Uncommon Wrath, Josiah Osgood
Uncommon Wrath, Josiah Osgood
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Uncommon Wrath
How Caesar and Cato's Deadly Rivalry Destroyed the Roman Republic

Author: Josiah Osgood

Narrator: Ana Clements

Unabridged: 10 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 11/29/2022

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

A dual biography of Julius Caesar and Cato the Younger that offers a dire warning: republics collapse when partisanship overrides the common good.

In Uncommon Wrath, historian Josiah Osgood tells the story of how the political rivalry between Julius Caesar and Marcus Cato precipitated the end of the Roman Republic. As the champions of two dominant but distinct visions for Rome, Caesar and Cato each represented qualities that had made the Republic strong, but their ideological differences entrenched into enmity and mutual fear. The intensity of their collective factions became a tribal divide, hampering their ability to make good decisions and undermining democratic government. The men’s toxic polarity meant that despite their shared devotion to the Republic, they pushed it into civil war.

Deeply researched and compellingly told, Uncommon Wrath is a groundbreaking biography of two men whose hatred for each other destroyed the world they loved.

About Josiah Osgood

Josiah Osgood is professor and chair of classics at Georgetown University and the author of many books, including Rome and the Making of a World State, 150 BCE-20 BCE. He lives in Washington DC.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Literati on January 08, 2024

Excellent book, and always interesting to have focus points within an overarching history. Cato's brand of legislative obstructionism and elite conservatism does not age particularly well-renowned for sticking to his virtues, does that really matter if your supposed virtues are unkind? Perhaps the lo......more

Goodreads review by Joe on March 08, 2023

Not a bad account of the rivalry between Caesar and Cato. But, in my opinion, Osgood tries to cover many momentous events of the late Roman Republic in a short narrative that lacks depth and nuance. It treats these world-changing events like reports you might find in a small-town newspaper. In any e......more

Goodreads review by Fernando on December 19, 2024

Con una narración ágil y divulgativa este ensayo plantea una visión heterodoxa de la segunda guerra civil del final de la República romana, en la que César es mostrado de un modo no tan heroico como le suele mostrar la historiografía tradicional. Un libro fundamental para entender este periodo cruci......more

Goodreads review by Luke on November 04, 2024

(2nd Read Review) “Cato wanted to show that no tyranny, however mild, was acceptable for one who prized freedom the way Cato did, and he did so in the most vivid way imaginable. His suicide was his last, and most supreme, act of obstruction. It weighed on the consciences of survivors such as Cicero.......more

Goodreads review by Simon on January 15, 2023

Suggested by a student Josiah Osgoods “Uncommon Wrath” tells the story of the rivalry between Cato and Caesar that , he maintains , was the undoing of the Roman Republic. The prose is interesting and well researched though at times one feels he’s reaching to bring the careers of the two protagonists......more

Quotes

"A brilliant dual biography of Caesar and Cato: two titanic personalities whose fame illumined the death throes of the Roman Republic and continues to blaze to this day."—Tom Holland, author of Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

“Lively, literate, and readable, Uncommon Wrath is all that you could want in a book on one of the most destructive feuds in history. As Osgood recounts, Cato and Caesar’s refusal to compromise did much to destabilize the Roman Republic. Informed by scholarship and executed with grace.”—Barry Strauss, author of The War that Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium

“The respective sagas of Cato and Caesar, always timely, seem even more so in today's America. Osgood’s interwoven retelling of their raucous and violent careers, and their impact on a tottering republic, makes for compelling reading.”—Steven Saylor, author of Dominus: A Novel of the Roman Empire

“A gripping account of the rivalry between Julius Caesar and Cato, two men at the heart of the political dysfunction that brought down Rome's Republic. This is the rare book that warns us about the dangers of the modern political moment while offering a nuanced and insightful analysis of the character of some of Rome's most famous leaders.”—Edward Watts, author of Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny

“Uncommon Wrath is a riveting re-telling of the violent end of the Roman Republic. By restoring Cato to the center of the story, Osgood reminds us that this symbol of old-fashioned virtue was not just a myth, but a leader nearly as crafty as his hated rival. Here is a vivid and human-scale account, whose focus on partisanship and political rivalry makes for a resonant and all-too-timely reflection.”
 —Kyle Harper, author of The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire

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