Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

I got into this period in history by reading Conn Iggulden's Emperor Series which are absolutely great. I flicked through Amazon to find books that would offer me a little more factual information. I chose this book as my first attempt to get a better insight.

Having waded through this book of a zillion troop movements I note with interest and some disappointment that one of the other reviews labels this book as 'confused and misinformed'. I stuck with the narrative explaining the movement of 30 odd roman legions around Europe spanning a couple of hundred years and the battles in which they fought. I worked my way through the Gallic Wars, The Civil War, The Battles that raged after Caesars death while Octavian fought for ultimate control. I stuck with it as the Roman Legions besieged Jerusalem and in truth, I couldn't put the book down.

Yes, it is a little heavy going but I found it very interesting as a first factual read (or not if one of the other reviews is to be believed).

Most importantly, given the scathing review, my interest is fuelled tenfold. I now wish to read much more on the subject to draw my own conclusions.

There is no doubt, this book helps to bring to the readers attention some of the more pivotal battles in which the Tenth were involved. 'Nero's Killing Machine'(the 14th Legion)'from the same author, which I am reading now is doing the same. Using this book as a reference, I am currently creating a list of books relating to battles and commanders which will take me little further.

If the other reviews are to be believed then maybe this is not not the greatest factual read for an expert but it has worked for me. Only gave it four stars for the fact that the constant log of the movements of other legions made me dizzy but that may not be a fair thing to have done. If that is what was happening then it had to be written about. This information was vital as an overview and incidental information about these legions has helped my perception of the wider picture.

I look forward over the next few years to either agreeing or disagreeing with the 'confused and misinformed' review.

Firstly I must make an admission that I am no expect on this area of history. However I do appreciate a good historical account and that is what you will find with Dando-Collins book on the Roman 10th Legion. I have always enjoyed history books covering this period of time and I was prompted to buy this book after reading Major Clunn’s excellent book ‘In Quest of the Lost Legions’, which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in Roman history.

In Stephen Dando-Collins book ‘Caesar’s Legion’ the reader is offered a rarely seen look at the battles and campaigns of Rome’s Legions during the time of Julius Caesar. The centerpiece of the book is the 10th Legion, raised by Julius Caesar and used by him throughout as his elite shock-troops. Not only does the book provide you with an interesting and detailed insight into the 10th Legion but also the author provides you with a detailed narrative of the battles and campaigns fought by Roman Legions throughout the known world.

We read about the officers and men of the 10th Legion including its recruitment, training, makeup and organization along with detailed descriptions of their fighting. The book details all the known campaigns and battles, from the English Isles, Gaul and Italy to the Middle East. The story covers the campaigns against rebelling tribesman in Gaul and Germany to the many set piece battles against other Roman Legions during the Civil War. The narrative continues with the life of the 10th Legion after the death of its founder, Julius Caesar. We follow the Legionaries to the Jewish fortress of Masada and read about the campaign against the Jewish Zealots with its grim ending.

The book is easy to read with a smooth and descriptive narrative. The story is well researched and has a number of maps to assist the reader in following the campaigns of the 10th Legion. No illustrations are provided which is a slight disappointment but more than made up for with the rich narrative. This is a great story and I am sure that anyone who enjoys good historical accounts with love this story of “Caesar’s Legion”.

Although this book has been published for some years, on reading through the reviews here I was struck by the praise heaped on this 'author'. I have commented elsewhere on the review by Aaron Thompson (who has hit the nail right on the head) and I do not want to repeat myself overmuch. I will be brief, in attempt to counter the somewhat one-sided view of Dando-Collins' output (I find it difficult to dignify what he writes by referring to it as 'work').

Briefly, this person's books are mostly made up. I do not believe that he has researched any of this. There are major errors, omissions and mistakes throughout. In a nutshell, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Example: he claims that legions were enlisted in 'mass intakes' (not true - only refers to Republican legions in the early years of Rome) and that battle losses were not replaced, so at the end of their '16-year' service, they would be seriously understrength. These were the crack troops of the Empire! Most of these legions were originally the product of the civil wars that eventually (via Caesar, Pompey & Marcus Antonius) brought Augustus to power. If the legions were re-raised at such intervals it would amount to replacing a sizable fraction of the army's men all at once. There is NOT ONE SHRED OF EVIDENCE FOR THIS PRACTICE. NOT. ONE.

A number of reviews here have stressed that the book 'reads very well', or is 'an exiting read'. I think if you buy this volume (and the subsequent efforts penned by SDC) you will not get anything like the correct impression of the history of the legions of Rome. It doesn't matter how well it reads if the information you are getting is WRONG. If you really want to find out more about this subject, try these works: (1) "The Making of the Roman Army from Republic to Empire" by Lawrence Keppie, (2) "The Roman Imperial Army" by Graham Webster, (3) "A Companion to the Roman Army" (ed. Erdkamp), (4) "The Complete Roman Army" by Adrian Goldsworthy, (5) "The Imperial Roman Army" by Jan le Bohec (English translation available), (6) "Roman Fortresses & Their Legions" (Ed. Richard Brewer) and (7) "Legions & Veterans", also by Lawrence Keppie. If you also want to see what the true origins, history, movements, campaigns and service of the legions was, try finding the BAR title "The Positioning of the Roman Imperial Legions" (BAR International Series, No.1458) by Jerome H. Farnum. I seriously doubt that Stephen Dando-Collins owns a copy of this or any of the others come to that!