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A review by alba_marie
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Volume 1 by Edward Gibbon
5.0
Wow, I can't believe I finished this whole audiobook in time - this super long 23 hr audiobook was due back tonight by midnight and even though Ive had it for awhile and been listening to it, it took a long long time. And this is just Volume one (of 6!).
To me, the "fall" of the Roman Empire can really be summed up in one or two words: Monothesism. Christianity.
18th century historian Edward Gibbon tries to detail the "fall" of the Roman Empire, which he takes 6 books to do (admittedly going through the Eastern Roman Empire until that is ended by the ruthless Ottoman invasion.)
This first volume covers most of the history of the traditional original Roman Empire, and is more a history of the empire, emperors and its expansions than a detailed analysis of why it fell. Gibbon spends a lot of time on the emperors, and not just the famous ones. Even the little known guys who ruled for just a few months will get a few pages. There is quite a lot of detail here and I won't pretend to have retained the vast majority of it by listening on audiobook - hence a purchase of a cheap copy of a summary.
Some of the customs, traditions, economy, architecture and daily life are talked about but less than I would have wanted or expected of a book if written today. Gibbon, however, is a traditional historian and he focus largely of on leaders and battles, unt the end chapters, when he turns in detail to discuss the rise of Christianity.
It was certainly interesting and I did learn a lot but likely less than if I were reading and able to give my full attention. But this is a massive tome of hard core history text so it might not be for everyone.
To me, the "fall" of the Roman Empire can really be summed up in one or two words: Monothesism. Christianity.
18th century historian Edward Gibbon tries to detail the "fall" of the Roman Empire, which he takes 6 books to do (admittedly going through the Eastern Roman Empire until that is ended by the ruthless Ottoman invasion.)
This first volume covers most of the history of the traditional original Roman Empire, and is more a history of the empire, emperors and its expansions than a detailed analysis of why it fell. Gibbon spends a lot of time on the emperors, and not just the famous ones. Even the little known guys who ruled for just a few months will get a few pages. There is quite a lot of detail here and I won't pretend to have retained the vast majority of it by listening on audiobook - hence a purchase of a cheap copy of a summary.
Some of the customs, traditions, economy, architecture and daily life are talked about but less than I would have wanted or expected of a book if written today. Gibbon, however, is a traditional historian and he focus largely of on leaders and battles, unt the end chapters, when he turns in detail to discuss the rise of Christianity.
It was certainly interesting and I did learn a lot but likely less than if I were reading and able to give my full attention. But this is a massive tome of hard core history text so it might not be for everyone.