Customer Reviews
Absolutely Brilliant - By: D. Evans, 28 Aug 2008 
I brought this book after having read Adrian Murdoch's terrific 'The Last Roman', a biography of Rome's last emperor, Romulus Augustulus. I was surprised & happy to see that this book not only reached the standards of Murdoch's other biography, butin some instances it even surpassed it.
Julian the Apostate is one of the most well documented of the Late Roman Emperors. Murdoch points out that at over 1,000 pages worth of his own writings survive to our day, & that is not to mention the accounts of the ancient historians like Ammianus Marcellinus.
That said, he remains an elusive & strange emperor; a man who's been equally praised & villified. Murdoch does a stellar job of teasing out information about Julian's personal life from the texts, & he builds a fascinating picture of the man, warts & all.
He also analyses the impact of Julian on Western history & thought, as well as his depictionin popular culture.
Murdoch's great skill is to write & present the factsin an interesting & erudite manner. He's an excellent writer, & amongst the most readablein his profession.
Anyone with an interestin the autumn years of Roman rule, orin the rise of Christianity & the death of state Paganism will find this book a great read. Ancient history buffs will bein for a treat with this book. Highly Recommended!
An excellent biography of Julian - not "the death of the Ancient world" - By: Sarakani, 12 Oct 2007 
A biography of Julian it is - but a description of the death of the pagan world it is not. There is only one mention of Theodosius I can remember & he was responsible for decapitating paganism & who knows, opening the doors to Islam as well - when the Romans gave wings to monotheism.
This is a very easily readable sketch about Julian's life - not an intimate portrait. Starting at Julian's heroic death, it takes us back to his unlikely rise through the jaws of Emperor Constantine's children & their filial, power struggles as emperors of Rome - including the Eastern Empire which Julian was to help the Romans to lose. The book is richly sourced. The end chapters describe Julian's impact & reputation - I'm not sure I agree with the author's appraisal of good vs bad verse. Julian stands out as a human being, a failed hero, a shadow of Alexander the Great.
Julian was not really an Apostate as he was labelled given that Paganism was still alive at his time - even if it was a receding force. It wasin the fifth century that Paganism really died & the civilisations of Egypt & the near Eastin a pagan context were obiliterated.
I get the impression that Julian tried to impose a form of Paganism that was not necessarily true to tradition as a "standard religion" (like Christianity) - & paganism never worked like that. The gods were not with Julian when he went for Sharpur the Emperor of Persia after which he met his death.
We get a good impression of the later Roman empire & one of the few emperors you can really admire. For his laws, his intellect & strangely - his tolerance as well. I believe the book should lead to further reading.
I don't think this book does any justice to its subtitle - (and the death of the ancient world) you would have to go elsewhere to find this - to the 420s CE.
Overall, a very digestible, well explained compendium with excellent references.
Brilliant biography - By: Dorothy King, 28 May 2006 Julian has not had a good popular biography for many years, so this book was overdue, & a pleasure to read. One of the most fascinating historical figures - like Claudius an academic Imperial achiever never expected to become emperor - Julianin addition battled to restore paganismin the face of Christianity. Murdoch has done him justicein this easy to read biography.
Good & overdue biography - By: peter weir, 07 May 2006 I have never understood why Julian the Apostate isn't better known. A new biography was overdue & this is an excellent attempt.
Excellent - as far as it goes - By: Jocko, 08 Feb 2006 Sutton have something of a reputation for quirky, incoherant & under-researched books on intriguing historical figures.
This is not one of them. The Last Pagan combines the accessability of a well-written popular biography with the fully-sourced rigour of an academic text. Its friendly but frank assessment of Julian - who emerges as a first-class second-rate mind, a pedantic, schoolboyish prig & yet a hero - is entirely convincing. To my knowledge, there is no better introduction to the man.
But...The book's one weakness seems to me to bein the very area of interest to most readers. Murdoch appears to have a rather naive understanding of Hellenistic "paganism". It was far more than worshipping a load of old gods & a scholarly fondness for Homer. We get little real sense of what Julian believed. I imagine that most readers would be startled to learn that the Emperor was as monotheistic as a medieval Pope. The intellectual, spiritual & religious issues of the time -in contrast to their political consequences - are oddly underplayed.
Yet that information can be found elsewhere. This is a very good book, which I warmly recommend.
