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A gripping but sad story about a would-be philosopher who reluctantly became emperor. Contrary to his predecessors, Constantine and Constantius II, he was tolerant and reasonable. A fervent Hellenist, he despised Christianity which had been made into the compulsory unique state religion by Constantine. While supporting religious freedom, Julian did his best to reinstate the old Roman values and religious traditions (many of which were themselves imported). Unfortunately, his tolerance was interpreted as weakness by some and he was, according to the book, assassinated by a personal -- Christian -- assistant during the Persian campaign. He only reigned for 2 years and one can only speculate on how history would have been different if he had had a chance to firmly entrench his many reforms.

The story is written as a sequence of fragments of Julian's (imaginary) diary, with frequent additions and often humorous comments by his former Hellenistic teachers. Throughout the tale, one learns that at that time, the Christians were perceived as a fanatic sect that did not hesitate to murder its own members if they had a different opinion, e.g. about the trinity. Also, it is argued that, in order to gain market share, they stole concepts of any popular rival religion, e.g. the cult of Mithras.

Strongly recommended if you're interested in Roman history.