Egypt's legendary queen (69-30 B.C.) comes to vibrant life in this colorful, readable biography. Historian Michael Foss combines careful scholarship with exciting storytelling to capture Cleopatra's complex personality within the context of the turbulent world-power politics of her day. Cunning, ruthless, nervy, unquenchably feminine yet imperiously regal, Cleopatra made her own rules. Foss illuminates the statesmanship that gained Ptolemaic Egypt some measure of status and independence in the shadow of all-powerful Rome, as well as the sexual allure that captivated Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. The Search for Cleopatra is both good history and good fun.