if you want an enticing read to relatively recent times, I suggest biographies.
Ron Chernov: Alexander Hamilton. An excellent introduction to the birth of US. As a european US history is not that well covered in our school. There's also the musical version by Lin Manuel Miranda which alone is worth a few books of education alone.
On the birth of modern india: Herman: Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age
On the roman world: Julius Caesar: Gallic wars. This is a surprisingly readable book given that it's a propaganda piece written two thousands years ago. Highly recommended as it gives insight to just how organized-yet-cruel the ancient world was.
General history:
Acemoglu: Why nations fail. This is a must read. It attempts to explain (with great success) how institutions have molded the modern states into the way they are now, and what exactly seems to be at the root of inequality and prosperity.
If I had to recommend two books, "Why nations fail" would always be one on that list.
- Julius Caesar "Gallic Wars" is certainly worth reading, translated from Latine to French, so probably, the English version is very good also.
In French, some of the best ones include Chateaubriand "Mémoires d'outre Tombe" (Memoirs from Beyond the Grave), the epic life story of a French writer from the American Independence war to the end of the French monarchy mid nineteen's century.
- Caesar fought and defeated armies several times the size of his own. If his troops lost, it was because he wasn't commanding them at the time. He was truly the best general ever... according to Caesar himself.
Since the only records we have for the Gallic Wars is Caesar's own Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, we have no choice but to believe him. It is a great book though, especially if you're interested in how old school propaganda was done.
- I agree. This episode is called The Celtic Holocaust. Great alternate read of the Gallic Wars by Caesar.
- Listening to the audiobook of The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar is rich in detail and really grabs you by the throat. The classically trained narrator is superb. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snft290-FRc&list=PLpO7W_VntC...
