<DIV>The Romans regarded her as &#8220;<I>fatale monstrum</I>&#8221;&#8212;a fatal omen. Pascal said the shape of her nose changed the history of the world. Shakespeare portrayed her as an icon of tragic love. But who was Cleopatra, really?<P>We almost feel that we know Cleopatra, but our distorted image of a self-destructive beauty does no justice to Cleopatra&#8217;s true genius. In <I>Cleopatra</I>, Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley offers an unexpectedly vivid portrait of a skillful Egyptian ruler. Stripping away our preconceptions, many of them as old as Egypt&#8217;s Roman conquerors, Cleopatra is a magnificent biography of a most extraordinary queen.</DIV>