History through the winner – Caesar on the Civil Wars

The Civil War by Julius Caesar

Casear’s The Civil War is actually three related books: a long one by Julius himself on the initial crossing of the Rubicon, the battles in Spain and defeated Pompey in Alexandria. His account ends abruptly, but is continued by anonymous accounts continuing through events in Alexandria, then through northern Africa and finally in Spain.
Like his account of the Gallic wars, Casear’s section is straight-forward and enthralling, although one should keep his aims in mind: these are not unbiased looks at how things unfolded. These books were meant to show how great a leader he was; in so many words, they’re propaganda, reading meant to excite the masses.

Even now, some 2000 years after the events within took place, they’re still great reading. Unlike some of his contemporaries – Plutarch comes to mind – Casear’s prose is uncluttered and direct. When he writes of battles, his first-hand knowledge shines: at times it feels like a conversation with the leader. But when he writes about how he spared this person or that town, showing off how merciful he could be, it bogs down the general reader (although it’s worth noting he was pretty lenient, much more so than some of the people who followed him as Emperor).

However, the other three books are more mixed: the Alexandrian account is interesting reading, the Spanish War is fragmentary and disjointed and the African war is somewhere in between. The differences between them and Casear’s are stark, and not just in language: only after you see them repeatedly say the gods decided who would win which battle do you realize secular Casear’s writings could be. All three aren’t quite as interesting as Casear’s account, either: they range between too unwieldily and too fragmentary. Oftentimes, they don’t have the access to the larger picture that Caesar’s does: they focus more on the front lines then the strategy. Still, their addition completes an incomplete picture.

Penguin’s edition is translated by Jane Gardner, who also provided a great introduction and copious notes in the back: maps, a listing of who’s who and many footnotes, all of them helpful, throughout the book. I can’t speak to the nuts and bolts of her translation, I’m willing to credit her for how readable the book is, especially given the state of the last two accounts. While her translation is pretty simple for the most part, it can to be long-winded at times. Take this example, addressing Pompey’s front lines at the battle of Pharsalus:

Between the two armies there was just enough space left for them to advance and engage each other. Pompey, however, had told his men to wait for Casear’s onset, and not to move from their positions or allow the line to be split up. He was said to have done this on the advice of Giaus Triarius, with the intention of breaking the force of the first impact of the enemy and stretching out their line, so that his own men, who were still in formation, could attack them while they were scattered. (Pg 152)

The value of this book as a primary source can’t be overstated, either. Precious little has come down to us from this period in time; that we have the memoirs of not only one of the leaders, but from the eventual dictator of Rome, is itself pretty damn cool. On that alone, I’d recommend this book. That it’s a genuinely exciting and lively read is a welcome bonus.

Rating: 7/10 The Civil War is a great, if biased, read on the end of the Roman Republic. The average reader start with a modern history of the Civil Wars – Tom Holland’s Rubicon comes to mind – before moving to a primary source like this. For those willing to delve a little deeper, and read between the lines here, The Civil Wars is a rewarding read: Casear’s accounts take you right to the battles. The other accounts? Not so much.

The ancient biographer

The Fall of the Roman Republic: Six Lives by Plutarch

A selection from Plutarch’s wide-ranging Lives series, The Fall of the Roman Republic focuses on six of the pivotal figures of the Roman Republic changing into the Empire: Gaius Marius, Sulla, Crassus, Pompey, Julius Caesar and Cicero. Writing in the first century AD, Plutarch compiled biographies of famous Romans and paired them with figures from Greek history: Alexander the Great to Caesar, for example.

It should be noted that Plutarch wasn’t a biographer, at least in the modern sense. He was more of a moralist: his Lives matched two people and were followed by an essay comparing the two, always with a point to be made. His depiction of people – Pompey comes to mind right away, but he’s not the only one – sometimes varies from account to account.

In this volume, Penguin’s messed with the format: the lives are grouped by era. Even in this state, it’s easy to see why Plutarch was popular in antiquity: his biographical sketches are good, dramatic reading. It’s little wonder they’ve inspired writers like Shakespeare. That they’re oftentimes inaccurate isn’t especially the point: they’re moralizing, yes, but they’re fun reading.

The life of Caesar is a good example. In Casear’s own memoirs of the Civil Wars, he makes almost no account of crossing the Rubicon. But here, Plutarch makes a real show of it:

When he came to the river (it is called the Rubicon) which forms the frontier between Cisapline Gaul and the rest of Italy he became full of thought; for now he was drawing nearer and nearer to the dreadful step, and his mind wavered as he considered what a tremendous venture it was upon which he was engaged… For a long time he weighed matters up silently in his own mind, irresolute between the two alternatives… Finally, in a sort of passion, as through he were casting calculation aside and abandoning himself to whatever lay in store for him… (pg 276) 

Indeed, it’s in Plutarch, not Casear’s memoirs, that his immortal line “let the die be cast” can be found. Which brings up the question: if Plutarch isn’t accurate, is he reliable? And if not, what’s the point in reading him?

Speaking as a general reader – I’m not a classical scholar - I found his value comes from his moralizing. The lessons he’s wanted to teach have long since stopped mattering, but the way he’s gone about composing these biographies is what makes them compelling reading. He not only paints an interesting picture of Rome right before, during, and immediately after the civil wars, he’s preserved how people looked at these figures: Caesar, the would-be monarch; Cicero the legendary orator and smartass; Pompey the great, succumbing to flatterers; etc.

To some degree, that’s always the problem with any kind of biography. Not everyone’s lived an amazing life. And not everyone Plutarch did, either. His life of Crassus, for instance, is tremendously short on actual details. So he spiced things up. Was Cleopatra really snuck into a palace rolled up inside a sleeping bag? Did Cicero really smart off all the time? Well, that’s something to be keep in mind here.

It goes hand in hand with another thing about this book: Plutarch isn’t one for providing much context around events. The more I knew about the events around the lives – like Casear or Cicero – the more I was able to get out of his writings. He glosses over details which are important, but not completely relevant to his message. Having some background about these people or the events around Plutarch describes, like the Civil Wars, will help keep things from getting bogged down.

I thought the translation by Rex Warner was clear and read well. The introductions to each Life and notes throughout by Robin Seager were through, if occasionally distracting for the average reader (although a student would probably appreciate the cross-referencing to other works).

My rating: 7 of 10. Recommended for history buffs and those who already know a little about Roman history. Fans of Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra might get a kick out of this, too. But those just getting into ancient history, looking for something to start with, should look elsewhere first – Suetonius or Livy come to mind. This is an entertaining volume, but it’s easy to get lost in Plutarch’s moralizing if you’re not careful.

Extended Play’s best new Canadian music of 2011

Purity Ring – Lofticries

Purity Ring‘s one of our favorites here at Extended Play HQ (one of a few acts we’ve written about previously). We’re big fans of their lo-fi, slow, melodic pop – enough so, that their 7″ Ungirthed is one of our fave releases of the year, Canadian or not. And while the A-side of that release is getting a fair amount of attention, we’re actually digging the other track, Lofticries. A little slower, a little more laid back, this is their chillout side. It shows there’s a lot more depth to this band than their thumping debut and is why we’re excited for their full length.

The Weeknd – House of Balloons/Thursday/Echoes of Silence

This trio of mixtapes has proved, more than any other release, the power of the internet. The Weeknd – the brainchild of Abel Tesfaye – started as a mysterious release that nobody quite knew the details of; I remember being convinced it was a Drake side project at one point. But it’s grown and grown, to the point where his own website crashed almost immediately on Thursday’s release. The music in each is great and a testament to Tesfaye’s talent: it effortlessly ranges from the moody R&B of What You Need to the spacy, almost reggae-like Heaven or Las Vegas (great bassline in that one, too!) to Montreal, where he sings his ass off. Each of these three mixtapes is good enough to crack any reasonable person’s best of; taken as a whole, it’s a hat trick of the highest order.

Sloan – Follow the Leader

I’m a big power pop apologist and I’ll listen to almost anything Sloan attaches their name to. Their newest album is no exception. It’s not their strongest – far from it, actually. But it’s opening track is an overlooked gem. It showcases them excelling at what they do best, until it’s coda abruptly shifts gears to a piano-driven rocker. It’s a strong opening track and although the rest of the album couldn’t keep pace, it’s one of my fave songs of 2011

Cadence Weapon – Baby I’m Yours (Feat. Shad)

Another one we wrote about earlier this year, this standout from Cadence Weapon’s Tron Legacy mixtape is another criminally overlooked tune. I love the beat here and Shad just kills it on his verse with lines like “The one that got away, I got a few /  never been to heaven, but I always got a view” and memorably rhymes fetus with Adidas. And I haven’t even gotten to Cadence yet! His mixtape is yet another example of a great self-released album. It’s not free, but on a pay-what-you-want basis; no matter what you pay, you’re not getting ripped off. Here’s a ripping live version:

Dan Mangan – Post War Blues

One of the year’s most critically acclaimed albums – getting props everywhere from The AV Club to Comedy Bang Bang – Dan Mangan’s Oh Fortune shows one of Canada’s strongest songwriters at the peak of his craft. The rocker Post War Blues highlights that album’s strengths as his clever lyrics meet rocking guitars. It’s a standout track from a standout album.

Rich Aucoin – It

A soaring pop track, complete with what I’m pretty sure is a church organ, is one of the best tracks off Aucoin’s great album We’re All Dying to Live. There he blends sounds and styles almost effortlessly, crafting one of my favorite listens of the year. It’s not too far from The Arcade Fire, but it’s got more energy than anything they’ve released in years and it’s a lot more fun to dance to, to boot. And did you see the video, packed full of movie references?

Oh No! Yoko! – 90′s Kids

A total ode to the decade that’s now, God help me, a full 11 years gone, written and performed  by people young enough to be born the same year I remember getting distraught over the Maple Leafs for the first time. But fake-ass nostalgia has nothing to do with my love for this band. They’re one of the catchiest bands I’ve heard in a long time; this song is like something a a sugar-addict younger brother to Tokyo Police Club would come up with, and remember that TPC is another fave here at Extended Play HQ. These kids, on yet another free release, kick out hooky, keyboard driven pop like it’s nobody’s business. Support them by attending their shows. I can’t wait to see what 2012 brings from them.

Update: Fucked Up – A Little Death

Here’s an album I can’t believe I forgot: Fucked Up’s David Comes to Life. Fucked Up is the kind of band one wants to attach bullshit labels like post-hardcore or buzzwave or whatever to, when really they’re just a great act. They’re punk in the best sense of the word: their music is uncompromising and demands to be met on it’s own terms. There’s a whole package here, from the chiming guitars to the smooth backing vocals to Damian Abraham’s lead vox. And on David…, we’re seeing a band in full flight: it’s a better album than The Chemistry of Modern Life, itself no slouch. It’s inexcusable I forgot to include in this first draft.

Our favorite books of 2011

We read a lot here at Extended Play HQ and thought we’d recognize some of our favorite reads of this past year.

1. My fave this year was Kate Beaton’s new anthology Hark! A Vagrant! Drawn and Quarterly’s hardcover is a great hardcover collection of her comics. They’re very nicely reproduced – no small feat considering they were hardly drawn for print – and fully annotated. But then, her comics don’t really need any explaining. Details may come later – I’ve been working on a piece about her cartoons for another publication – but it’s no secret that one doesn’t need to know the history her comics poke fun at –  her humor is a lot more universal. They range from the bittersweet to the bawdy, but all are among the best the internet, and now a bookshelf, has to offer.
2. Another great read this year was James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales’ oral history of ESPN, Those Guys Have All the Fun. Granted, it’s something of a mixed read – it neither dishes the dirt nor seems as brutally candid as their earlier oral history of Saturday Night Live – but it’s still a good story well told: ESPN is one of the great successes of our time, a virtual monopoly that seemed to rise almost overnight. The definitive history of ESPN has yet to be written, but anybody with an interest in sports, and especially in sports media, can’t go wrong with this book.
3. Technically, this one came out at the tail of last year, but I only read it in paperback this spring so I’ll fudge it a bit: Life, the autobiography of Keith Richards. Again, this one was a bit of a mixed read: I would have loved to hear more about the creative process, about people like Gram Parsons or Rory Gallagher and about the famous bust in Toronto. But still, this was a relentlessly charming read: Richards is something of a disarming memoirist. Yes, he’s one of rock’s great bad boys and was a hell of a junkie for a spell, but he’s not too afraid to address almost everything: getting busted in the States, getting into brawls with people during the Exile on Main Street sessions and the complex relationship between himself and Mick Jagger. There’s been other books about the Stones and they may have more facts in them, but there probably won’t ever be one as much fun to read.
4.  A few new books in 2011 I didn’t get around too, but mean to read: Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen; The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides; The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach; The Tiger’s Wife, by Tea Obreht; Flip Flop Fly Ball, by Craig Robinson and Rob Neyer; Boomerang, by Michael Lewis. If anybody out there wants to hook me up with a review copy, please feel free to contact me.

Our favorite online reads of 2011

Us here at Extended Play HQ have diligently spent the year reading, marking down our favorite online reading, in anticipation of this, our second annual Best Online Reads post. The rules to qualify were simple: if we read it and liked it, we saved it to a folder called ‘best online writing’. Then, at year’s end, we dug through all the posts and chose our favorites of our favorites. There wasn’t any rules about length or topics or form, although we’ll be the first to admit we skimped on the fiction this year.

Anyway, here’s the list, complete with explanations why we liked the post. Take that longreads!