The Gallic Wars
by Julius Caesar · first published 2012
26% recommend67% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
First-hand account by Caesar of his campaigns, valued as a readable primary source on the Roman world and a clear window into ancient warfare; readers often pair it with maps to trace the army's movements.
Common criticism: Caesar's self-serving account is seen as prone to exaggeration.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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You will not be wasting your time poking around the great stuff in http://classics.mit.edu/Browse/index.html One of my favorites is Caesar's The Gallic Wars, because it's so amazing that we have his very own account: http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/gallic.html Josephus' account of The Jewish Wars is amazing. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations is a must-read: http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.html
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗…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.…
on “Ask HN: What, in your opinion, are the greatest and most useful textbooks?” ↗I always recommend, to anyone who hasn't already read them, that they read Julius Caesar's The Gallic Wars and The Civil Wars. One of the greatest generals and leaders of all time personally wrote amazing war journals, and they survive mostly intact today. Nothing else like these exist.
on “Ask HN: Book recommendations?” ↗Along with the Anabasis and Caesar's Gallic Wars, I particularly recommend Johnnie Johnson's Wing Leader, Hanson's Western Way of War, and Oman's Art of War in the Middle Ages.
on “Ask HN: good books about military strategy?” ↗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...
on “Maps of the Roman Empire” ↗…you're interested in this type of thing, be sure to check out the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World [1]. I have a copy, and while it is expensive, it is simple _amazing_. I read Caesar's Gallic Wars again and followed the movements of the army using that book and it was an intellectual orgasm of note. I'll never read a military history book again without a detailed map, it completely changes the…
on “Maps of the Roman Empire” ↗I agree. This episode is called The Celtic Holocaust. Great alternate read of the Gallic Wars by Caesar.
on “Passé présomptif: on Vercingetorix” ↗…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.
on “Napoleon Was the Best General Ever” ↗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…
on “Ask HN: What is the best autobiography you have read?” ↗"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…
on “Ask HN: Life Changing Books?” ↗Commentary on The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar
on “Ask HN: good books about military strategy?” ↗…understand the pressures on Machiavelli while writing) Likewise, reading autobiographies and first hand accounts alongside commentaries can be interesting. I like Julius Cesar's autobiographical "The Gallic Wars." I have an electronic copy of Flavius Josephus's Books of the History of the Jewish War against the Romans, but haven't read it yet - but that looks really, really fascinating to me. I'll read it along…
on “Ask HN: Best books on Politics” ↗…ever need to know. I think you can get some of the Harry Potter books in Latin, if that sort of thing takes your fancy. Once you've acquired a moderate mastery, you will find something like Caesar's Gallic Wars to be quite an easy read (though stylistically he ain't much cop).
on “The Vatican's Latinist” ↗> "without copyright there will be no writers" Just recently had a bit of a good laugh about this. I decided to read Caesar's notes on Gallic wars, and downloaded some random .fb2 It turned out to be a preview fragment, which ended with a stern warning that it is illegal to break copyright laws and that this book can be legally purchased via provided…
on “Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland” ↗…newer Disney plus films have Italian. And italian is just very easy in itself. Latin is a lot tougher because there's not as many books in it, and they tend to be not as easy. I've only read Caesar's Gallic wars and Winnie the Pooh. And the grammar is hard. I recommend checking out Lingua Latina Per Se, and youtube channels on Latin Grammar (there's one really good one, 'latintutorial'). Still, this is by far…
on “Duolingo reaches $6.5B valuation on day of IPO” ↗