I, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 (Vintage International)

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Having never seen the famous 1970s television series based on Graves' historical novel of ancient Rome and being generally uneducated about matters both ancient and Roman, I wasn't prepared for such an engaging book. But it's a ripping good read, this fictional autobiography set in the Roman Empire's days of glory and decadence. As a history lesson, it's fabulous; as a novel it's also wonderful. Best is Claudius himself, the stutterer who let everyone think he was an idiot (to avoid getting poisoned) but who reveals himself in the narrative to be a wry and likable observer. His story continues in Claudius the God.

Book Description

Considered an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings of the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and the Mad Caligula to become emperor in 41 A.D. A masterpiece.

Customer Reviews:

Fast Paced historical fiction.......2007-08-30

Movies set in ancient Rome has always given a bloated/ larger than life view of the period. Thanks to movies like Gladiator, Spartacus and Ben-hur. When people say the word "Rome", we envision gladiators and people dressed up in bad togas and epic battles. I Claudius removes all these cliches. You dont have battle descriptions, Heston/Crowe-like heroes, swordfights, etc. What you get here is a gritty, realistic picture of post-Julius Caeser period. Think about a Martin Scorcese gangster picture - Departed or Goodfellas or Casino set in roman period. The book is filled with political maneouvers, double crosses, murders. The narration is by an interesting emperor. None of the characters are defined as "good" or "bad". Everyone has a gray shade. The book has three villains - Livia (you will never forget this character in your life), Caligula (depicted as a psycho) and Tiberius. Livia is so good at her villany, you would start loving her !

You would never close the book in the middle. Very fast paced. Most of the events in the book are true. You might keep the book down only in you are overwhelmed by murders (I was !). The number of murders per page increases as the book moved forward.

Roman history has never been this good. Do not get turned off by the fact that this book is "literature"..All top 100 lists will feature this book. Let me put it this way - this is the most "entertaining" and "mainstream" literature. Enjoy the wonderful read !

Fascinating.......2007-08-28

A fascinating, well researched historical novel. I love Roman history and this is as good as it gets. The characters are well researched and very well developed. The result is captivating. I highly recomend this book.

Just brilliant.......2007-06-25

The history of the reign of the Caesars is one that has more fast-paced action, betrayal, violence, sexual depravity, scheming than any modern-day thriller. However there are few examples of great fictionalised accounts that present this. I Claudius is such an account - Graves makes for extremely compelling, unputdownable reading without sacrificing historical accuracy, for the facts speak for themselves. You don't need to know much about Roman history, or anything for that matter, because the novel takes you through everything. The differences -- and similarities -- between that world and ours are also made very apparent by the narrator (Claudius before he became emperor) and enrich the book. Finally there is a great sense of irony maintained throughout -- of course the facts of history themselves are ironic (the stuttering Claudius thought of by most as a fool surviving his murdering relatives to become emperor). But Graves capitalises on this and other ironies. And of course it is a historical novel narrated by a character who is himself a historian bringing up some interesting questions.

I was enthralled, entertained, educated and more and am already breezing through the sequel (Claudius the God).

A delightful read.......2007-06-01

I, Claudius is written as if it were the autobiography of Claudius, the fourth ruler of the Julian-Claudian dynasty. I should preface this review by pointing out that I began this book knowing very little of ancient Roman history, and therefore I cannot speak authoritatively on the historical accuracy of the novel. My primary basis for praising the book is that Mr. Graves here tells a darn good story. I have read elsewhere that Graves preferred poetry to prose, and that he wrote novels so that he would be financially independent enough to pursue his ultimate calling, poetry. Be that as it may, this book is written in beautiful prose. It isn't the ebullient, ecstatic prose of a Nabokov or Joyce, but rather a very concise, clean prose. Both the writing style and the exciting narrative conspire to make this a fast, delightful read.

Claudius was born into the upper echelons of Roman society during the reign of Augustus Caesar, who was his great uncle. Because of various physical deformities and a pronounced stutter, many regarded him as an idiot. Because of his status as somewhat of a social outcast, Claudius throughout most of his early life did not participate directly in the political intrigues of the day. Rather, he observed them from afar, and this book is written as if it were Claudius' retelling of these observations. A good portion of the book concerns itself with the stories of others, and he himself doesn't feature prominently in the action until later. The book is populated with fascinating characters, including his diabolical, powerful grandmother Livia, his heroic brother Germanicus, his demented nephew Caligula, and countless others. I was almost reminded when reading it of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Although the two books' settings could hardly be more different, they each share a number of commonalities, including a rich cast of wonderfully drawn characters, perfect narrative pace, and complex, multilayered plots and subplots. And despite the ancient setting, the plots here have everything that the modern, worldly reader could hope for: political intrigues, assassination, torture, incest, adultery (so, so much adultery!), all manner of sexually perverse acts, dozens of suicides, military battles, witchcraft, curses, prophecies...the list goes on and on!

Overall, I recommend this book to anybody looking for a good story. A strong interest in or knowledge of Rome isn't necessary, as my own praise of the book indicates. I'm not sure if I am going to read the sequel, Claudius the God, anytime soon, mainly because of time constraints, but I plan in the near future to watch the entire BBC miniseries! Graves did a wonderful service by breathing new life into these fascinating historical characters. Historians can quibble all they want about whether the book faithfully recounts the historical record or whether Graves was pushing any political agendas. The book was written as a piece of historical fiction, and it succeeds marvelously on every level.

A delicious Caesar Salad .......2007-04-14

Chronicaling through 5 Caesars as told by the so-called "idiot" Claudius. Claudius is destined to be Caesar by keeping under the radar.

The story of each Caeser is captivating, the politics and betrayals are brutal. Caligula is both scary and funny.

A top 10 book for me.

This book is followed by Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina which was also a good read.

Average customer rating:

A must read!
As always, the book is SO MUCH better than the Movie
Journey of Faith
Tremendous Story
It doesn't get any better than this ...

The Robe
Lloyd C. Douglas
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0395957753

Book Description

A Roman soldier, Marcellus, wins Christ's robe as a gambling prize. He then sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene's robe-a quest that reaches to the very roots and heart of Christianity and is set against the vividly limned background of ancient Rome. Here is a timeless story of adventure, faith, and romance, a tale of spiritual longing and ultimate redemption.

Customer Reviews:

A must read!.......2007-10-21

I LOVED this book! I saw it recommended as I was ordering a replacement book to the Kingdom and the Crown series. It follows along with the story of the time and teachings of Christ, except from a roman's point of view. The story focuses more on the story of "The Robe" it's self and the experiences it brings, rather than being completely centered on a religious point of you. Great for everyone of any faith! I highly recommend you read this! :)

As always, the book is SO MUCH better than the Movie.......2007-04-15

What a great find, I remember loving the movie when I was a young girl. This was a wonderful way to tell the story of Jesus, after the crucifiction and through the eyes of the people he had lived with and taught and healed, and a good reminder of what the Christian religion is truly about.

Marcellus and Demetrius were wonderful heros, I adored Diana, hated the evil Roman Emporers and thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself into the life and times of that era. I noticed some other reviewers claimed there were historical inaccuracies in the book which distracted them from enjoying it as much as I did. Not knowing enough about the various rulers of those times I can't comment on that, except that since the book was written in 1945 perhaps the known history was different than what is available now.

The book is quickest in pace at the beginning and the end, with a large slower period in the middle while Marcellus travels through Israel learning about the life of Jesus. However, I enjoyed the slower pace and reminder of the many wonderful things that happened at this time.

All in all a great read and highly recommended, with the caveat that if you are an agnostic or of non-christian faiths you might not appreciate it as well. Also a good choice for a younger teen reader, as you won't find the abundant gratuitous sex that you find in more current novels.

Journey of Faith.......2006-11-07

My grandmother first introduced me to this book and in my humble opinion, it is one of the best books ever written. It was first published in 1942 although it is truly a timeless piece of work. The story is simple and follows the journey of a Roman soldier, Marcellus, who was responsible for overseeing the crucification of Christ. After the crucification, Marcellus, along with his faithful servant Demitruis, embark on a journey to discover more about the man that was crucified. Marcellus is naturally skeptical of the "miracles" that Christ performed during his time although he appreciates the teachings of Christ. The book follows the journey of faith that Demitruis and Marcellus follow, and the effects of this journey upon Marcellus and those he loves. Along the way, Marcellus meets many of Jesus' followers that cause him to question everything he knows and believes in. Hollywood made a cheesy movie version of this story with Richard Burton that was truly awful. Do not let the movie version keep you from reading this book because it truly is a beautiful retelling of the story of Christ and Douglas is a master story teller. He writes at a level that is not seen in today's crush of books that tend to follow the latest trend in selling books. Instead, he has an expansive vocabulary and draws you into a world that is fascinating and real despite the age of the story. Watching a non-believer come to grips with who Jesus was and what He meant to the world is a fascinating journey, for believers and non-believers alike and "The Robe" is truly a work of art.

Tremendous Story.......2006-11-05

Great retelling of the story of Jesus from the point of view of one of the men who crucified him.

It doesn't get any better than this ..........2006-02-27

As a classic many recognize in the movie version, I'd have to say to anyone that has seen the movie and not read the book, you're missing a lot. The movie is a cheap imitation of a novel that sucks you in from page one and doesn't let go until the end. Rarely do I read a book more than once ... I have read this book several times. Some authors have the inherent ability to draw you into the world they've created. Some authors possess the uncanny talent to make you really know the characters - love them or hate them. Some authors can make you feel as though you're walking side by side with the characters, living with them and enduring their emotions, seeing the things that they see. Some authors just have IT, and Lloyd C. Douglas is one of them.

The sweeping pageantry of one man's quest to find truth in a world corrupted is a quest that will stay with you long after the final page has been turned. Without giving too much away, the quick synopsis would be this: The story begins with Marcellus Gallio, the son of the rich Roman Senator Marcus Lucan Gallio, being commissioned to take command of the Roman fort at Minoa (Gaza). His trusted slave and friend, Demetrius, makes the journey with him, and they find at the fort a desolate scrap of land and a group of ruthless ruffians who don't take kindly to leadership. Marcellus takes firm control at Minoa, and it is from here that he and Demetrius end up in Jerusalem during Passover. It is at this particular Passover that Jesus is tried under Pontius Pilate and crucified. The detachment from Minoa, lead by Marcellus, is ordered to execute Jesus. During the Crucifixion, the officers get drunk to avoid the harsh reality of the task they've been assigned. They start to gamble and at one point, they gamble for Christ's robe. Marcellus wins, and his acquiring the Robe sets off a chain of events that leads to his eventual search for the truth behind the man who wore it. At first, as a man who does not believe in religion or in supernatural occurrences, Marcellus is skeptical of the miracles Jesus performed. He is especially skeptical when told of the Resurrection. At every point, he is searching for logical ways to explain the miracles. His transformation from a skeptic to a believer is logical in its progression and one that is miraculous to behold. Nothing comes across as choppy or unbelievable, and the change in Marcellus's character is a slow evolution over time.

In addition, I like that Jesus is not actually portrayed as a corporeal character in the book. Everything that deals with Him is after the Crucifixion, and Marcellus must learn about Him through the Disciples and the people who knew Him. Through their conviction, Marcellus discovers the truth and the belief he has sought.

This novel is the complete experience of everything a novel is supposed to be: Excellent characterization, believable, intriguing plot and conflict, solid sense of time and place, and a climactic ending of triumphant redemption that will leave you in tears. At the end, you're almost sad to turn the last page, disappointed to leave such a world - such an experience - behind. Though only my opinion, I cannot speak highly enough for this book and for this author who has completely revolutionized my opinion of what a novel is supposed to be.

Average customer rating:

A very interesting Novel
Ben Hur, a tale of the Christ
Hard, but soooooo rewarding!!!
An amazing classic
A once in a lifetime read!!

Ben-Hur (Signet Classics)
Lew Wallace
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451528743
Release Date: 2003-02-04

Book Description

A bestseller since 1880...
The classic saga of the Roman Empire

From a thrilling sea battle to its famous chariot race to the agony of the Crucifixion, this is the epic tale of a prince who became a slave and by a twist of fate and his own skill-won a chance at freedom.

Download Description

This is a saga of a reverent journey by Judah Ben-Hur through reprisal, torment, affliction, and devout illumination to the revelation of Christianity. Ben-Hur grew up in a Roman-occupied Palestine as a wealthy young Jew whose family is respected of the citizenry but whose friend, Massala, a Roman warrior, betrays him by treacherously accusing him of the attempted murder of a Roman Prince. Suddenly the whole family is separated and punished: Ben-Hur is sent away as a slave and his mother and sister are imprisoned in a leper colony. His conflict with an imperious government, adventurous political spectacles, maudlin dramatics and heroic theatre vividly strips his blindness to bureautic control and awakens an enlightenment of monumental proportions. His suffering leads him to the vision of Jesus and acceptance of Him. At last, Ben-Hur must challenge Massala's domination in a chariot race. On the day of the Crucifixtion the quest for peace and the recovery of unity is complete, and Ben-Hur's search is over. Please Note: This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.

Customer Reviews:

A very interesting Novel.......2007-08-12

I recently finished reading "Ben-Hur" and I must comment that I'm glad I took the time to read it. The only reason I gave the work four stars instead of five is because Wallace's vivid details make the book somewhat tedious at times. The plot is very well conceived and Wallace created some memorable characters although I felt the characterization was not quite as good as in another famous nineteenth century Roman Epic "Quo Vadis". The way in which Wallace weaved the story together with the life of Christ and the political situation in Judea was effective. Despite being famous for the chariot race in Antioch, I believe the most powerful scenes were involving Ben-Hur's leprous mother and sister as well as Christ's crucifixtion. The ending is generally positive though somewhat of a cliff hanger if one thinks about it. I recommend the 1959 movie version as well as the book.

Ben Hur, a tale of the Christ.......2007-01-09

When I was 12 years old I first read this book, and have declared to my friends over the years that it is one of two best stories ever! The nativity story is the best account of the holy family. Sadly, the movie did not do justice to the book. I highly reccomend this to all ages of readers.

Hard, but soooooo rewarding!!!.......2006-10-06

I read this for a book report and I had a hard time figuring out some of the words, especially the ones not found in the dictionary. Nevertheless, it's AWESOME!!!! I absolutely loved it! It's not a story that's predictable and full of cliches. It's fresh for the modern reader and gives an awesome perspective on the life of Christ from the view of a first century Jew. Great book!!!

An amazing classic.......2006-04-19

A previous reviewer praised the book, but said it was for students and scholars. I disagree with this assessment. I am neither a student, nor a scholar. I have long enjoyed the movie Ben-Hur, so I decided to pick up the book, since I have always found novels to be far better than the movies that they inspire. I was slightly worried after reading some reviews that made it sound like a dull history book. After reading Ben-Hur, I was very pleasantly surprised. It does contain historical information, and is rich with detail, but it is also action packed. I found myself not wanting to put it down until I was finished.

This is a book to be read and enjoyed by everyone. Whether you are an English major, or a business grad (like me), this book is for you.

A once in a lifetime read!!.......2005-12-14

I decided to read only well-written and important works during this Millenial Year (2000). I picked up the 'Focus on the Family' publication of Ben Hur as I was exiting our library. I did not know I had just picked up the novel of my life. This book is suplative in every way-wonderful plot, incredible characterizations, historically accurate, and even life changing. General Lew Wallace wrote this incredible work in 1880, and I don't believe this novel could be written by today's writers. There are some of the most perfectly written sentences I have ever read, every line comparable to fine wine that must be sipped slowly for best effect rather than gulped like present-day works. It took me a full month of pleasure to finish this fine work. It can be enjoyed by Christian and non-Christian alike, and will cause those who believe to believe even stronger, while those unfamiliar or doubtful of the Good News of Christ will be quickened spiritually. This book is gigantic in scope and life changing in effect. By the way, I've never seen the movie, but I'm going to check it tonight

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Tiberius's view of Tiberius
Blows "Augustus" out of the water
An inferior sequel to "Augustus"
A Good Read For Fans of Robert Graves

Tiberius: The Memoirs of the Emperor
Allan Massie
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0786700076

Customer Reviews:

Tiberius's view of Tiberius.......2006-11-07

This is the reign of Tiberius as seen from his perspective. It is interesting and entertaining but really fails to follow the historical record and in general paints Tiberius as misunderstood rather than the paranoid monster he is described as in the historical accounts -- which admittedly may not have been all that accurate either. However, I enjoyed this book (as I did Augustus) and thought Massie's interpetation of some of the events might actually be plausible. I thought the early stages of his marriage to Vipsania was very plausible. The same is true of Sejanus. How and why did Tiberius trust this man and Massie's interpretation is certainly plausible.

Of course keeping track of all of the characters is a challenge but that is true of the historical record as well. I only gave the book three stars because I thought some of the dialog was a little anachronistic. Still it is a good book and well worth the reading.

Blows "Augustus" out of the water.......2006-06-10

Clever, witty and original, Allan Massie writes under the name of the emperor who everyone remembers for being bloody and cruel. Tiberius himself, a man who forced to divorce his wife to marry Augustus' own daughter Julia, forced to become emperor and so bitter as to treat Julia and her children so brutally that each one in turn committed suicide just to get away from him. This novel takes us into the mind of Tiberius and gives us a smashing tale of sex, violence and rivalry.

Tiberius grew up with his brother and father until his father sadly died and he is taken into Caesar's home. His mother, Livia, is the wife of Augustus and ambitious for his future. However, growing up he finds his interests in other things such as the army and even worse, his young, beautiful and desirable stepsister. Constantly teasing him, Julia knows that she is able to arouse Tiberius into such emotions that he willingly gives into his desires. When Tiberius takes Vipsania as his wife, he still can't help taking to Julia's bed rather then his wife's. However, once Julia consents to marry Vipsania's father, Agrippa, their affair stops and neither of them see each other again for a long while. Tiberius grows to love Vipsania tenderly and though not passionately, he respects and admires her calmness and softness. After the birth of their son, Tiberius feels happier then ever. However, upon the death of Agrippa, his widow Julia is forced to return to Rome where her father makes Tiberius a new match in the form of the object of his desire...

In the second half of his life, everyone he knew, he loved and lusted are dead: Augustus, Julia, Vipsania and Drusus, his beloved brother, leaving him quite bitter and reproachful. For good reason as he is faced with a creature of an entirely different order: Agrippina, Julia's daughter. While carrying similar beauty to her mother, she lacks anything of the charm, cheerfulness and happy-go-lucky that Julia had, but with the same self-importance and self-perfection that Augustus had and the same snappy and hard going streak as her father Agrippa, that makes Livia look tame. His slow descent into carelessness and cruelty is shown as he slowly begins to write off his harsh punishments of having Agrippina sent to the island of Pandataria where "his poor Julia" had dwelled in exile, and the slaughter of Sejanus and his allies as a thing that had to be done.

TIBERIUS is a vast improvement of the first novel AUGUSTUS, showing entertainment and fairness and making it sound less like a TV-show from the sixties, as AUGUSTUS appeared to do. His dislike of Augustus, his respect for his mother, his affection for Vipsania and his lustful obsession with Julia all of this and more paints a colourful and entertaining book while putting Tiberius into a fresh light where you still see him from the cruel and harsh man he became, yet you see history turned towards the man himself and see things on not what "exactly" happened but what might have. Rather then making him too perfect and self absorbed about things as Augustus does in AUGUSTUS, Tiberius knows he is faulted, cruel and bad, and he shows it without ever having to say it. Whether, of course we were met to believe Augustus was a pompous and self-absorbed man in AUGUSTUS, I'm not entirely sure. After reading AUGUSTUS, rush off to your library; bookshop or friend's house to read TIBERIUS to see not only Tiberius with a clean slate but of characters of the first book, most noticeably Julia, put into a light where they are seen for what they were to another individual rather then everyone. This detail makes TIBERIUS such a joy to read, its more realistic and exciting overview on life from anyone other then Augustus.

An inferior sequel to "Augustus".......1999-04-16

As a book on its own, "Tiberius" may be an interesting book, but as a sequel to "Augustus" it is inferior. Several scenes from "Augustus" were re-played just to give Tiberius's point of view, which may be interesting psychologically, but makes the book look phony. Massie goes too far in giving a favorite view on Tiberius: he ommits Tiberius's bloody purge of Sejanus's followers, for instance. Still, the subject matter and the early part of the book make its reading worthwhile.

A Good Read For Fans of Robert Graves.......1998-03-23

Done in the first-person-emperor narrative style of Robert Graves's Claudius books, Massie offers a far more sympathetic view of Tiberius than most are used to reading. It's a very satisfying read for anyone interested in 1st Century Roman history.

Imperial Inquisitions: Prosecutors and Informants from Tiberius to Domitian

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Fascinating!

Imperial Inquisitions: Prosecutors and Informants from Tiberius to Domitian
Steven Rutledge
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0415237009

Book Description

Delatores (political informants) and accusatores (malicious prosecutors) were a major part of life in imperial Rome. Contemporary sources depict them as cruel and heartless mercenaries, who bore the main responsibility for institutionalizing and enforcing the tyranny of the infamous rulers of the early empire, such as Nero, Caligula, and Domitian. Steven Rutledge's study examines the evidence and asks if this is a fair portrayal.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating!.......2002-07-09

This is a fascinating and provocative work that gets
at the dark side of the classical world. Rutledge takes
the reader on a journey into the seedy side of Imperial
Rome, one that few classicists are willing to tackle.
Written in a lucid style, Rutledge has placed himself
at the center of the current debate on authority and
imperium. Even at over 400 pages, I could not put
it down. Read it!

The Annals of Tacitus (Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries)

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The Annals of Tacitus (Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries)
Tacitus
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521609313

Book Description

The first in a four-volume edition of Tacitus Annals 1-6. The Annals are Tacitus’ brilliant account of Roman imperial history from the death of Augustus to the death of Nero. Books 1-6 describe the reign of Tiberius. Professor Goodyear’s introduction to the series deals concisely with the background to the Annals. He outlines the history of Tacitean scholarship to the present day and shows how Tacitus’ historical judgements were sometimes distorted by his preoccupations with style and with the moral function of historical writing. The commentary attends equally to literary, historical and textual questions. There are several appendixes on topics of more specialized interest.

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Why abridge this great novel?

Ben Hur
Lew Wallace
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1404185712

Book Description

Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. His old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. They become bitter enemies. Because of an unfortunate accident, Ben-Hur is sent to slave in the mines while his family is sent to leprosy caves. As Messala is dying from being crushed in a chariot race, he reveals where Ben-Hur's family is. On the road to find them, Ben-Hur meets the Christ as he is on the road to Golgotha to be crucified. That day changes Ben-Hur's life forever, for that is the day he becomes a believer.

Customer Reviews:

Why abridge this great novel?.......2007-07-19

Buyer beware-ok if you want an abridged copy ( I didn't) but I was in a rush and didn't notice!

GDI+ Custom Controls with Visual C# 2005

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GDI+ Custom Controls with Visual C# 2005
It's C# Applications, No Web
Good Book for those learning custom control development

GDI+ Custom Controls with Visual C# 2005
Iulian Serban , Dragos Brezoi , Adam Ward , and Tiberiu Radu
Manufacturer: Packt Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1904811604

Book Description

A fast-paced example-driven tutorial to building custom controls using Visual C# 2005 Express Edition and .NET 2.0. If you want to build custom controls with C# but you don't know where to start, or you are intimidated by the huge amount of information that needs to be absorbed, then this book is for you. This friendly tutorial is based on numerous examples with real-world applicability, and includes a case study featuring the development of a fully functional PieChart control. Showing you how to use the free Visual C# 2005 Express Edition environment to develop your controls, Building Custom Controls with Visual C# 2005 will teach you how to create professional, reusable custom controls for your desktop applications in no time. This book has been written with the intermediate C# developer in mind. Assuming a working knowledge of C#, the book teaches you how to implement custom controls using Visual C# 2005 Express Edition and all other versions of Visual C#, and GDI+ with .NET 2.0 The book covers: . Understand the basics of custom controls . Use GDI+ to draw your own controls . Implement double buffering to speed up your forms . Add printing functionality to your custom controls . Handle the mouse events to improve the user experience . Offer design-time support for programmers using your control . Design intuitive interfaces for your users

Customer Reviews:

GDI+ Custom Controls with Visual C# 2005 .......2007-05-13

It is a good book about understanding how GUI widgets are drawn on screen , however I think it could have gone further in depth , taking into account more traditional Widgets.

It's C# Applications, No Web.......2006-09-12

While the book looks like a good book from what we've read (we do pretty much no application programming though), don't make the mistake of getting it in hopes for Custom Controls for C# on the web.

We should have read more into it (the Visual C# Express Edition comment should have been a hint), but it was the only book on Custom Controls out at the time, so we hoped on it hoping to find some neat control examples.

We were disappointed when we found it only dealt with Application Custom Controls and there is very little thus far we could adapt for the web.

I really wish they would have put somewhere in the description to spell it out that there are no C# web items in the book, though.

Good Book for those learning custom control development.......2006-08-06

The caption on the front of the book states that GDI+ Custom Controls is a "fast-paced example-driven tutorial," which it is just that. This book covers the main essentials for GDI+ that all control developers want to know, including topics on painting, mouse movements, printing, drag/drop, and other topics.

The authors of the book like to use the examples to drive home most of the points about GDI+. Though it starts out by discussing each subject, it quickly moves to an illustration of the subject through an example, explaining the concepts in a follow-up response. Throughout the book are little tidbits of knowledge that are really good concepts to understand. Already knowing quite a bit about GDI+, there was some information for me still to learn on the subject.

The overall writing style of the book makes it an easy read. Plus, this book has more code sections than the average book to look at, as well as screen shots, which makes it more practical. Generally after each code section, there is a review to explain what the code does, not leaving you to guess what all of the purpose of the code is. In addition, I've included a review on the content of the chapters below.

This book starts out with a discussion on the fundamentals of controls: the different parts they are composed of and the objects and concepts for drawing them to the screen. It moves on towards drawing complex objects using the GraphicsPath object, which allows you to draw lines, curves, polygons, and other shapes in a continuous motion, as well as Transformations. These chapters focus mostly on the drawing of objects, with a minor amount of coverage on the handling of text. The example for the complex object section is the drawing and painting of the Visual Studio logo, which is an excellent example to illustrate a complex drawing example.

Drawing control parts, borders, and adornments is the next subject, which is exposed to custom controls through the ControlPaint class. The book discusses each of the available control parts and includes a screenshot of their appearance in each of their states (such as a button in Checked, Flat, Inactive, Normal, or Pushed state). Next is the ability to render various border styles for a control, as well as various adornments (such as the resizing handle, the size grip used to resize windows, various glyphs, and other objects) on the screen. It is amazing all of the options available, and the book discusses some of the uses in the examples in the chapter.

It covers more of the major functionality in controls in the next several chapters, such as how to display and alter images, print a control's text output to the printer, and handle mouse clicking and moving events within the control, each with their own example. The book also talks about the two kinds of dragging; dragging a control around the screen, and dragging/dropping an object.

The chapter on custom collections discusses both non-generic and generic versions of each type of collection. It discusses how each collection works, which is important to know. I personally didn't realize all of the different options that were available. However, the book doesn't cover creating your own custom collections, which you see implemented in most controls.

The book continues with a short discussion on double-buffering and how you can improve performance by storing the painting of a control in memory. To do this, the example it uses is scrolling text across the screen, which can be an intensive process. As you may know, scrolling is an intensive process because it has to repaint constantly. If you've had the Task Manager open when scrolling a Microsoft Word document, you may know what I'm talking about. The one example I wish they would have included in this is the use of scrollbars in a control, as they talk about it before moving on to a scrolling text example.

Controls have a design-time environment, which the next chapter talks about. You can add additional features, such as using custom windows forms to provide property editing support, using attributes to interact with the property grid, or using a type editor to limit the amount of acceptable values. For instance, the Color control has a limited set of values based on the enumeration, which the built-in type converter handles that limitation, by providing a drop down box with the selection of colors. This chapter talks about all the various aspects of design-time components, but I wish it would have gone more in-depth in regards to the examples. It touched upon the Color type converter, but only implemented a custom modal property editor, leaving out some of the other topics like designers themselves, which can be complex. It also didn't mention about Action lists, a new feature in the design-time environment.

The book comes to an end with a design theory chapter, stating concepts you should think about when designing your custom control. Taking these concepts of "appearance", "intuitiveness", and "stability", we come to the last chapter which uses them to create a custom PieChart control, a more advanced control tying in the various topics discussed throughout the whole book. The control renders a pie chart, and if it can, the text for the item in the pie chart directly in the control, with a legend on the side.

In reading this book, I found it to be a great guide to get you started. It doesn't cover each subject in great detail; if it would, it would have to be a reference book, and would be way too many pages to cover in one book, not to mention the monumental price. After all, windows development is a complex topic with so many different aspects to it. But this book, for someone who doesn't understand the concepts or who has a basic knowledge of GDI+, and only has a minor understanding of custom controls, will find this book beneficial as a starting place to get a framework for developing custom controls in the windows environment.

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A very detailed and balanced look at the 2nd Emperor of Rome

Tiberius (Blackwell Ancient Lives)
Robin Seager
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1405115297

Book Description

Robin Seager traces the life of Tiberius from his birth in Rome in 42 bc during the death throes of the Republic, through his military career and reign as Emperor, to his death in ad 37. Tiberius ' complex character is the key to understanding his reign. Challenging the common ancient view of Tiberius as a consummate hypocrite, Seager portrays him instead as a man whose virtues and beliefs were corrupted by power, who lost his grasp of reality as his fears of conspiracy and assassination spiralled out of control, and who finally resorted to ruling by terror.The second edition of this highly readable biography contains a substantial afterword, reconsidering various questions and discussing important new evidence that has come to light since the book was first published.

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A very detailed and balanced look at the 2nd Emperor of Rome.......2005-07-03

When I first discovered Robin Seager, it was through his book, "Pompey the Great". This was a book I just couldn't read finding it utterly long-winded and excruciatingly detailed (read: boring!). I did eventually read it, when I was ready, and discovered Seager to be an impressive historian whose fondness for detail I greatly enjoyed. Thus, I picked up Tiberius hoping for more of the same. And I wasn't disappointed. Tiberius was the second Principate of Rome having been adopted by Augustus to take over after his death. He was certainly not the first choice but in the end, Tiberius outlived all the other potential heirs Augustus had chosen. Tiberius was an honoured and respected general who had Republican sensibilities. As Principate, he clashed numerous times with the Senate over its inabilities to make decisions for itself and deferring many issues back to him (after he initially passed onto them). Seager takes us through Tiberius' life from his childhood roots (and the eventual familial-bond that he and Augustus would share) to his selection as Principate. He looks at the different occurrences in Tiberius' early life that set him down his eventual path (but not without some resistance first) and his role as Principate (from determining attacks to his relationship with the people). Seager provides a very comprehensive view of the second Principate's reign and his accomplishments and failures. Many have criticized Tiberius and claimed him a tyrant due to his misuse of maiestas (a sort of treason law), allowing Piso (Tiberius' friend) to bring down Germanicus (the much loved successor to-be of Tiberius if he had survived), his war and subsequent unfair treatment of Agrippina (mother of Gauis, wife of Germanicus) and his allowing of Sejanus to manipulate him for his own ambitions (which were obviously detrimental to Rome and many persons within). Although not excusing his behaviour, especially the later half as his mental reason began to crumble; Seager portrays a man who never had the ambitions to be Principate. Unlike many others, Tiberius wanted to end his days in peace and be left alone. What he got instead was the greatest responsibility, which with his virtues, he couldn't easily let go of. Although a very capable leader, Tiberius' greatest weaknesses were his poor attitude to the Principate position and his arrogance and stubbornness towards others. This is what caused the conflicts with the Senate and allowed people such as Sejanus to rise in power and cause so many problems. Tiberius showed himself initially as a fair and reasonable leader but as time went on, he detached himself from his position and its responsibilities and allowed others to take advantage of it. Seager shows that Tiberius was not a tyrant but rather a man who became too disillusioned and too stubborn to let go.

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus: Tradition and Apostasy

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Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus: Tradition and Apostasy
Alvin H. Bernstein
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0801410789

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