this book covers the world during the time period of Octavian/Augustus Caesear's world, (just as the title says).
So it includes Julius Caesar's relationship with Cleopatra. Then her relationship with Antony. The struggle Octavian had with Antony to follow in Julius's footsteps. The gods Roman's worshiped; and there were A LOT! The book covers: Virgil, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, the Mayans, Lao Tzu, Confucius,and Buddha, Tiberius, and the German tribe that killed three legions of Romans. After that Augustus decided to leave the Germans to become civilized at their own pace. (they continued to fight among each other, but there is debate as to whether the first two world wars would have happened if they had become civilized under the Romans.) The book ends with the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth.
There are some interesting parts in the book and there are some very weird parts as well. ( )

Wonderful book for understanding scope of historical events. Her illustrations and charts make many things clear. Great study for folks (adults & kids) who struggle with dates, visual reference for historical events.

This is a book from the forties, from a series which, I am told, has been revived by the homeschool community. Each book in the series basically follows the life of some notable person and tells what else was happening in the world during that time. This book follows Augustus Caeser, of course. While it mostly focuses on the history of the Roman Empire during his era, it also offers glimpses of the life outside the empire from Gaul to Mayan Mexico. While it's hardly an in depth biography, it does offer a great overview. My only complaints are that Ms. Foster talks a lot about Jesus but seems to see him only as one of many great religious thinkers, and that she has the typical mid-20th Century worldview of progress. If you can get past those two problems, you should definitely check it out.
--J. ( )

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