THE IDES - CAESAR'S MURDER AND THE WAR FOR ROME by Dando-Collins, Stephen

John Wiley & Sons Inc, NY, 2010. US first edition, hard bound in dj, 6 1/2 x 9 1/2, FINE/FINE CONDITION,(light dj wear) xv, 269 pages, maps, bibliog., index.----------------------------------The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the most notorious murders in history. Two thousand years after it occurred, many compelling questions remain about his death: Was Brutus the hero and Caesar the villain? Did Caesar bring death on himself by planning to make himself king of Rome? Was Mark Antony aware of the plot, and let it go forward? Who wrote Antony's script after Caesar's death? Using historical evidence to sort out these and other puzzling issues, historian and award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins takes you to the world of ancient Rome and recaptures the drama of Caesar's demise and the chaotic aftermath as the vicious struggle for power between Antony and Octavian unfolded. For the first time, he shows how the religious festivals and customs of the day impacted on the way the assassination plot unfolded. He shows, too, how the murder was almost avoided at the last moment.