Stephen Dando Books In Order

The Inquest

In the time of Vespasian, just after Rome has crushed the Jewish Revolt, Julius Varro, a Roman Questor an investigating magistrate is commissioned to investigate the story that a Jew rose from the dead after being crucified in Jerusalem. Because the fast growing Nazarene sect founded by the martyr’s followers is becoming a threat to the stability of the region, there is much riding on debunking the story. Questor Varro has to deal with the evidence that goes back forty years, with most witnesses long dead and the living ones lying to protect themselves. But he is intent on producing a report that will demolish the claims of these religious fanatics. His investigation stirs intrigue, religious passion, and violence, to say nothing of an attraction to a beautiful Jewish slave girl. Questor Varro’s report methodically destroys the myth fueling the newborn Christian movment. But then an extraordinary event occurs that changes everything

Caesar’s Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar’s Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome (With: )

‘A unique and splendidly researched story, following the trials and triumphs of Julius Caesar’s Legio X arguably the most famous legion of its day from its activation to the slogging battle of Munda and from Thapsus, Caesar’s tactical masterpiece, to the grim siege of the Jewish fortress of Masada. More than a mere unit account, it incorporates the history of Rome and the Roman army at the height of their power and gory glory. Many military historians consider Caesar’s legions the world’s most efficient infantry before the arrival of gunpowder. This book shows why. Written in readable, popular style, Caesar’s Legion is a must for military buffs and anyone interested in Roman history at a critical point in European civilization.’ T. R. Fehrenbach, author of This Kind of War, Lone Star, and ComanchesStephen Dando Collins paints a vivid and definitive portrait of daily life in the Tenth Legion as he follows Caesar and his men along the blood soaked fringes of the Empire. This unprecedented regimental history reveals countless previously unknown details about Roman military practices, Caesar’s conduct as a commander and his relationships with officers and legionaries, and the daily routine and discipline of the Legion. From penetrating insights into the mind of history’s greatest general to a grunt’s eye view of the gruesome realities of war in the Classical Age, this unique and riveting true account sets a new standard of exellence and detail to which all authors of ancient military history will now aspire.

Standing Bear Is a Person: The True Story of a Native American’s Quest for Justice

In 1877, Standing Bear and his Indian people, the Ponca, were forcibly removed from their land in northern Nebraska. In defiance, Standing Bear sued in U.S. District Court for the right to return home. In a landmark case, the judge, for the first time in U.S. history, recognized Native American rights acknowledging that ‘Standing Bear is a person’ and ruled in favor of Standing Bear. Standing Bear Is a Person is the fascinating behind the scenes story of that landmark 1879 court case, and the subsequent reverberations of the judge’s ruling across nineteenth century America. It is also a story filled with memorable characters typical of the Old West the crusty and wise Indian chief, Standing Bear, the Army Indian fighting general who became a strong Indian supporter, the crusading newspaper editor who championed Standing Bear’s cause, and the ‘most beautiful Indian maiden of her time,’ Bright Eyes, who became Standing Bear’s national spokesperson. At a time when America was obsessed with winning the West, no matter what, this is an intensely human story and a small victory for compassion. It is also the chronicle of an American tragedy: Standing Bear won his case, but the court’s decision that should have changed everything, in the end, changed very little for America’s Indians.

Nero’s Killing Machine: The True Story of Rome’s Remarkable 14th Legion

The 14th Gemina Martia Victrix Legion was the most celebrated unit of the early Roman Empire a force that had been wiped out under Julius Caesar, reformed, and almost wiped out again. After participating in the a.d. 43 invasion of Britain, the 14th Legion achieved its greatest glory when it put down the famous rebellion of the Britons under Boudicca. Numbering less than 10,000 men, the disciplined Roman killing machine defeated 230,000 rampaging rebels, slaughtering 80,000 with only 400 Roman losses an accomplishment that led the emperor Nero to honor the legion with the title ‘Conqueror of Britain.’ In this gripping book, second in the author’s definitive histories of the legions of ancient Rome, Stephen Dando Collins brings the 14th Legion to life, offering military history aficionados a unique soldier s eye view of their tactics, campaigns, and battles.

Cleopatra’s Kidnappers: How Caesar’s Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar

A powerful tale of war, romance, and one of history’s most desperate gamblesJulius Caesar was nothing if not bold. When, in the wake of his defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus his victorious legions refused to march another step under his command, he pursued his fleeing rival into Egypt with an impossibly small force of Gallic and German cavalry, raw Italian recruits, and nine hundred Spanish prisoners of war tough veterans of Pompey’s Sixth Legion. Cleopatra’s Kidnappers tells the epic saga of Caesar’s adventures in Egypt through the eyes of these captured, but never defeated, legionaries. In this third volume in his definitive history of the Roman legions, Stephen Dando Collins reveals how this tiny band of fierce warriors led Caesar’s little army to great victories against impossible odds. Bristling with action and packed with insights and newly revealed facts, this eye opening account introduces you to the extraordinary men who made possible Caesar’s famous boast, ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’Praise for Caesar’s Legion’A unique and splendidly researched story, following the trials and triumphs of Julius Caesar’s Legio X…
. More than a mere unit account, it incorporates the history of Rome and the Roman army at the height of their power and gory glory. Many military historians consider Caesar’s legions the world’s most efficient infantry before the arrival of gunpowder. This book shows why. Written in readable, popular style, Caesar’s Legion is a must for military buffs and anyone interested in Roman history at a critical point in European civilization.’ T. R. Fehrenbach author of This Kind of War, Lone Star, and Comanches

Mark Antony’s Heroes: How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor

This fourth book in Dando Collins’s definitive history of Rome s legions tells the story of Rome s 3rd Gallica Legion, which put Vespasian on the throne and saved the life of the Christian apostle Paul. Named for their leader, Mark Antony, these common Roman soldiers, through their gallantry on the battlefield, reshaped the Roman Empire and aided the spread of Christianity throughout Europe.

Blood of the Caesars: How the Murder of Germanicus Led to the Fall of Rome

Could the killing of Germanicus Julius Caesar the grandson of Mark Antony, adopted son of the emperor Tiberius, father of Caligula, and grandfather of Nero while the Roman Empire was still in its infancy have been the root cause of the empire’s collapse more than four centuries later? This brilliant investigation of Germanicus Caesar’s death and its aftermath is both a compelling history and first class murder mystery with a plot twist Agatha Christie would envy.

Tycoon’s War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America’s Most Famous Military Adventurer

When he died in 1877, Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the Vanderbilt dynasty, was wealthier than the U.S. Treasury. But he had nearly lost his fortune in 1856, when William Walker, a young Nashville genius, set out to conquer Central America and, in the process, take away Vanderbilt’s most profitable shipping business. To win back his empire, Vanderbilt had to win a bloody war involving seven countries.

Tycoon s War tells the story of an epic imperialist duel a violent battle of capitalist versus idealist, money versus ambition and a monumental clash of egos that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans.

Written by a master storyteller, this incredible true story, impeccably researched and never before told in full, is packed with greed, intrigue, and some of the most hair raising battle scenes ever written.

The Ides: Caesar’s Murder and the War for Rome

Unraveling the many mysteries surrounding the murder of Julius CaesarThe 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.A compelling history that is packed with intrigue and written with the pacing of a first rate mystery, The Ides will challenge what you think you know about Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire.

The Great Fire of Rome: The Fall of the Emperor Nero and His City

Acclaimed author Stephen Dando-Collins sifts facts from myths of the great calamity that beset Rome in 64 A.D. and uncovers the truth behind the legend that Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

In A.D. 64, on the night of July 19, a fire began beneath the stands of Rome’s great stadium, the Circus Maximus. The fire would spread over the coming days to engulf much of the city of Rome. From this calamity, one of the ancient world’s most devastating events, legends grew: that Nero had been responsible for the fire, and fiddled while Rome burned, and that Nero blamed the Christians of Rome, burning them alive in punishment, making them the first recorded martyrs to the Christian faith at Rome.

The Great Fire of Rome opens at the beginning of A.D. 64 and follows the events in Rome and nearby as they unfold in the seven months leading up to the great fire. As the year progresses we learn that the infamous young emperor Nero, who was twenty-six at the time of the fire, is celebrating a decade in power. Yet the palace is far from complacent, and the streets of Rome are simmering with talk of revolt.

Dando-Collins introduces the fascinating cavalcade of historical characters who were in Rome during the first seven months of A.D. 64 and played a part in the great drama. Using ancient sources, as well as modern archaeology, Dando-Collins describes the fire itself, and its the aftermath, as Nero personally directed relief efforts and reconstruction.

The Great Fire of Rome is an unforgettable human drama which brings ancient Rome and the momentous events of A.D. 64 to scorching life.

Legions of Rome: The Definitive History of Every Imperial Roman Legion

No book on Roman history has attempted to do what Stephen Dando Collins does in Legions of Rome: to provide a complete history of every Imperial Roman legion and what it achieved as a fighting force. The author has spent the last thirty years collecting every scrap of available evidence from numerous sources: stone and bronze inscriptions, coins, papyrus and literary accounts in a remarkable feat of historical detective work. The book is divided into three parts: Part 1 provides a detailed account of what the legionaries wore and ate, what camp life was like, what they were paid and how they were motivated and punished. The section also contains numerous personal histories of individual soldiers. Part 2 offers brief unit histories of all the legions that served Rome for 300 years from 30BC. Part 3 is a sweeping chronological survey of the campaigns in which the armies were involved, told from the point of view of particular legions. Lavish, authoritative and beautifully produced, Legions of Rome will appeal to ancient history enthusiasts and military history buffs alike.