Caesar: General, Diplomat, Leader, Author
The Conquest of Gaul is a narrative description of Julius Caesar's military campaigns in Gaul (modern day France) between 58 and 51 B.C. The book also describes the Roman invasions of Germany and Britain. We learn about the various tribes in Gaul and the tactics used by Caesar to defeat them; Caesar also used diplomacy, intimidation, and persuasion to bring stability to the region and to make it part of the Roman Empire. Caesar points out that the Roman soldiers were shorter in stature than the barbarians but were able to overcome this deficiency with discipline. The Penguin Classic version of this book (the subject of this review) includes explanatory footnotes, maps, a glossary of key people and places during the campaign in Gaul, and a short description of the organization, components, and equipment of the Roman army. The leadership lessons I took away from this book are as follows: Leaders need to be both present and encouraging; there are times that the only resource a leader has is courage; and, finally, good training enables soldiers to complete challenging tasks when the chips are down.
