Book excerpt: "Celestial Inclinations: A Life of Augustus provides a new perspective on the life and career of the first Roman emperor Augustus (63 B.C.-A.D. 14) and presents the case that Augustus used his knowledge of the celestial sphere in various ways to confirm for himself and convey to others that the heavens supported his activities on earth and his inevitable greatness. The book is based on fresh assessments of relevant ancient historical, literary, astronomical, astrological, and artistic sources for the years prior to and during the life of Augustus. The book combines these sources with astronomical sky maps and astrological diagrams to offer fresh interpretations of critical events in the life of Augustus at a time when the celestial sphere had come to play an important cultural and political role. Topics include the identification of the celestial object that appeared at the ludi in honor of Caesar in 44 B.C.; the Battle of Actium; the iconography of the Tellus Relief Panel on the Ara Pacis Augustae; the Ludi Saeculares; Augustus' major building projects in Rome; and Augustus' interactions with major figures of the period such as Cicero, Caesar, Agrippa, and Antonius"--