Product Description
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 2 is a book written by Edward Gibbon. It is widely considered to be one of the top 100 greatest books of all time. This great novel will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 2 is required reading for various courses and curriculums. And for others who simply enjoy reading timeless pieces of classic literature, this gem by Edward Gibbon is highly recommended. Published by Quill Pen Classics and beautifully produced, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 2 would make an ideal gift and it should be a part of everyone's personal library. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

GIVE ME THE UNEDITED!
The first volume I downloaded was wonderful and original.The shock I had when reading this was great, as some Christian bisop uses this to argue with a dead author and interrups constantly. BAD and ANNOYING ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A review written in 1844
Found in a letter dated February 13 1844 from my great-great-great-uncle George Mackenzie in India to his sister Alice in Scotland: "Have you ever read Gibbon's Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire? I am very fond of it for many reasons. It is a grand book and to read it always makes me feel as if my life extended thousands instead of tens of years and as if I could trace out the revolutions of Empires. It is beautifully written and the English of it is to my taste particularly elegant, and except where Gibbon's judgement was obscured by his prejudice, it is true as history can be. His reasonings from the great events which he relates are generally speaking very true and I have heard that there is hardly a better guide for a politician than that history. What an immensely long duration the time of it is - from the year 90 after Christ till the year 1490 or thereabouts in fact almost down to our own times. It is a great ornament to my bookcase and I often read it & prefer it to any novel whatsoever." So the 5 stars are on behalf of Uncle George who sadly died later in 1844 aged 25.

Great set of books
This is a wonderful set of the complete Decline and Fall. The books are hardbound and full-sized, not a flimsy paperback.Looks great on my bookshelf! ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides an engaging, systematic introduction to religion in the Roman empire.

• Covers both mainstream Graeco-Roman religion and regional religious traditions, from Egypt to Western Europe
• Examines the shared assumptions and underlying dynamics that characterized religious life as a whole
• Draws on a wide range of primary material, both textual and visual, from literary works, inscriptions and monuments
• Offers insight into the religious world in which contemporary rabbinic Judaism and Christianity both had their origin

Customer Reviews (3)

Well written, open-ended exploration of Roman religion
This book is no ordinary introduction to the study of Roman religion.Instead James Rives takes the approach of presenting problems to the study of the topic, plus apparent differences to modern approaches to religion.Often he will present conflicting schools of thought as a way of setting the reader off on a quest to find the truth.

Additionally, chapter 2 in this book is quite valuable for the information it presents on outlines of various known religious traditions in various areas of the Roman Empire.This chapter makes it possible for people to begin to ascertain the Semitic influence on Anatolia, for example, or the overall theological structure of non-Jewish Semitic cultures within the Roman Empire.This itself provides a window into comparative religion that I haven't finished digesting yet.

The book is otherwise organized into chapters discussing various challenges, problems, or topics concerning Roman religion.Each chapter largely stands on it's own, and what cross-referencing does occur does not necessarily follow a linear form.This is refreshing because one is left with a sense that this is an incomplete study which seeks to help define some approaches rather than put the author's understanding forward was the single, correct viewpoint.

Finally I'd note that there were many times when the author suggested that specific practices might be seen as unusual or strange today and I could immediately think of close modern equivalents.I think the author's view here is that these equivalents are somehow less religious but I'm not quite so sure.At any rate, if one thing could be added, it would be a chapter on the the problem that such continuities pose to the study of the topic.

All in all, this is a very well done book and I'd highly recommend it.

A nicely presented introduction to religion in the Roman Empire
Religion in the Roman Empire by James B. Rives allows readers to glimpse the colorful menagerie of the various beliefs that saturated the lands of the Caesars.Rives is well-organized and clear in his presentation, all the while covering large swaths of the Empire, from North Africa to Gaul and everywhere in between.He begins rightly by creating the context with which to study ancient polytheism, that is, to leave our modern pretensions about religion and piety out of the academic arena, and meet the Ancient Romans on their own terms and by their own definitions.The rest of the work does great justice to this view as Rives approaches each subject with respect and objectivity.He covers the basics: the views of the divine and their relationship with mortals, the imperial and mystery cults, the mobility and inclusion of foreign gods, Roman religious policy, and finally, the dominance of Christianity.This last subject is not seen with bias but is also considered on its own terms with some insightful suggestions by Rives.

This book being an introduction that covers such a huge array of material, no single item is given great detail.However, what it lacks in detail it provides in perspective and equips the reader well for further study.

Clearly Written, Well-Organized Presentation of a Fascinating Topic
This fascinating, well-written book provides a clear, and at times lively, introduction/overview of religion in the Roman Empire from Caesar to Constantine. James Rives walks the reader through the variety of beliefs/worship practices from North Africa to Britain, explores the ways in which local deities and practices travelled through the empire and how Roman deities were thought to interact with them, explains the differences among practice, myth, belief and art, and considers Roman imperial attitudes toward the multiplicity of religions under its rule. He does such a smooth job of organizing that it feels as if the information naturally falls into the categories he provides, and while this certainly isn't pop history it is very clearly written, with no jargon, and with interesting details and accounts of people's interactions with their gods/goddesses/lares/sacred sites. He concludes with an account of early Christianity that is remarkably unbiased--this is not a triumphal narrative of the rise of monotheism by any means--and he leaves the reader to consider what was lost, and what has been misunderstood, about a world where caves, groves and rivers were places where anyone could pause and talk to the sacred without intermediary.He also provides an excellent glossary of assorted deities and a very complete bibliography, as well as annotated bib. notes at the end of each chapter for further reading.I'd recommend this to anyone with an interest in the subject; as said, it's not a pop history, but certainly accessible to the educated lay reader (it reminded me a bit of Reuther's Goddesses and the Divine Feminine in terms of readibility/historically informed assessment of non-monotheist religion, and might appeal to anyone who enjoyed that book). ... Read more

Product Description
The complete 6-volume work, which covers from the reign of Marcus Aurelius to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The table of contents has links to each of the 71 chapters. On 10/26/2009 we improved the formatting of this book.If you bought a copy before, you should be able to download the new version at no extra charge.

According to Wikipedia: "Edward Gibbon (1737 - 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. The History is known principally for the quality and irony of its prose..." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Good, but probably better in paper
Great reading, that I could hardly lay down. My only qualms are with the improvable quality of the Kindle edition. There are frequent typos, some sentences are repeated and words missing. What I find most annoying, though, is that in a book where the footnotes are an integral part of the text they appear so far from the citing text. Usually I had to page forward two or three pages to find the text of a footnote, and given the number of them and the non-instantaneous refresh time of the screen in the Kindle, this quickly become tedious. This book, my first long reading in the Kindle, is probably the one I would prefer to have read in paper.

Many footnotes are in Latin. Clearly, Gibbon writes for learned people and assumes they all read Latin. Even though Spanish is my native tongue, I found it difficult to decipher most of the Latin footnotes, and I wonder if a learned kind soul would produce an edition with translations for people like me.

All in all, in spite of the shortcomings I mentioned, I am satisfied.

Easy to follow information/historical caracters
This is a complex but quick review on the cast of caracters who made Rome, its history, and culture.Since I love this type of ancient history, I find this book almost like a reference.Not a novel for sure.One can quickly find the era and events.

A treasure
edited by Hans-Fredrich Mueller

I finally finished this massive treasure, which isn't even exhaustive.And I can't imagine the colossal task in both time and energy it took to write it.It took Gibbon twelve years, from 1776 to 1788.I find it more than a coincidence that he began writing in the year of our independence.Even in this abridged form (which is what you will more likely come across) it is still a huge undertaking; though Mueller, in his critical forward, tells us it is necessary for it to become readable.Mueller also says he prided himself in being meticulous and accurate while still being manageable.And very helpful is the addition of dates bracketed throughout the text.An index would have been useful.In Boorstin's introduction he cites the major impact this work had on him; he calls it intimate.I would have never thought of it in that way, but now after ingesting all six volumes I understand why he calls it intimate.Gibbon does not mince words either.His work will always be remembered and its impact can still be felt today.He is an artist, like no one I have read before.Keep a dictionary handy.I also recommend reading the forward and the introduction, especially after studying Gibbon's great work.They take into question Gibbon's devotion to Christianity and his offensiveness towards it.I see Gibbon as mixed in his beliefs, though he wrote as he saw it; and I find that he saw the truth when he found it.Did he believe infrastructure was valued over its people?

The role of emperor was not a secure job."Such was the unhappy condition of the Roman emperors that, whatever might be their conduct, their fate was commonly the same."The polytheistic Roman Empire was very much a melting pot (half slaves) and within it were many schisms.I see parallels---such as the oppressive taxes, the corrupt politicians, the tyrannical government, the effemination, and the endless warfare---to our United States, and a warning for our future.

So what caused the fall?For Gibbon, the gradual decline began after Christ, until the eventual fall some fifteen hundred years later.Chapters are built upon the reigns of the emperors as they came to power, except where he periodically inserts chapters concerning the Christian influence, the Christian persecutions, the corrupt church, the persecution of the church toward others, the Crusades, the rise of Islam, the debilitating taxes and, towards the end, he concentrates on the impact by the surrounding nations.The Empire became a black hole and split to form an East and a West---the West to totally collapse.There were many causes: the slow introduction of Christianity over Paganism and the conversion to it, the collapse of the military, the always and increasing threat of outside peoples, alienating allies and provoking enemies, the corruption within (the people), and of course the self righteous emperors.Entropy would take over and finally lead to the collapse of the infrastructure.

Rome was both a curse and a blessing for Christianity.Many were converted, but the power of Catholicism and the Pope led to the eventual corruption and apostasy of the church.We have our many deists and polytheists just as the Romans.Do you not find a familiarity to us and the Romans?

LORD bless
Scott

misidentified
this book is not noted as COMPLETELY INTERRUPTED by a catholic editor and is VERY annoying to read this way! Give me Gibbons original!

Better
The price is right, but I found the text more or less unreadable. Am now trying the $9.99 version (in sample), will see if one gets what one pays for.

The above was written before the published juploaded a new version. The type face is MUCH better (or I am in a better mood). It still looks too much
like a ms., with lots of spaces between some words (problems of a fixed width font) and footnotes placed in the text. But the new version is clearly readable.

For my taste I will go with the $9.99 version (I am going to spend quite a while with Gibbon), but this version surely now is very good value. ... Read more

Product Description
Edward Gibbon's six-volume History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88) is among the most magnificent and ambitious narratives in European literature. Its subject is the fate of one of the world's greatest civilizations over thirteen centuries - its rulers, wars and society, and the events that led to its disastrous collapse. Here, in volumes one and two, Gibbon charts the vast extent and constitution of the Empire from the reign of Augustus to 395 ad. And in a controversial critique, he examines the early Church, with fascinating accounts of the first Christian and last pagan emperors, Constantine and Julian. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

For readers with bifocals: a warning
I read all the reviews of all the various editions of Gibbons and I finally decided on the Womersley. I wanted the footnotes. But when the paperback arrived, I found that the book's print was so small that, even with my bifocals, reading led to headaches (and the footnotes were even smaller). I then bought the Folio Society edition, which cut most of the footnotes but I was able to read it without headaches. Some of the footnotes are critical to understanding the Gibbon, but if you remove the op. cits and Ibids alone, I think two thirds of the footnotes would disappear. I balanced the need for those footnotes with being able to read it at all. For me, the Folio Society set (which I got for $41 on EBay) was well worth the money.

JPS

A Monument to Historical Research.
This mighty book is the paradigm for any historical writing. Only to imagine its first volume was written in 1776 produce awe to the reader. Sure it contains errors that had been pointed out by more recent investigations. Sure is dated in some aspects. But what a monument in itself it is!

It stands as a reference for every historian of the period, for every serious student of Roman history, for every history lover.


Erudite and at the same time so clear and interesting work. Gibbon's prose has a very spicy taste, once you get used to it, you will savor each paragraph.

The study begins with Antonines Period and ends at the Fall of the Empire. Thru that huge period of time, all main characters as Emperors, Generals, Senators, Consuls, Barbaric Kings and their people are shown and their deeds recounted.

The enormous amount of sources consulted by the author and his masterful way to put all that data in an ordered and neat mode still amaze me.

No student or researcher should skip this Historical Monument!

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Why Womersley Edition
Simply quote Wikipedia which is the best according to what I have seen so far anyway.
Take note if you care "The 2005 print includes minor revisions and a new chronology." And the hardback gives more pleasure to read.

[Gibbon continued to revise and change his work even after publication. The complexities of the problem are addressed in Womersley's introduction and appendices to his complete edition.

In-print complete editions
J.B. Bury, ed., 7 volumes (London: Methuen, 1909-1914), currently reprinted (New York: AMS Press, 1974). Until Womersley, this was the essential edition, but now nearing age 100, the historical analysis/commentary is dated. [ISBN 0-404-02820-9].
Hugh Trevor-Roper, ed., 6 volumes (New York: Everyman's Library, 1993-1994). from the Bury text and with Gibbon's own notes, but without Bury's, many of which are superseded by more recent research. [ISBN 0-679-42308-7 (vols. 1-3); ISBN 0-679-43593-X (vols. 4-6)].
David Womersley, ed., 3 volumes. hardback-(London: Allen Lane, 1994); paperback-(New York: Penguin Books, 2005;1994). The current essential edition, the most faithful to Gibbon's original text. The ancient Greek quotations are not as accurate as in Bury, but an otherwise excellent work with complete footnotes and bibliographical information for Gibbon's cryptic footnote notations. Includes the original index, and the Vindication (1779) which Gibbon wrote in response to attacks on his caustic portrayal of Christianity. The 2005 print includes minor revisions and a new chronology. [ISBN 0-7139-9124-0 (3360 p.); ISBN 0-14-043393-7 (v.1, 1232 p.); ISBN 0-14-043394-5 (v.2, 1024 p.); ISBN 0-14-043395-3 (v.3, 1360 p.)]
]

Considered the most scholarly collection of Gibbon's work
I do not recommend buying an edition of "The Decline and Fall" based upon price alone, because for many reasons, which will become clearer to you after reading this complicated and scholarly work, the editions vary in content and price, nor does price alone guarantee quality.

For many hours prior to purchasing, I researched the numerous editions offered by different publishers and read reviews, and discovered a consensus among Gibbon fans in favor of Womersley's unabridged edition, in part because it includes a complete and unmodernized text, Gibbon's own comments and notes, and his famous Vindication, a final and thorough answer to scurrilous critics of his time. All of this is provided at a quite reasonable price, considering the length of the work (in excess of 1,300 pages), albeit in soft cover which I find makes a book easier to read, if slightly less durable.

I recommend buying this new edition from Amazon, instead of the used editions also offered here, because many of them, I discovered after investigating, are not the same as this one I am reviewing (ISBN 0-14-043393-7, which is Volume I). Like I said, there are many editions of Gibbon's masterpiece floating about, old and new, of varying quality and content. The vendors' failure to disclose the ISBN in their descriptions prohibits any purchase by the discriminating. Just pay the seventeen or so bucks for the new book, which is dirt cheap for a work of this magnitude.

There should be no need to defend Gibbon nor his work, which is simply the best I have yet read. I loved history as a boy, even while reading the simple and often stupid books offered in school. Imagine how much more I enjoyed history written by such a master of prose as Gibbon, the most thorough, meticulous and honest historian I have yet encountered.

We owe a debt of gratitude to a historian who has perused enormous quantities of ancient texts in Latin and Greek and other languages, such as would confound the vast majority of readers today, and with his formidable powers of intellect, analyzed their veracity, by comparing one against the other, and judged keenly of their worth. Gibbon had for his time a vast encyclopedic knowledge, for by his own admission, he devoted his life to reading. Gibbon's love was not among humans, but among books. He possessed an excellent understanding of government, which is the more understandable when you discover he served as a Member of Parliament for a number of years. His grasp of military science is explained in part by his service in the militia as an officer. To all these things, we must add an innate, profound understanding of human nature.

Why bother with Gibbon? Why not read the original, the ancient and medieval writers, from whom Gibbon based his work? That is a good question that I asked myself. Here is the answer. We cannot trust the ancient writers to be truthful or accurate in every event. For one thing, they sometimes contradict each other, which means one or both are lying. Also, they leave out important details, which can be pieced together by circumstantial evidence, if you have found it by exhaustive research.

This is where Gibbon comes in. He has performed exhaustive research that consumed a large portion of his scholarly and reflective lifetime. Gibbon is no fool, and never succumbs to the usual vices of enthusiasm or its opposite, cynicism. He is calm, rational, penetrative; just the guide and the mentor you want. He never takes an ancient historian at face value without considering their motives, prejudices, passions, and even their personal histories. Gibbon has studied not just the history, but the historians, and the history of the historian's countries. Not only has Gibbon accumulated and summarized the ancient and medieval texts, but interpreted and analyzed with his considerable deductive powers, to form a whole that is greater than the parts. Thus a novice does better with Gibbon than with the original. Gibbon's copious notes explain where has made interpretations, leaving you free to form different conclusions, should you desire.

Some reviewers are peeved that Gibbon suffers an opinion that disagrees with their own, and for this reason alone, they degrade his work. I experience the same treatment by those who are alarmed that my reviews have an actual opinion instead of being a rubber stamp marked "PERFECTION". If this intolerant philosophy were carried on, then no-one should dare express an unseasonable opinion of anything at all, and we should all become a tribe of dullards. Of course Gibbon expresses many opinions, some the inevitable product of his country, class and times; and this is the mark of intellectual honesty. You should never read without a critical mind, and should be prepared to disagree with an author on some issues, as I do with Gibbon, while agreeing with him on others. I especially favor his ideas concerning the causes and effects of the rise of Christianity, many of which can be observed today.

Look to find a better history than this, in any language, written during any time since the advent of letters. Look far and wide, as long as you like... and then revisit Gibbon, and see whether you have yet found an equal.

Overrated
I enjoyed this book, but some of the praise for it ("the best history book ever written in the English language!!") is over the top. It is no coincidence that intellectuals have embraced this history of the Roman empire above all others - the author is openly skeptical of Christianity and sympathetic to barbarians.

Gibbon's writing skills are also overrated in my opinion. Using 20 words to express a point that could be expressed in 10 words is, in my book, bad writing. For example, instead of writing "XYZ is true", Gibbon will write "It would not be incorrect for an observer to note that XYZ is true". This gets exhausting after a few hundred pages. He also overuses certain words, such as 'insensibly'. ... Read more

Product Description
A respected and authoratative history of Rome and the Roman Empire that integrates social, economic, cultural, and religious aspects of Roman life with the rise and fall of the Republic and the achievements and decay of the imperial system to the time of Justinian. This paperback edition was updated in 1991 and includes an updated bibliography and a new appendix on women's history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Look no further
This textbook is the best brief introduction to Roman history and civilization that I have found.Africa manages to pack much detail into his rapid survey of political and military history.He is excellent as well with Roman social history and religion.He has an eye for telling anecdotes, and throughout it is clear that he had great fun writing this book.Africa is witty and often sardonic; The Immense Majesty is a great read, even for a professional historian.There is almost nothing about this book that I do not like, and my undergraduate students seem to agree.I believe that the general reader, seeking an introduction to ancient Rome, could hardly do better than this book.Do not expect lavish illustrations, however; the book is meant to be affordable.

This book is great
I had Africa as a teacher in 1992 and 1993.My first class was the"Rise and Fall of Rome" (200 level course) and the second was agraduate course more oriented on historiography ("Aliens andOthers").

Clearly, this book is easy to read, but I feel it cancater to a large group of people, from the amateur to the student to theexpert just getting into this time in history.

I can guarantee you thatAfrica's sources are well-documented.He's a "street-smart"historian with enough wisdom to get the "right balance", if thereis one, between fact and fiction.

I highly recommend this book.

If you like the Republic
If you like reading about the Roman Republic, Africa does a nice job of breaking it up into readable chunks that you can understand.I'm a student, so I needed it to be easily understandable.If you are a scholar in this field, then this book might seem a little simple to you.Yet it's not nearly as dry as some of the other texts that I have read for my class. ... Read more

Product Description
Imperial and political power; military campaigns and tactics; Roman art and architecture; life and work, society, sport and games - every major theme of Roman history is explored in this comprehensive volume ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

If you like Roman history, you'll love this
This is a wonderful overview of the fabulous Romans and their history and life style.Photos are excellent and it reads like a novel.The short vignettes allow one to read and return over and over.I'm glad I own this book.

Great Resource for Writers
I found this at a thrift store for 90 cents! Who would give such a wonderful book away! I've been doing research on Rome for the last 3 months and this book has everything I need! Filled with fabulous facts and pictures...if you love reading about ancient Rome this book is for you!

Unique and useful...
The best thing in this book is the richness of illustrations. So one can easily visualize what is told.
The categorization is also unique and very useful. Due this categoorization several information is repeated, but it is not boring. I found it very useful, as it helps you to repeat certain information so that it is easily stored in your mind.
I was so much impressed by this book, I looked for a similar book on Greek history but unfortunately it does not exist.
I recommend this book to everyone who wants to read on roman history but does not like the classical chronological story-telling style. It is really fun!..

Illustrated encyclopedia of the Roman Empire
This book is very informative and interesting. It is perfect for my son (13 years old) to write essays on Roman Empire when he gets into high school or even college.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Class struggle in the Roman Empire
Rostovtzeff's book covers the economy of the Roman Empire between the First Century B.C. and the reforms of Diocletian in 284. His main thesis is that the history of the Empire is essentially a three-way struggle between the Senatorial upper classes, the city bourgeoisie (knights) and the proletariate.

After a brief account of the Social War and of the end of the Republic, the first part of the book is a detailed description of the economic environment in each province of the Empire under the Principate. He shows how the Emperors tried to develop the economy by supporting the city bourgeoisie against the Senatorial class, which was slaughtered in the various civil wars, and had almost totally disappeared at the end of the Antonine dynasty.

The second part, the most interesting in my view, is an account of the Crisis of the Third Century. According to the author, the failure of the bourgeoisie to assume the military defense of the Empire led to the development of an army of peasants who hated the city elites, and who took advantage of the politicalinstability to establish a military dictatorship. The Emperors were only tools in the hands of that proletarian army and were almost always assassinated after a few years. Ever heavier taxes were necessary to pay the soldiers. Taxes were levied inefficiently and arbitrarily on the city elites (when they were not massacred in civil wars), whichkilled individual enterprise and eventually led to a major economic decline, and more taxes.Rostovtzeffconcludes that the crisis was in fact a proletarian revolution, and he makes an interesting parallel between a letter written in Egypt in the Third Century and letters he's receiving from the Soviet Union to illustrate the point (the book was written in 1926).

The history ends with Diocletian, who stabilized the military dictatorship in order to save the Empire politically, instead of returning to the earlier policy of supporting the cities. That merely postponed the end of the Empire for two centuries. For the later period, AHM Jones' Later Roman Empire is recommended.

The reasons for the economic decline of the Ancient World remain an historical puzzle (see for exampleThe End of the Past by Aldo Schiavone), and Rostovtzeff does not give any definitive answer, but his arguments are very interesting, and the process by which a sophisticated society became a system of generalized slavery in which everyone was worse off is rather disturbing.

A Masterpiece
In short, this book is a masterpiece of historical scholarship.Rostovtzeff describes every aspect of socioeconomic life throughout Roman civilization from the Julio-Claudians through Diocletian in a wonderful narrative.It is hard to imagine that a book primarily concerned with how people feed and clothe themselves can be an engrossing page-turner, but this book is.If you are at all interested in the history of real people, you must read this book. ... Read more

Product Description
In the greatest work of history in the English language, Edward Gibbon compresses thirteen turbulent centuries into a gripping epic narrative. It is history in the grand eighteenth-century manner, a well-researched drama charged with insight, irony, and incisive character analysis. In elegant prose, Gibbon presents both the broad pattern of events and the significant revealing detail. He delves into religion, politics, sexuality, and social mores with equal authority and aplomb. While subsequent research revealed minor factual errors about the early Empire, Gibbon's bold vision, witty descriptions of a vast cast of characters, and readiness to display his own beliefs and prejudices result in an astonishing work of history and literature, at once powerfully intelligent and enormously entertaining.

Based on David Womersley's definitive three-volume Penguin Classics edition of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, this abridgement contains complete chapters from all three volumes, linked by extended bridging passages, vividly capture the style, the argument, and the architecture of the whole work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Monument of the West
The Roman empire speaks of the political and military genius of Western civilization.A tribe of people united, armored, and powered by their love of freedom and virtue first subdues the other tribes of Italy, then the whole of Europe and much of Africa and Asia, and ultimately stand in one way or another for 1,500 years.As Edward Gibbon in his brilliant and sparking, haunting and stunning prose explains, the genius of Rome became manifest in its political system that balanced the factions and interests of Rome with such audacious brilliance that the whole of Rome was dedicated to freedom and virtue, and every Roman would happily and jealously join the banner of the Roman army.If the armies of Rome's deadliest enemies -- the Goths, the Vandals, the Persians, and ultimately the Ottomans -- were driven by greed and fear, then the Roman legions' shield and armor were honor and liberty.Ironically, in defending the republic, Rome's legions were to expand so deep into enemy territory that they became too mired in luxury and corruption that they would bring back such vices to the Roman republic, an inevitable fact of territorial expansion that would help transform Rome from republic to empire.

It was having read Gibbon's masterpiece and too easily seen the parallels between a declining Roman empire and an ascending British empire that prompted Edmund Burke's memorable orations at the Warren Hastings trial -- Burke solemnly and fiercely warned the British people how Indian nabobs were exploiting the wealth of India, and using this wealth to corrupt the political process and liberty back in England.Surprisingly, Gibbon doesn't hark back on the golden days of the Roman republic, and only cursorily mentions Cicero and Cato.Gibbon posits an interesting question -- the question isn't why the Roman empire fell (the rise and fall of empires is as common in the historical landscape as are mountains in the natural) but how it lasted for such a long time.The answer must lie in the inherent genius of the Roman republic, virtues that did not decay with empire but somehow were kept alive in the breasts of Rome's noblest citizens.China's dynasties continuously declined from their inception, duplicity and servility as well as corruption and luxury too firmly rooted in the Chinese soil for anything solid and meaningful to grow.But Rome did not fall and decline continuously, and some heroes arose who bore the promise of republican revival.There is Julian, that noblest of all emperors, who shocked and armored his legions and his people with his intellect and his virtue, his justice and his toleration.Ultimately, he fell when his chief virtue -- his love of fame -- during his rise to power became his chief vice during his rule, as he sought to subdued the Roman empire.(Ironically, Julian has all too many similarities with Zhuge Liang, the hero of the Chinese epic "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," a hero loved by the people but who only brought suffering and misery to his people when he sought to expand his empire.)And then there is that great general Belisarius whose main strength was his loyalty to the Roman empire and whose main failing was his loyalty to a degenerate emperor and a cruel wife.

Edward Gibbon's "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" is a truly exceptional piece of literature.It is difficult and challenging, but it is also decidedly brilliant and memorable.If Rome itself does not stand then what it represents -- republican virtue and love of freedom -- still burns deep in America, its most direct descendant, and Gibbon's words are a testament of the beauty and economy of the English language.

"Eleven hundred and sixty-three years after the foundation of Rome..."
...the "barbarians" took it back. Rome lasted over a millennium, and the length of its rule, and civilizing influence has never been matched, even by China. Edward Gibbon wrote his classic account of this empire's decline in the later half of the 18th Century, an astonishing work of erudition long before Google has simplified the research task. The entire history covers over 3000 pages; even the abridged version is daunting at over 800 pages. This work "nags' any bibliophile. Can I "shuck off my mortal coil" and not have read it? I gratifyingly took the plunge, and was richly rewarded.

There are numerous versions of this epic work extant. I read the Penguin Classics version, but the one edited and with an introduction by Dero A. Saunders. He identified one of the key strengths of Gibbon's work: "...understanding the irrational in human history." How humans will embrace actions and courses of behavior that are not in their enlightened self-interest. Gibbon's scope is broad, ranging from the large, sweeping forces that dominate history to the telling anecdote of individual action that illuminates those trends. He depicts the economic, military, religious, and political forces that eventually led to Rome's downfall. Gibbon has his "biases," and displays them more than the "average" historian, and he reaps some criticism for them, but since they all too often resonate with my own, and there are no subtle attempts to hide them, I give them a "pass."

Time and again, Gibbon's insights on the human condition, not just the Roman Empire, have withstood the test of time; indeed, he has often established the standard. Consider the quote from Diocletian: "...the best and wisest princes are sold to the venal corruption of their courtiers." On the discourse of the defeated, in this case, Mistrianus: "...he expatiated on the common topics of moderation and humanity, which are so familiar to the eloquence of the vanquished." On nostalgia: "Notwithstanding the propensity of mankind to exalt the past and to deprecate the present..." On power: "Of all our passions and appetites, the love of power is of the most imperious and unsociable in nature, since the pride of one man requires the submission of the multitude." Or consider a wryly ironic commentary on the "do nothing" course of action: "...he was deprived of the favorite resource of feeble and timid minds, who consider the use of dilatory and ambiguous measures at the most admirable efforts of consummate prudence."There is nothing stale in Gibbon's prose; just the occasional tendency to the rococo.

Gibbon was a principal force of the Enlightenment, and his work is permeated with a jaundiced view of religion in practice. His work fulfills this sentiment: "The theologian may indulge the pleasing task of describing Religion as she descended from heaven, arrayed in her native purity. A more melancholy duty is imposed on the historian. He must discover the inevitable mixture of error and corruption which she contracted in a long residence upon earth, among a weak and degenerate race of beings."Eternal truths concerning the power and the glory: "The influence of the clergy, in an age of superstition, might be usefully employed to assert the rights of mankind; but so intimate is the connection between the throne and the altar that the banner of the church has very seldom been seen on the side of the people." Another strength of this book is his depiction of the intolerance of the early Christians: "the prelates of the third century imperceptibly changed the language of exhortation into that of command..."

This history is often cited as a cautionary tale for those in the American empire. As with all such historical analogies, particularly on broad subjects, there is much that is relevant, as well as the opposite. Gibbon devotes considerable attention to the military aspects of empire, and it is particularly relevant, as I post this review on Memorial Day, that military duty has become irrelevant to the vast majority of the American population, as it did in Rome. Considering jurisprudence, Gibbon's observations could have tumbled out of yesterday's newspaper: "A faithful subject of Syria, perhaps, or of Britain, was exposed to the danger, or at least the dread, of being dragged off in chains to the court... and the defects of evidence were diligently supplied by the use of torture."Or later: "...in all cases of treason, suspicion is equivalent to proof."

There are probably only 100 individuals who have the historical knowledge that would be sufficient to provide context to all the historical figures that Gibbon identifies. Thus, there are aspects of the read that are a humbling slog. Still, with the nuggets of insight available, only a small portion of which have been cited above, it is more than worthwhile, and should be placed on the must-finish list while retaining that proverbial coil. Americans do not have a monopoly of hubris, or just plain irrationality. I had the opportunity to read this book the week I was in Dubai, 2003, now site of the tallest building, Burj Khalifa, and one of the emptiest. Those historical lessons that Gibbon renders can be ignored on a global basis, maybe even in China. Still, 5-stars plus.

A treasure
edited by Hans-Fredrich Mueller

I finally finished this massive treasure, which isn't even exhaustive.And I can't imagine the colossal task in both time and energy it took to write it.It took Gibbon twelve years, from 1776 to 1788.I find it more than a coincidence that he began writing in the year of our independence.Even in this abridged form (which is what you will more likely come across) it is still a huge undertaking; though Mueller, in his critical forward, tells us it is necessary for it to become readable.Mueller also says he prided himself in being meticulous and accurate while still being manageable.And very helpful is the addition of dates bracketed throughout the text.An index would have been useful.In Boorstin's introduction he cites the major impact this work had on him; he calls it intimate.I would have never thought of it in that way, but now after ingesting all six volumes I understand why he calls it intimate.Gibbon does not mince words either.His work will always be remembered and its impact can still be felt today.He is an artist, like no one I have read before.Keep a dictionary handy.I also recommend reading the forward and the introduction, especially after studying Gibbon's great work.They take into question Gibbon's devotion to Christianity and his offensiveness towards it.I see Gibbon as mixed in his beliefs, though he wrote as he saw it; and I find that he saw the truth when he found it.Did he believe infrastructure was valued over its people?

The role of emperor was not a secure job."Such was the unhappy condition of the Roman emperors that, whatever might be their conduct, their fate was commonly the same."The polytheistic Roman Empire was very much a melting pot (half slaves) and within it were many schisms.I see parallels---such as the oppressive taxes, the corrupt politicians, the tyrannical government, the effemination, and the endless warfare---to our United States, and a warning for our future.

So what caused the fall?For Gibbon, the gradual decline began after Christ, until the eventual fall some fifteen hundred years later.Chapters are built upon the reigns of the emperors as they came to power, except where he periodically inserts chapters concerning the Christian influence, the Christian persecutions, the corrupt church, the persecution of the church toward others, the Crusades, the rise of Islam, the debilitating taxes and, towards the end, he concentrates on the impact by the surrounding nations.The Empire became a black hole and split to form an East and a West---the West to totally collapse.There were many causes: the slow introduction of Christianity over Paganism and the conversion to it, the collapse of the military, the always and increasing threat of outside peoples, alienating allies and provoking enemies, the corruption within (the people), and of course the self righteous emperors.Entropy would take over and finally lead to the collapse of the infrastructure.

Rome was both a curse and a blessing for Christianity.Many were converted, but the power of Catholicism and the Pope led to the eventual corruption and apostasy of the church.We have our many deists and polytheists just as the Romans.Do you not find a familiarity to us and the Romans?

LORD bless
Scott

Magisterial and accessible foundation stone of the Enlightenment
There is an inevitable element of lèse majesté in reviewing a work of this stature, even in the abridgement. A contemporary of Voltaire and Smith, and a personal acquaintance at least of the latter, Gibbon laid one of the foundation stones in the rationalist revolt which came to be known as the Enlightenment. Gibbon's view of the church in history, however, is more nuanced than I had come to believe before tackling his original text and is not a one-dimensional condemnation. It has to be said, of course, that Gibbon's subtle barbs are in any case more telling than a straightforward attack. In fact, the whole, magisterial work is very engaging and accessible reading even today and I found myself heartily entertained.

If I have one quibble, it is with the practice, common at the time and up until the 19th Century, of the promiscuous use of footnotes*. Further, these were intended for, let us say, use rather than for ostentation, and it is not advisable to skip them. It makes the reading somewhat hard in places as sentences can be footnoted four or five times and the footnotes can run over onto the next leaf. Gibbon also belonged to a generation of scholars who referred to Cicero by the nickname of "Tully", and as such, his notes presume a fluency in Latin and Greek to which I sadly cannot presume. His use of English, however, is an example to us all.

I was interested to find that Gibbon follows the history of the Empire all the way to the fall of Constantinople, and thus has to treat of the Arabs and the rise of Islam. This is an area of special interest of mine and I have to say that Gibbon's reading still appears very balanced. He does not resort to the cheap character assassinations of the Prophet Muhammad common in the Europe of that time and ours, but neither does he perpetrate a hagiography. Gibbon is doing history as a rationalist and he seeks causes and explanations rather than support for an agenda.

It is in this sense that Gibbon can be said to have founded history as a field of formal research. It is a commonplace of all formal research fields today that the supernatural is not taken into consideration. Opponents of the Enlightenment, of whom we are still visited with a plague, describe this as a "bias". In fact, it is a precondition, and its recognition can be traced directly back to Gibbon and his contemporaries. Gibbon's methodology renders history accessible to research by treating yesterday as pretty much like today, in that natural laws obtained. Given this presumption, it is possible to make sense of fragmentary evidence by induction from the familiar. As soon as we admit of the literal truth of reports of miracles, the familiar basis for induction is eliminated. This means not that we can accept that historical evidence and the presumption of natural law are valid except when a miracle worker made an exception, but that the very concept of drawing inductions from historical evidence itself must be suspended. It literally abrogates the possibility of inferring anything at all from historical evidence, since our very model of the way evidence is generated from cause is disrupted. One cannot even trust the reports of miracles!

The rationalist model requires a means of investigating the world which does not self-abrogate in this fashion. The miraculous, therefore, is not a valid assumption in dealing with the world as a researcher. One can have one's private convictions, but when it comes to publication one must be able to draw conclusions from evidence based on rules which can be justified to others. All modern investigatory fields proceed on this basis, and the idea took root in the Enlightenment. No parting of seas, no changing cities into salt deposits, no unseen intelligent designers - instead, we have the invisible hand of the market, painstakingly modelled as a set of self-regulating feedbacks. We have the laws of thermodynamics. We have the fall of Constantinople as a result of internecine squabbling between Latin and Greek churches when faced with a more numerous Turkish foe armed with cannon capable of firing a 600-lb round. This is history as a science. This is Gibbon.

*See what I mean?

Might be fine if i could read it
Type is way too small for my tired old eyes, hence the low rating.You can't rate highly that which you can't read.From snippets I was able to read it looks like a fabulous rendition of the story of the Roman Empire. ... Read more

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Edward Gibbon's six-volume History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88) is among the most magnificent and ambitious narratives in European literature. Its subject is the fate of one of the world's greatest civilizations over thirteen centuries - its rulers, wars and society, and the events that led to its disastrous collapse. Here, in volumes three and four, Gibbon vividly recounts the waves of barbarian invaders under commanders such as Alaric and Attila, who overran and eventually destroyed the West. He then turns his gaze to events in the East, where even the achievements of the Byzantine emperor Justinian and the campaigns of the brilliant military leader Belisarius could not conceal the fundamental weaknesses of their empire. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It is good as far as I have read.
The book is huge and It will take me a long time to finish.But I think it will be worth it.This is my review for all two books.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire VolsOne and two.They are very well written and interesting despite the fact that they were written many, many years ago.

The classic history of Western civilization
Gibbon's work is simply the best history of any period ever written in theEnglish language.His prose is fluid and musical, his research into theauthentic source materials exhaustive and complete, and his mastery of theelements of structure and pace make his exposition eminently lucid.Inshort, his history combines all the elements required of historical prose:it is precise, accurate, and readable.And in addition to all this, Gibbonhas given us a history of one of the most important, but least wellunderstood periods of transition in Western civilization: bridging the gapfrom the end of classical antiquity to the beginning of the Renaissance.Ihighly recommend this masterpiece to anyone interested in the history ofEurope.Whether you are an expert or a novice you will find this work bothgreatly entertaining and informative.A must have in any serious library! ... Read more

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Learn about the history of the Roman Empire with iMindsJNR learning series for younger minds.

A powerful army, a developed system of government and great road building – this is how Rome achieved an empire!
For the early part of its history Rome was ruled by kings, like most other places in the ancient world. But in 510 BC, the Romans decided they were sick of obeying powerful monarchs. They took the momentous step of abolishing the monarchy and electing their leaders as a Roman republic. This was done so no one could have power without the support of the people.

Perfect to engage, entertain and broaden young thinkers.. iMindsJNR brings targeted knowledge to your eReading device with short information segmentsto whet your mental appetite and broaden young minds.

iMindsJNR offers 6 main categories for ages 7-14years including General Knowledge, Geography & Nature, Famous People, Science & Maths, The Arts and History.Clear, concise and engaging, open young minds to a love of learning. ... Read more

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Graeco-Roman religion in its classic form was polytheistic; on the other hand, monotheistic ideas enjoyed wide currency in ancient philosophy. This contradiction provides a challenge for our understanding of ancient pagan religion. Certain forms of cult activity, including acclamations of 'one god' and the worship of theos hypsistos, the highest god, have sometimes been interpreted as evidence for pagan monotheism. This book discusses pagan monotheism in its philosophical and intellectual context, traces the evolution of new religious ideas in the time of the Roman empire, and evaluates the usefulness of the term 'monotheism' as a way of understanding these developments in later antiquity outside the context of Judaism and Christianity. In doing so, it establishes a new framework for understanding the relationship between polytheistic and monotheistic religious cultures between the first and fourth centuries AD. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Finally some Truth about the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
This excellent book was written by a Reader in Early Modern History at the University of Sunderland in the United Kingdom.It successfully refutes the impression held by many that the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (800-1806) was a geopolitical failure.Quite to the contrary, this First German Empire was a multinational and internationally non-aggressive state which had rich traditions and a developed political structure which allowed for provincial and local rights.In many ways, the modern Weimar Republic (1919-1933) and Federal Republic of Germany (1949-Present) look back to this first Empire in the form of their own legislative and judicial institutions.The Holy Roman-German Emperors were by no means absolute monarchs, but had their executive power held in check by the national legislature (the "Reichstag," which met most often in the city of Regensburg in Southern Germany), the courts, the provinces and by the Imperial Cities.

Overpriced research paper
I will readily agree that this is a well written paper with a great deal of information.However, it is basically a doctoral paper rather than a true book.I expect I could find something similar in a college archive.The price is extraordinarily high for what amounts to a 70 page paper.I wouldn't buy it for more than $10.

An Excellent Place to Start, Only 3 Stars Because of the Price
I am an academic in a different field. I am no expert, but I have been interested in the Holy Roman Empire for about three years now. No, this is not a comprehensive history of the Holy Roman Empire. To the best of my knowledge, none exists in English. And with good reason. If you count the "knights of the Empire" (landowners possessing on average a hundred acres), then the Holy Roman Empire was composed of 2,000 "sovereign" states post 1648 (Palmer, A History of the Modern World). In other words, the empire was so fragmented (even before 1648) that a historian can only realistically focus on political units smaller than the entire empire: specific regions, independent cities, etc.

Even more frustrating is that these "sovereign" states were nevertheless part of a larger, yet extraordinarily weak, institutional structure (the Holy Roman Empire). So, we are not dealing with truly sovereign states, but relatively autonomous polities whose rulers focused a great deal of their attention and resources on empire-wide politics. Therefore, understanding each autonomous polity requires an understanding of the insanely complex web of political interactions across these polities.

Moreover, because the empire was quite weak, its internal politics were "porous," subject to encroachment by Europe's kingdoms, city-states, etc. Hopefully you are beginning to see the problem of a single, comprehensive history.

Wilson's work is part of Palgrave's "Studies in European History" series, which provides brief overviews of historical topics. The brief book is an excellent INTRODUCTION which primarily focuses on the institutional organization of the empire. I personally consider knowledge of this institutional organization to be essential before further exploring aspects of the empire's history.

Moreover, each book in Palgrave's "Studies in European History" series provides a detailed bibliography to steer students and readers towards more specialized works. I found this bibliography invaluable for the Holy Roman Empire.

At $26.95, Palgrave is price gouging you. This seems to be a trait this publisher shares, along with Oxford, and it frankly pisses me off. Buy this used or rent it from the library if you do not want to pay this outrageous sum. As an academic nerd, I can justify the price based on the bibliography.

The 70 pages of text is quite clear yet still complicated. It will take a while to read and digest. Then use the bibliography to branch off into other areas of this interesting political entity.

deeply disappointed and frankly angered
The 'book's' description: "The Holy Roman Empire lasted for over a millennium, yet its development and institutions are still commonly dismissed as largely irrelevant to broader historical issues. Recent scholarship challenges this view but until now has failed to provide a convincing interpretation of the political structure which provided the framework within which such major events as the Reformation and the Thirty Years War developed. Drawing on a wealth of specialist studies, Peter Wilson offers an alternative way of looking at the Empire, seeing it not as a failed monarchy or flawed forerunner of a later German nation-state, but on its own terms as a multi-layered structure combining monarchical, hierarchical and federal elements. Key stages in the Empire's development are explained within the context of wider European history." is fine as far as it goes, except that:
a) this is a massive overstatement
b) it's a significant fraction of the length of the 'book' itself.

I'll confess: caveat emptor.For $27 I had an expectation of a Toynbee or Norwich-sized volume on the History of the Holy Roman Empire.I did NOT expressly look at the length of the work, and had I done so I'm certain I'd have passed on this purchase.

Saying this is 112 pages is massively overstating it - discounting the extensive bibiliography, there are only about 70 pages of actual text - roughly $0.40 PER PAGE.

As the author states in his concluding paragraph: "The lack of a suitable framework to do justice to the Empire's diverse elements has proved a major stumbling block [to writing an all-encompassing history]; an obstacle this book has attempted to smooth out of the way."

So there you have it.This is NOT a history, as the blurb purports.Rather, it is a discussion of the FRAMEWORK of topics around the HRE, accompanied by an extensive bibliography.This probably would be useful at a less-offensive price that was comparable to it's worth, perhaps $5 or $8.But to charge the current price for this book is heinous.

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. ... Read more

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The dream Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar shared of uniting Europe, the Medi-terranean, and the Middle East in a single community shuddered and then collapsed in the wars and disasters of the sixth century. Historian and classicist James J. O'Donnell—who last brought readers his masterful, disturbing, and revelatory biography of Saint Augustine—revisits this old story in a fresh way, bringing home its sometimes painful relevance to today's issues.

Customer Reviews (17)

The digression of Rome
The Ruin of the Roman Empire: A New History makes an important argument, but doesn't do it very well. I've read many academic books about ancient Rome, but this is by far the least comprehensible. James J. O'Donnell, the Provost at my former university, just doesn't have a knack for good storytelling and seems to lose focus too easily. Of the book's 400 pages, only about 150 actually focus on O'Donnell's argument that Rome fell not in 476, but rather because of the failure of Theodoric and ambitions of Justinian. The rest of the book is filled with digressions and extraneous filler. In the introduction, he mentions everything from Edgar Allen Poe to Y2K (do you really have to quote Poe's statement about the "glory of Greece and grandeur of Rome"?). Later parts of the book seem more like wanderings into Christian theology, with no clear connection to the rest of the book. He also spends several paragraphs discussing modern geopolitics, including the rise of China (he says its failure would be catastrophic). Perhaps worst of all, O'Donnell makes no attempt to hide his bias. Everything Roman is bad (he actually calls Justinian "stupid") and the barbarians were all embodiments of progress and multicultural tolerance ("Theodoric and the future"). I really hope somebody else has written a better book covering this period of history - I look forward to reading Peter Heather's new Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe.

Not for Listening
I didn't read it. I listened to it, maybe 3 times because I kept daydreaming or falling asleep. I listen to books on CD or MP3 all the time.



Maybe the print version of this book is better.

Raises the Right Questions
In this book, James J. O'Donnell argues that the Roman Empire fell during the 6th century rather than the 5th century. His ideas about Rome's fall are not revolutionary, historians have been saying similar things for decades, but he does add some new wrinkles to the debate. According to O'Donnell, the German barbarians did not cause the dissolution of empire, but rather the failed policies of the emperor Justinian caused the collapse of Mediterranean unity. His ideas are an interesting addition to late antique studies, but the book is not without its problems.

O'Donnell is most convincing when discussing the ethnic identity of the German tribes, especially Theoderic's Goths. O'Donnell demonstrates the difficulties that exist when historians try to label certain individuals and groups with an ethnicity. He concludes that Theoderic's Goths have just as much right to the name "Romans" as the Italian Romans do. This line of inquiry has merit, but O'Donnell seems to overstate his case. Some of the source material depicts Theoderic functioning as a Roman emperor, while other sources reflect his desire to be seen as a Gothic king. O'Donnell claims that the Roman episodes are the real Theoderic, and the Gothic ones are merely posturing by Theoderic. O'Donnell does not explain why the tables cannot be turned. Maybe Theoderic posed as a Roman when convenient and really did view himself as a German. The book's overarching thesis does not work if Theoderic is not a traditional Roman, and O'Donnell seems to hammer him into the mold.

The book seems to lack an obvious audience. O'Donnell repeatedly asks his readers to forget everything they know about barbarians or Christians or Romans. He assumes that his reader is familiar with the old theories of Edward Gibbon, and he will correct those outdated ideas. I have a feeling that only two types of people will read this book: those who know nothing of late antique Rome and therefore do not need O'Donnell to correct an old model and those who are already familiar with the changing attitudes towards Rome's fall. O'Donnell's contribution is worth considering, but his admonitions to "forget everything" are annoying (especially since he does not start from scratch, assuming the reader knows something about the period).

Though the book opens up some interesting (and perhaps controversial) lines of investigation, O'Donnell's political agenda distracts from the historical narrative. O'Donnell writes as if this "Ruin of Rome" can be seen as a warning to modern readers. O'Donnell values multiculturalism and religious pluralism, locates those things in the Roman empire, and mourns their passing with the empire's transition into medieval kingdoms. He tries to force this situation to resemble America's political landscape. He claims that Justinian was "surrounded by gifted men who knew only too well how to reshape their world in the image of delusion .... We may choose to call them Justinian's best and brightest or, if you prefer, his neoconservatives" (216). This statement about "neocons" comes on the same page as this description of Justinian: "A sad thing it is, to come from a distant province and achieve the heights of power, to devote yourself to such lofty principles and marmoreal ostentation, and to discover that zeal and stupidity are not enough. He was not the last ruler of a mighty realm to be so purblind." Given his earlier statements, I cannot help but read this as a veiled criticism of George W. Bush. Regardless of whether his attacks on American conservatism have merit, the manner in which he charges the history with his own political concerns damages the quality of his historical narrative. O'Donnell fails to acknowledge that the concerns of late antiquity were different from the concerns of Americans. He does not deal with these people, either politically or religiously, on their own terms. Instead, he writes as an enlightened scold, pleased with his own penetrating understanding of reality.

Somewhat unfocused
The publisher of a book generally determines its title with the aim of boosting sales.Since the "The Fall of the Roman Empire" has been used many times, the publisher opted to use "Ruin" instead of "Fall", but I do not think that either is very accurate for this book. I think that this book should more accurately have been titled "The Good, the Bad and the Last Consul", as it is about the reigns of three men - the good Gothic King Theoderic, the bad Emperor Justinian, and Pope Gregory, whom the author likens to the last Consul (although he was not actually a Consul).

This is a book that tends to veers off on tangents and, in my opinion, these tangents tend to obscure what is being said.As near as I can figure, the main ideas of the book are that:
1. The Gothic invasion and conquest of the Western Roman Empire did not destroy the empire.It remained Roman, but under new management - a management that produced peace and stability, and was generally better than that which it replaced.
2. Justinian ruined not only the Western empire, but also the Eastern Empire, and he was at least indirectly responsible for all of the ills that followed in the next 1500 years.

These are interesting theses, but I do not think that the textcompletely supports them.The author clearly shows that Justinian's conquest of North Africa was largely bloodless, but except for its effect on religion (which was accepted by most of the common people) did not alter things very much, so how did this "ruin the empire"?His invasion of the rest of the Western Empire was confined to Italy (and not all of it), so the rest of what had been the Western Empire was not even directly impacted. The 16-year guerrilla war that ensued in Italy did have a significant effect on Italy, and the fact that he overspent the treasury of the Eastern Empire was significant, but does this rise to the level of ruining the empire?I was not convinced, especially since the book clearly shows that Justinian's immediate successors and a war with Persia in the beginning of the seventh century were much more responsible for any ruining that went on.

There are spectrums of approaches to writing history books; from the academic and dry to the novelistic and lively (but often less comprehensive).This book falls in the latter camp and judging from the many favorable reviews, many people like this approach; I was less appreciative because, as stated, I found the book to be somewhat unfocused.For instance, in the beginning of chapter 4 the author states that some people hated the Eastern Emperor Anastasius, but that they were wrong to do so.He says that it is important to understand why he was hated, but then spends rest of the chapter (16 pages) rambling on about things as diverse as the myth of the founding of Rome, the prophesy of the Sibyls, the Persian Empires (from Alexander the Great through the successor state of the Ottoman Turks), and other items (including a poem by Kipling), without giving a clear answer to the question.(I suspect that his point was that the emperor was the victim of a smear campaign that employed a phony prophesy, but this is never clearly stated, and the discussion of the Sibyls and their prophesy morphs into the other items just mentioned.)In reality, I think that the point of the chapter was actually what the Emperor Justinian should have done, instead of what he did, and the question about Anastasius seems to have been forgotten along the way.If limited to just what Justinian should have done, the chapter would have been only 3 pages long; instead it was enlarged to 17 pages.I feel the most egregious enlargement occurred in the last part of the book that was devoted to "Gregory's World", which I guess is supposed to be about the ruined empire and Gregory's influence on the Catholic Church, but it is so unfocused that it is difficult to tell what point the author is trying to make.As near as I can tell, the three chapters of this part of the book were largely an excuse to discuss the meaning of Gregory's "Teachings in the Book of Job", his "Dialogs," and for a chapter-long riff on Angels, particularly the Archangel Michael. Most of the book was similarly "enlarged", requiring one to weed out the important history from that which appears to have been added for background color and to enlarge the ideas to book-length.

Don't get me wrong; there is a lot of interesting stuff included in what I would call enlargement or padding, and I understand that one man's padding is another's literary masterpiece.Another, more positive way to look at this "padding" is by analogy with jazz music.Only perhaps 10-15% of this book is focused directly on the "Ruin of Rome"; the rest can be likened to jazz riffs, which cover a multitude of topics ranging from early Christianity and the literature of the period, to analogies with 20th century history and current international politics.Professor O'Donnell is able to blend and relate the story of Cassiodorus, a sixth century Roman politician and literary figure, with that of the fictional Dr. Zhivago.Unfortunately, I would rather have had an explanation of Justinian's motivation in invading Italy than the six pages spent on the story of Cassiodorus and two of his contemporaries.I was more interested in the history of Theoderic, Justinian, and Gregory, so while interesting, I found a lot of the book to be padded.

These criticisms should not be taken as an indication that I did not find anything of use in this book.Quite the contrary - in spite of what I considered to be a very unfocused presentation, I did learn quite a bit about the 100 year period following the generally accepted fall of the western empire in 476.For instance:
1. I learned more about the kingship of Theoderic, the actions of Justinian, and early church of Pope Gregory.
2. I did not know that the Senate of Rome continued to function, at least until 578 (although since the end of the republic, it had ceased to have any real power).
3. I learned that the idea of Romanism still survived, supported by kings like Theoderic, who considered themselves to be Roman (culturally if not by lineage) and the worthy successors to the western emperors.
4. I learned that yearly Consuls were still elected, at least until 541, when the office became little more than a permanent (for his reign) title of the Eastern Emperor.
5. I learned that people still spoke Latin and that it still remained an official language of the empire, at least until the reign of the Eastern Emperor Heraclius, at the beginning of the seventh century.

I would recommend this book to those who appreciate a well-turned phrase and are more interested in the literary quality of a history book than in a more straightforward, but perhaps dry, history.The best way illustrate this is to quote a typical sentence - "The inclusion of Ireland in Roman Europe progressed slowly, not reaching stability and success until the prime ministership of Garret Fitzgerald in the 1980s, following the deposition of the last of the ancient sacred high kings, Eamon de Valera".I favor a dryer and less literary approach, but you may not, so please accept my 4-star rating accordingly.

Needs focus
O'Donnell attempts to tell the history of the Roman Empire through our modern multicultural sentiments. He is somewhat successful at removing the biases of the historians of antiquity - but then steers the history directly through the biases and modern day worldview.
The book's biggest downfall, however, is the lack of focus. He shows his knowledge by bringing in Wagner-playing Ipods and various Shakespeare characters. However, he fails to provide a compelling narrative. Whole sections often appear to do nothing more than show off his literary knowledge, rather than advance the narrative. With a little more focus, this book could have potential. ... Read more

Product Description
The Greek statesman Polybius (c.200 - 118 BC) wrote his account of the relentless growth of the Roman Empire in order to help his fellow countrymen understand how their world came to be dominated by Rome. Opening with the Punic War in 264 BC, he vividly records the critical stages of Roman expansion: its campaigns throughout the Mediterranean, the temporary setbacks inflicted by Hannibal and the final destruction of Carthage. An active participant of the politics of his time as well as a friend of many prominent Roman citizens, Polybius drew on many eyewitness accounts in writing this cornerstone work of history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

A horribly butchered version of Polybius' Histories
Several reviewers have commented on the fragmentary nature of this assuming it to be the result of the loss of much of Polybius' work.But the main "loser" of this work is Penguin itself, which has hacked this edition to death.
The real reason for how fragmentary this book is because Penguin removes signifigant amounts of "less relevant material."Considerable background on Carthage is missing, in particular the mercenary war and much of the Sicilian action in the Punic Wars.This particular edition leaves out large chunks of the extant Polybius, in favor of the high lights with Hannibal, and for some reason the Aetolian League being considered more important than Carthage.

Even worse is that nowhere in the book is it made clear what is missing, it is treated as a seamless narrative even when gaping holes are left.At various points Polybius discusses the plan of the book, mentioning whole sections that have been cut out, this is the only indication if this volume was all you saw that these things were left out by the editors.

I know it is much pricier and less convenient, but if you are actually interested in details you would be much better off getting the Loeb editions, even with their very dry and stiff translations.

The contents
No need to wade into an already rich reviewers' debate on the quality of this abstract from Polybius. What this selection does contain:

· The account of the First Punic War, in full.
· Roman expansion in Illyria and Cisalpine Gaul between the first two Punic Wars.
· The Hannibalic campaign of the Second Punic War.
· Scipio's campaign in Africa marking the end of the Second Punic War.
· Polybius' famous piece on the Roman constitution.
· Selected background on the Greek leagues and Greek strife leading to the Second Macedonian War.
· The supposed treaty between Hannibal and Philip V of Macedon.
· Extracts on the diplomacy leading to the Second Macedonian War.
· Considerations on the chronicler Timaeus.
· Various short extracts on the 200-146BC period of Roman expansion.

What this does not include:

· The story of the mercenary revolt at Carthage.
· Most of the (admittedly repetitive) Greek background of warfare and diplomacy between the leagues and with Macedon.
· Most of the Roman campaign in Spain of the Second Punic War.
· The harangues by Hannibal and the Roman generals before Cannae.
· The context in the Greek East and the triangular fight between the Hellenistic monarchs Philip V, Antiochus and Ptolemy.
· Polybius' explanation of his historical method.
· The end of Second Macedonian War and the key battle of Cynoscephalae.
· The account of the wars with Perseus of Macedon and with Antiochus, by which Rome came to dominate the Greek East.
· The account of the Third Punic War and the fall of Carthage.
· The account of the taking of Corinth (note that Polybius was supposedly present at both these last two events).

Altogether, this is a rather incomplete abstract, then, of Polybius' account of Rome's rise to supremacy in the Mediterranean world. Polybius is widely regarded as one of the most rigorous, well informed, and credible ancient historians of the period.

Very nice edition
For a basic history student, this is a great edition of Polybius's work.The translation is quite readable, and the material seems reasonably well selected.The work is also generally important for the study of ancient Rome.

Of course folks should be aware that this is an abridged version, and that Polybius's works have survived only in part.However, unless you need an unabridged edition, this is worth getting and reading.

Butchered by Penguin
Get the Loeb edition instead. Penguin is not selling the entire work of Polybius here, but rather the sections that pertain to their "Rise of the Roman Empire" theme. If you're looking for any information on the Macedonian successor states of Alexander, look elsewhere, because Penguin cut it out of this edition.

The only thing that saves this book from the abyss of the single star is that it is very readable, which is a major compliment for Polybius, who is one of antiquity's drier historians. It also has good appendices and a better index than some other Penguin books. (Tacitus, I'm looking at you.)

If you're looking for Hannibal, here he is.
The overwhelming majority of this book is about the Second Punic War, although it does describe the other two Punic Wars at the beginning and end. But basically, unless you're looking for an account of the Hannibalic War, there's little else to be found here. I found the history of the Celts from the Sack of Rome in 390 BCE to the Battle of Telamon in 225 BCE and their use in Hannibal's army thereafter to be particularly useful, but it seems as though everything else was cut out of this book. At least some of this was done deliberately by Penguin and the translator, as he leaves footnotes saying "These debates have been omitted." This is unacceptable in its own, but I think the lack of other information is also due either to the omission of these things by Polybius himself, or by the transcribers that have carried his works into our own times. Whatever the case is, this book is wholly unhelpful for a historian outside of researching Hannibal. ... Read more

Product Description
According to Wikipedia: "Edward Gibbon (April 27, 1737[1] – January 16, 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. The History is known principally for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its open denigration of organized religion, though the extent of this is disputed by some critics"
You canget all six volumes as a single file for the Kindle.But some people prefer to read and navigate through smaller files, hence I'm also posting it as one file per volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Discusses some of the causes that may have led to the end of the Roman Empire, including changes in population, economic decay, class and religious divisions, and military conquest. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Effective Summary
Though short and aimed at high school students, this volume is an effective summary of various theories for why Rome fell.It will be very useful for high school and college students taking general ancient history courses.For adult readers, it's a nice, though brief introduction to the subject.For more in-depth coverage, see the author's bibliography in the back of the book. ... Read more

Product Description
The Roman Empire is known for its extraordinarily rich cultural legacy. This encyclopaedia provides comprehensive and interdisciplinary coverage of the people, places, events and ideas of this remarkable period. Spanning almost 500 years of turmoil and triumph, each of the nearly 2000 entries in this second edition has been reviewed and updated to reflect advances in archaeology, historical and literary criticism, and social analysis. New entries have been added on daily life, engineering, science, law and the role of women in Roman society, among others. Complementing these historical essays are photographs, maps, tables and sidebars; reading lists for major entries; an updated bibliography; and a revised index. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A lot of pictures of coins
The best thing about this book are the Roman Empire maps and coins.
Since I found a plain error in one of the maps where the area coding had Greece where Italy should be,
I can't give this book real good marks.
I have several biblical encyclopedias or dictionaries
with which to contrast this book,
and although it has a lot of facts and family trees of the Caesars,
it comes up short in comparison.

A Good Reference
This encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference of Ancient Rome. Through the years it has been very helpful in finding information about lesser-known Romans. In addition to being alphabetical, it includes an extensive index, a glossary of titles, black and white drawings and several genealogical charts of the families that ruled the Roman Empire.

Based on my good experiences with this book, I have also bought Bunson's Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages.

I do not understand what the other "reader" is referring to. According to the encyclopedia, Crassus died in 53 BC and the battle of Carrhae took place in 53 BC, too. I can not find any reference to 55 BC at all!

Excellent and indespensible
I've had this book for several years and still find it a facinating reference.It's comprehensive and useful for any student of ancient Rome.If you wish to find information about some aspect of the Roman world, chances are you'll find it here.

The book fails in its primary function, as a reference work.
I opened this book with some anticipation and was immediately let down.Misspelling and mistakes dog almost every page.Did you know that Crassus died in both 55 and 53BC?Gives some meaning to Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' that "cowards die many times before their deaths."It struck me as a book of easy compilations from, at most, secondary sources.I would prefer the more expensive, more intellectual and more satisfying Cambridge Dictionary of the Ancient World ... Read more

Product Description

The Migration Age is still envisioned as an onrush of expansionary "Germans" pouring unwanted into the Roman Empire and subjecting it to pressures so great that its western parts collapsed under the weight. Further developing the themes set forth in his classic Barbarians and Romans, Walter Goffart dismantles this grand narrative, shaking the barbarians of late antiquity out of this "Germanic" setting and reimagining the role of foreigners in the Later Roman Empire.

The Empire was not swamped by a migratory Germanic flood for the simple reason that there was no single ancient Germanic civilization to be transplanted onto ex-Roman soil. Since the sixteenth century, the belief that purposeful Germans existed in parallel with the Romans has been a fixed point in European history. Goffart uncovers the origins of this historical untruth and argues that any projection of a modern Germany out of an ancient one is illusory. Rather, the multiplicity of northern peoples once living on the edges of the Empire participated with the Romans in the larger stirrings of late antiquity. Most relevant among these was the long militarization that gripped late Roman society concurrently with its Christianization.

If the fragmented foreign peoples with which the Empire dealt gave Rome an advantage in maintaining its ascendancy, the readiness to admit military talents of any social origin to positions of leadership opened the door of imperial service to immigrants from beyond its frontiers. Many barbarians were settled in the provinces without dislodging the Roman residents or destabilizing landownership; some were even incorporated into the ruling families of the Empire. The outcome of this process, Goffart argues, was a society headed by elites of soldiers and Christian clergy—one we have come to call medieval.

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Good but a book on the rise and fall of the roman empire would have been better
I guess I made a quick purchase b/ what I really wanted was a story of the climb of the roman empire but I haven't read it yet, so this book still might be interesting.

will suck you into it's pages
I had a hard time getting used to the style of writing but, in spite of that, I had a hard time putting it down.I found it compelling, complete, and well informed, considering the date of publication.I recommend this book to any interested student of history or any who just like a good read.It covers any subject that is even remotely connected to the last centuries of the Roman empire. It left me with the desire to read the complete 6 volume work.

unreadable
I bought this book because I have seen it on several must read lists and lists of most important books.I love to learn in a fun, enjoyable way.This book is heavier and thicker and more difficult to read than some college textbooks. I made it to page 4 before I gave up. It is hard to believe someone would read this book for pleasure.

A lot of work to read, but overall it's worth it
I feel like a jerk not rating this five stars, since it's such a world-renouned classic, a true heavyweight in the history of academia... but does it really deserve its lauded reputation?It is a very comprehensive tome (this version is one of the shorter versions available) on a very broad subject, and when this became available to the general public in the 1770's I'm sure they had never seen anything like it. Today, there's a lot more competition for our reading attention. If you want a very in-depth accounting of the history of the late Roman Empire, I'd still absolutely recommend this book, but point out that it can be dry in parts. To be fair, I'm sure it isn't easy to avoid sounding repetitious while accounting for each Roman Emperor's fate since the Republic fell... they begin to sound alike (this one killed that one, etc). I read this in anticipation of moving to Italy, and I'm glad I did. There are so many ruins and archaeological sites here, and I now at least have a passing familiarity with more aspects of Roman history. If you are going to Italy, and you want to make the most of the trip, I would say read it.This is one of those books I believe will pay to read again in a few years, when I have accumulated more knowledge on the topic from other sources.
One last item: there are many versions of this book available, and I can't comment on all of them, but this particular edition would be greatly enhanced if more maps were included.

Not for beginners
Ok, So there is about 70 versions of this book on the market. If you're reading this, maybe I can help you.

I had read many positive things about Edward Gibbons book.Some of it true, some of it not. I was expecting something better, though that is partially my fault. First off, this book was written in the 1770s. Therefore, it is not an entertaining type of history book that we expect today. This disappointment was my fault, I should have taken this into account.

I have a few real gripes about this book. The first being that Gibbon tends to drift into the minutae of inconsequential facts. For instance, he devotes about twenty pages to the founding, building, and construction of St. Sophia's church in Constantinople. Interesting, yes, but it has very little to do with the subject at hand. Gibbon drifts onto these tangents ad nauseaum. The version I have is a little over 800 pages. The real story could have been told in about 300.

The second gripe I have, is that Gibbon tends to write in run-on sentences. Sometimes whole paragraphs are just one sentence, with about eight comas in the midst. Leaving one reading and re-reading the same sentence just to make sense of the subject.

Gibbon often writes about subjects, people, places, events, groups, races, etc. without explaining where, what or who they are. I can only suggest that if you are going to read this book, keep Wikipedia handy.

Finally, there is little or no timeline with the subject matter. It is very hard to follow since Gibbon gives almost no time frame when presenting a story or situation. I found myself often wondering when abouts we were dealing with. I can say that I get upset with authors who devote too much attention to such things, but when dealing with a time frame of 1500 years, it would be helpful to give a reference.

I DID give this book 2 stars, because I felt someone CAN gain something from it. Just know, that for the amateur, or beginner of Roman history, I would not recommend this book. ... Read more