Caesar's Legion

The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome

By: Stephen Dando-Collins

Narrated by: Stuart Langton

Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Stephen Dando-Collins paints a vivid and definitive portrait of daily life in the Tenth Legion as he follows Caesar and his men along the blood-soaked fringes of the Empire. This unprecedented regimental history reveals countless previously unknown details about Roman military practices, Caesar's conduct as a commander and his relationships with officers and legionnaires, and the daily routine and discipline of the Legion.

From penetrating insights into the mind of history's greatest general to a grunt's-eye view of the gruesome realities of war in the Classical Age, this unique and riveting true account sets a new standard of excellence and detail to which all authors of ancient military history will now aspire.

©2002 Stephen Dando-Collins (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Written in a readable, popular style, this book is a must for military buffs and anyone interested in Roman history at a critical point in European civilization." (T.R. Fehrenbach, author of Lone Star)

Great book!

Awesome insight into Caesars Campaign in Gaul and Italy. A few mispronounced names and words are the reason performance is 4 stars instead of 5.

Entertaining

I have read War of the Jews by F. Josephus and enjoyed this book very much.

good points of view on the ground

from soldiers perspective well done. literary licences taken comparing new and old terms is fine. this is not written as the definitive document so ignore the negative nitpicking.
an excellent visual accompanyment is the free Kings and Generals "Ceasers Civil Wars" channel on Youtube.

A Wealth of Knowledge and Detail

Having recently listened to the very fine introduction to Roman History - The Modern Scholar: A History of Ancient Rome, I was interested in reading a little more in depth about Julius Caesar. Although I have little interest in military history, I thoroughly enjoyed Caesar's Legion and was amazed at the detail and wealth of knowledge about this time in history that is available, and that the author made use of to write this book.

A wonderful storyteller, Dando-Collins gives us a vivid and compelling portrait of Julius Caesar, the man, the military leader, and the legions he fashioned. Although much of the book is devoted to Julius Caesar, several chapters continue the story of the Roman Legions, the 10th in particular, long past his assassination.

Readers with a passion of ancient military history will likely appreciate the book more than I did; however, anyone with an interest in Roman history should find great enjoyment in the book.

Stuart Langton does a fine job of narration.

All in all, a great read!

Legio X is a great read

i have read this 4 times now I can listen to it many more. a must for any Roman military lover.

Legio X

Dando-Collins's chronicle of Rome's most intimidating fighting force goes into more personal detail and with a more immediate focus than most other histories that tell the broader story.
You will finish this book with a better understanding of the Roman Military and an undying respect for Caesar's greatest soldiers.

Easy listening

A pleasure to listen to. It became a daily ritual to listen and the reader made it easy.

Worthy listen for Roman or military history fans

I’d noticed this book for some time but finally gave it a listen after it became free with membership. If I could give it 4.5 stars I probably would.

The author states the book is about Legio X, one of Caesar’s most renowned legions, and it is. But it’s more than that, at its best in my view this is a book about the late Republican/early Principate civil wars told through the lens of the 10th.

By personal preference, I enjoyed the first 3/4 or so of the book the most, as I prefer the civil war era history. If you’ve listened to Goldsworthy’s excellent books and want more then you’d probably enjoy the more in depth military focus of many key battles in the era. I thought the details of unhappiness among the X, IX, and even XIII to be fascinating and rather than learning of sporadic mutinies as I did in other works, I got a sense of how persistent unhappiness was among serving men during the period, and how often Caesar ignored past promises. I got an even better insight into what a master manipulator the man was. I also appreciated the recurring profiles of different key Centurions weaved throughout the narrative.

The last 1/4 of the book was less interesting to me but does have worthwhile details of Parthian and Germanic campaigns, which I’ll probably revisit in future when I’m in one of my Imperial phases of interest.

Narration was solid, not one of my favorites but quality.

Overall would recommend listening for free if you have even a passing interest in the topic. Would not have purchased this book unless I was deep in Roman military history phase. But glad I listened.

An exciting portrait of an incredible unit

This was far more then a dusty portrayal of a part of Roman history. The author’s enthusiastic words combined with the exceptional performance by the narrator, make this a must listen for anyone interested in Roman conquest and/or military history.

Well Done

A must listen for any Ancient Rome enthusiast. In depth review of the victories and defeats of the Roman legions.