Books about Augustus or Caesar ?

I have received Dragon Age Asunder and a Sparrow Falls by Wlibur Smith for Christmas. The book I will always love to read is Paul Kennedy's Rise and Fall of Great Powers

Read the 1632 series it is kind of a historical fantasy but there is tons of scheming and politics it is set during the 30 years war and while the plot is a little unrealistic it turns out to be a great read and has tons of scheming and such like the Ambassador requested.

biographies of Talleyrand.

Also, (Sir) Isaiah Berlin on deMaistre. Berlin is antidote to deM., like Guicciardini was to Machiavelli.SEE Berlin's Hedgehog And The Fox and B.'s own life and Letters are interesting, in that he was in the Brit embassy to USSR during WWII.
Castlereagh represented Britain at the Congress of Vienna, and Kissinger's history of the Congress should cover him.

The German Genius by Watson
My last obsession was South Africa, so Diamonds, Gold and War by Meredith and The Cornerhouse and The Randlords.
I'm starting Braudel's three BIG books.....probably a bit dry for Gavin's tastes.

Have you read The Decline of Bismark's European Order and The Fateful Alliance?

LeBrun was where I am, so I got to spend a few afternoons going through all of his materials on de Maistre....probably the best collection in the States.

I believe the Australian Stock Exchange is on Castlereagh Street. The Golden Son of the Ascendancy went crazy and killed himself shortly after the Congress. Anyone care to recite Shelley's poem about pissing on Castlereagh's grave?

And dominating the Congress of Vienna: the von Metternich system.

Excerpts of Metternich of Austria Memoirs are available on the Internet.

In terms of "empire" and all the plotting, scheming, administration, and players that go along with it, I would highly recommend Robert Graves' "I Claudius" and the sequel, "Claudius the God." They're not as close of a match to Diplomacy as some of these other great recommendations, but they are a great Ancient Diplomacy type of precursor.

They also made Time Magazine's 2005 list of the 100 greatest novels of the 20th century and are a fantastic read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Claudius

About the Congress, don't forget this:
"RECONSTRUCTION - Talleyrand and the Congress of Vienna 1814-15" by Guglielmo Ferrero. Geneve 1939.
Second book of a trilogy (Adventure/Reconstruction/Power), altough easy, simple and clear, it goes really deep into diplomacy of the Congress and its issues, with a special eye on France's point of view. Unmissable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_Ferrero

'Empires Apart'by Brian Landers- that's nonfiction for you.

The Fall of the Dynasties: The Collapse of the Old Order by Edmond Taylor