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How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide to Truly Terrible Leaders (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers) Hardcover – February 4, 2020

by Suetonius (Author), Josiah Osgood (Editor)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 34 ratings
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What would Caligula do? What the worst Roman emperors can teach us about how not to lead

If recent history has taught us anything, it's that sometimes the best guide to leadership is the negative example. But that insight is hardly new. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Suetonius wrote Lives of the Caesars, perhaps the greatest negative leadership book of all time. He was ideally suited to write about terrible political leaders; after all, he was also the author of Famous Prostitutes and Words of Insult, both sadly lost. In How to Be a Bad Emperor, Josiah Osgood provides crisp new translations of Suetonius's briskly paced, darkly comic biographies of the Roman emperors Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero. Entertaining and shocking, the stories of these ancient anti-role models show how power inflames leaders' worst tendencies, causing almost incalculable damage.

Complete with an introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, How to Be a Bad Emperor is both a gleeful romp through some of the nastiest bits of Roman history and a perceptive account of leadership gone monstrously awry. We meet Caesar, using his aunt's funeral to brag about his descent from gods and kings―and hiding his bald head with a comb-over and a laurel crown; Tiberius, neglecting public affairs in favor of wine, perverse sex, tortures, and executions; the insomniac sadist Caligula, flaunting his skill at cruel put-downs; and the matricide Nero, indulging his mania for public performance.

In a world bristling with strongmen eager to cast themselves as the Caesars of our day, How to Be a Bad Emperor is a delightfully enlightening guide to the dangers of power without character.

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  1. Part of series
    Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers
  2. Print length
    312 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  5. Publication date
    February 4, 2020
  6. Dimensions
    4.75 x 1 x 7 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0691193991
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0691193991
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A gleeful new compendium of dastardly highlights from Suetonius' The Lives of Caesars . . . Horribly fascinating." ― Minerva

"[How to Be a Bad Emperor is] a look at some of the worst emperors from history and how they failed. I am a big believer in learning from cautionary tales, and while of course many of the stories from ancient Rome are extreme, there is plenty to take note of here."---Ryan Holiday, Reading List Newsletter

"How to Be A Bad Emperor deftly demonstrates what tendencies make a poor leader and exposes fatal character flaws along with a good dose of humour. It's a rollicking, funny, and educational eyeopener on Roman leadership, and a great introduction for newcomers to Suetonius' work. A must-read for anyone interested in Roman History."---Sandra Alvarez, Ancient History Magazine

"Fun and instructive."---Brook Manville, Forbes.com

"[How to Be a Bad Emperor] cleverly reproduces the choicest bits of Suetonius’s writings."---Adrian Woolridge, Bloomberg Opinion

"[In How to Be a Bad Emperor], Osgood has provided an important reminder of the delicacy of systems, and how once they are overturned, the citizenry will be eagerly and easily trammeled by power hungry narcissists."---Mary Spencer, New Criterion

"A deft introduction to the world and mindset of the Caesars." ― Inside Story

"How to Be a Bad Emperor is an exuberant, witty, and incisive critique of four power-hungry egomaniacal Roman emperors. . . . Superbly translated."---Antonio Battagliotti, Open History

"An accessible translation. . . .there is no doubt that this volume is a timely product in our era of rising authoritarianism across the globe."---Mallory Monaco Caterine, Polis

Review

"If you're fascinated by the Roman emperors―and who isn't?―you'll enjoy this clever and expertly translated set of selections from the granddaddy of all Caesar watchers, Suetonius."―Barry Strauss, author of Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine

"In the present crisis of leadership, How to Be a Bad Emperor is quite delicious. What continues to make Suetonius's rogues' gallery of Roman rulers worthwhile as well as entertaining is what he has to say about power as an enabler of human awfulness, at every level."―Cynthia Damon, editor and translator of Caesar's Civil War

"Readers of this evocative translation will immediately see the power of Suetonius's Lives, the acuity of his descriptions, and the immediate relevance of his study of individual characters and their leadership qualities. How to Be a Bad Emperor is a unique and appealing book."―Edward J. Watts, author of Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny

"This enticing selection from Suetonius's Lives highlights the role of four Roman emperors as anti-role models―egregious examples of how not to behave, which may also resonate with more recent political leaders."―Catharine Edwards, author of Death in Ancient Rome

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press; Bilingual edition (February 4, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691193991
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691193991
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.75 x 1 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 34 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Suetonius

    Suetonius

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  2. Josiah Osgood

    Josiah Osgood

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    Josiah Osgood is a professor of Classics at Georgetown University in Washington DC. He began learning Latin as a high school student in Ithaca, New York and went on to major in Classics at Yale University. He is fascinated by the Greeks and Romans themselves and the way their government, architecture, theatrical entertainments, and so much more permeate modern culture. The author of many scholarly works on Roman history, he has also written a more general survey, Rome and the Making of a World State. For Princeton's series Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers he has produced translations of Suetonius and Sallust.

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
34 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

SueSurf77
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2020
Verified Purchase
Wonderful! Listened on audible
One person found this helpful
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Michael C. Farrell
3.0 out of 5 stars Overpriced and basically an easy-bake-oven translation of Suetonius.
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
Book was a watered down and bowdlerized list of all the most awful of the emperors from Augstus' line. Not a lot of context provided; and, the worst was yet to come emperor wise...
3 people found this helpful
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Daniel Funke
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent Introduction to Suetonius's Writings
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2020
I've now finished eight volumes in the Princeton University Press series Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers, and like the other seven, I have thoroughly enjoyed this book.
This volume contains excerpts from Suetonius's biographies of four 'Caesars': Caesar himself, Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero. But rather than focusing on their political legacies and accomplishments, the excerpts highlight negative traits that rendered these men infamous. What is left are stories of vanity and violence.
How to be a Bad Emperor is edited by Josiah Osgood, who does a good job introducing the book, as well as the excerpts, while keeping his comments to a minimum to let Suetonius speak for himself.
This is an excellent introduction to Suetonius's writings. 4.5 stars.
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