The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

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The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

by Edward Gibbon, David P. Womersley (Introduction)

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 4,977 ratings · 243 reviews

Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is the most celebrated historical work in the English language. First published in three installments between 1776 and 1788, it covers a period of thirteen centuries.

Paperback, Abridged, 848 pages

Published January 1st 2001 by Penguin Classics (first published 1776)

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Nov 13, 2010 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I borrowed the first two volumes—amongst my Dad's all-time favourites—from his study when I was around fourteen; and my enduring fascination with the Roman Empire, and ancient history in general, most likely stems from a combination of the heady brews of Gibbon's and Tolkien's masterworks, which ignited within me a terrific thirst for mythology, legend, and history that has yet to be slaked. As far as The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is concerned, I believe that Gibbon is the greatest pr...more

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May 26, 2013 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of perfect English prose

Shelves: history-will-teach-us-nothing, to_reread

Well, it's not actually the last word on the Empire. Gibbon hated the Byzantines, thought they were appallingly religious and ineluctably corrupt. So he didn't have a good word to say on the Eastern Empire which lasted 1000 years after the fall of the Western Empire. Modern historians have rehabilitated the Byzantines to a great extent.

You have to give it up for Mr Gibbon and his grossly distended testicles - he smuggled into the universities and libraries of the west a most refreshingly undermi...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Lee Walker rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history

I have almost finished Volume 1. The first fourteen chapters were excellent. Unfortunately chapter 15 drones on about Christianity, in a way that I don't find very compelling (and normally I am not that averse to the history of religion). Furthermore the edition I have is edited by some religious nut-job who, whenever the topic turns to religion, becomes very excited and starts inserting 10 times as many footnotes as he normally does.

On the whole, however, I am very much enjoying this work. Gibb...more

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Nov 07, 2008 Bruce rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone interested in the history of early Western civ

Decline and Fall, Chapters 1-16 of which were first published in 1776 (contemporaneous to Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, but far less rambling and no less comprehensive) is a wonderful, and wonderfully accessible history of the Roman Empire, ca. 180-1590 CE (although really hearkening in early chapters all the way back to Marius' salvation of the Republic through Sulla, Caesar, Augustus' ascendancy, and including the achievements and delinquencies of the predecessors of the Antonines). In fact,...more Decline and Fall, Chapters 1-16 of which were first published in 1776 (contemporaneous to Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, but far less rambling and no less comprehensive) is a wonderful, and wonderfully accessible history of the Roman Empire, ca. 180-1590 CE (although really hearkening in early chapters all the way back to Marius' salvation of the Republic through Sulla, Caesar, Augustus' ascendancy, and including the achievements and delinquencies of the predecessors of the Antonines). In fact, the book is so accessible you can find it here (I would offer the Project Gutenberg citation, but it's not nearly as browsable. Please ignore CCEL's politics in deference to their superior editorial competence.)

Gibbon's definitive. He even has the ultimate comment on Roman history which I will offer verbatim rather than paraphrase to give Goodreaders the flavor of his prose: "The story of its ruin is simple and obvious; and instead of inquiring why the Roman empire was destroyed, we should rather be surprised that it had subsisted so long. The victorious legions, who, in distant wars, acquired the vices of strangers and mercenaries, first oppressed the freedom of the republic, and afterwards violated the majesty of the purple. The emperors, anxious for their personal safety and the public peace, were reduced to the base expedient of corrupting the discipline which rendered them alike formidable to their sovereign and to the enemy; the vigour of the military government was relaxed and finally dissolved by the partial institutions of Constantine; and the Roman world was overwhelmed by a deluge of barbarians." (Chapter 39) Well. There it is.

If Decline and Fall has any faults, they lie in Gibbon's devotion to painstaking historical retelling at the expense of a single narrative arc. This is completely excusable inasmuch as Gibbon was the first to synthesize a definitive Empirical history in the English language (and from rigorously documented classical sources, no less)! To a lay reader, though, things get repetitive as hell once the cycle of depravity through military despotism becomes clearly entrenched. This book therefore makes a far more rewarding browse than read.

One last comment -- this work contains far and away the best footnote I've ever read:

"According to Dr. Keating (History of Ireland, p. 13, 14,), the giant Partholanus, who was the son of Seara, the son of Esra, the son of Sru, the son of Framant, the son of Fathaclan, the son of Magog, the son of Japhet, the son of Noah, landed on the coast of Munster, the 14th day of May, in the year of the world 1978. Though he was successful in his great enterprise, the loose behaviour of his wife rendered his domestic life very unhappy, and provoked him to such a degree, that he killed -- her favourite greyhound. This, as the learned historian very properly observes, was the first instance of female falsehood and infidelity ever known in Ireland."
-- Chapter 9, note 13

Woohoo! Its sheer absurdity beggars further comment -- but I will anyway. Gibbon's use of the dash alone... such great comic timing! (In case you were wondering about context, the note stems from Gibbon's consideration of the mythological origins of the proto-Viking germanic peoples (the Goths), in a passage where he cites these as being held in common with "the wild Irishman as well as the wild Tartar." To ape Gibbon's style, this note is the author's nod to the origins of the former as a mere reference to author/title is accorded the latter.) I take it that Gibbon found Keating's work more entertaining than Abulghazi Bahadur Khan's "Genealogical History of the Tartars." If so, it's no wonder this work of Keating's is far easier than Khan's to find online. Wheee! What fun this learning stuff is.(less)

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Bruce Not so much, since I think assertion of executive, imperial power requires not just a robust bureaucracy (that we have in spades), but also closely-he...more
May 03, 2011 09:50am

Alex >I think our situation is more analogous to that of the
>later days of the Republic, with oligopolistic control
>vested in an ever-tightening...more
updated May 03, 2011 10:11am

Feb 16, 2013 Bryn Hammond rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-elsewhere

I'll never find here my edition, which is a cute set of seven little hardbacks, 6 inches high, from 1904. I thought it would be charming to read this work in such old-fashioned books.

I have to report that my bookmark is at p.476 of volume four. That's well more than halfway. But that was the consistent read; I've dipped in, and the portions nearest to my heart -- say, on Attila and on Zingis as he calls him, and on other assorted barbarians -- Theodoric was a great story greatly told -- these I...more I'll never find here my edition, which is a cute set of seven little hardbacks, 6 inches high, from 1904. I thought it would be charming to read this work in such old-fashioned books.

I have to report that my bookmark is at p.476 of volume four. That's well more than halfway. But that was the consistent read; I've dipped in, and the portions nearest to my heart -- say, on Attila and on Zingis as he calls him, and on other assorted barbarians -- Theodoric was a great story greatly told -- these I have dwelt on and come back to. I need to forge ahead and read about the Turks and Byzantium. Why do I spend my time on lesser books?

Just thought to add this since Napier's Attila hf that I'm into at the moment reminds me it's 'still the greatest single work of history', and strike me down if I ever doubted that. In English, at any rate. His English, as you know by acquaintance or by legend, is that of a great writer. I was chuffed that Gibbon has a chapter in a book on epic in English that I have: The English Epic and its Background. E.M.W. Tillyard thought his project qualifies as an epic. You thought there was only Paradise Lost, didn't you? I enjoyed the Tillyard book, and there Gibbon stands as the last chapter, the last attempt at an English epic: "he could and did contemplate a work of history in the spirit in which poets had contemplated their epic poems."

There are sentences I have by heart -- and as with poetry, the cadence helps with that. One is this on Zingis: The Catholic inquisitors of Europe, who defended nonsense by cruelty, might have been confounded by the example of a barbarian, who anticipated the lessons of philosophy and established by his laws a system of pure theism and perfect toleration. Open-minded chap, Edward Gibbon. Except, possibly, on Catholics. Indeed he's notoriously unfond of Christianity, and its part in history. And his writings on the barbarians, nowadays, can offend. Still, you don't see sentences like that on Zingis too often, even now. He's willing to admire the Zingises and the Attilas and others, and in the Tacitus tradition perhaps, see virtues in the lifestyles of Goths and Ostrogoths. (less)

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Oct 18, 2012 Nathan "N.R." Gaddis marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: latin, 2013-seppuku

The local book shop made this set available to me last night. Three volumes, hardcover with dust jackets, seemingly unread condition, no marks no owner's name, (but) no slip case, damage limited to common shipping related corner-crush but otherwise as-new -- US$28 amounts to much pocket-change-savings over the typical abe$175. That be $2 in excess of the cover price of Danielewski's latest.

Proust2013/Gibbon2013. Any brave souls to schedule this one?

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May 28, 2008 Tedb0t rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, history

The history of human civilization and society is basically a continuum of idiots, sociopaths, murderers and bores, punctuated by the occasional rational individual whose life is cut short by those very sociopaths that succeed him. Gibbon's classic documents a tiny cross-section of some of the most lamentably pathetic mistakes and awful personalities this doomed species has ever suffered. Oh, how times have changed.

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Jan 18, 2013 Randolph Carter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, non-fiction

Best narrative history ever written. Gibbon had so many fewer sources and tools than we have today, but his basic conclusions from the late 18th century information he had are still largely correct today.

A weakened military and political state that relied heavily on barbarian mercenary soldiers for defense was doomed. The different internal barbarian factions just served to divide the military and political and religious structures to a point to where they were easy pickin's from both inside and...more

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Dec 23, 2009 Nicholas Whyte added it · review of another edition

Chapter I[return]Chapter II[return]Chapter III[return]Chapter IV[return]Chapter V[return]Chapter VI[return]Chapter VII[return]Chapter VIII[return]Chapter IX[return]Chapter X[return]Chapter XI

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Feb 28, 2013 Christian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, it took me eight months but I finally finished the damned thing. What can I say about it? It's a really big history book, and it spans about thirteen centuries, from the rule of the emperor Hadian in about 120 AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. In between we have a whole lot of people behaving really badly towards one another, often in large groups. The man himself admits it: "History is little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind."

The Decline an...more Well, it took me eight months but I finally finished the damned thing. What can I say about it? It's a really big history book, and it spans about thirteen centuries, from the rule of the emperor Hadian in about 120 AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. In between we have a whole lot of people behaving really badly towards one another, often in large groups. The man himself admits it: "History is little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind."

The Decline and Fall (I read an abridged, ~800 page version) is a magnificent ode to the act of research. Everything in the book is based on as many accounts as Gibbon can find, going back as far as he can manage. His signature style involves presenting a kind of stitched-together account of an event, with frequent asides about which source said what, peppered with his own appraisals of what these various ancient historians were like, where they were likely correct, and where they were likely making stuff up. It's a hard book to read; for one thing, many of these discursions take place in footnotes, where Gibbon is not shy about slipping into Latin, French or Greek for a choice quote that he doesn't bother to translate. His sentences are tricky garden paths, often stacking various competing clauses against each other up front, and eventually finding his way to the subjects and verbs just before the period, as though he were translating himself from German. He assumes a fairly heavy amount of knowledge from the reader to fill in various cracks in the narrative, knowledge that isn't exactly universal today, if it ever was. The results is elisions, allusions, archaisms ("Musulmans"??) and pages that you get to the end of before realizing you didn't absorb any of it and must start over. Walt Whitman has a great quote that I can't seem to find, something like "In Gibbon, figures come and go, and I know not how or wherefore."

Caveats aside, if you're willing to take the plunge into the mind of perhaps the eighteenth century's stuffiest academic, you will find a wondrous collection of lives and stories. What can I say about the massive, endless content of this book? A few sections stick in my memory. The emperor Julian the Apostate, who restored Paganism as the state religion and attempted to rebuild the Jewish Temple at Jerusalem before being driven away by some sort of fiery calamity that was widely witnessed but never explained. The villainous bishop George of Cappadocia, whose body was dragged through the streets of Antioch before being cast into the sea, and only later became the patron saint of England. General Belisarius, who took North Africa almost single-handedly while Justinian twiddled his thumbs in Rome. The mightiest emperor of them all, whose armies spanned a continent and whose name was feared across the world: Atilla the Hun.

So what greater lesson is there to synthesize from all this? Why did Rome fall? My interpretation of Gibbon is: everything falls. Rome had a pretty good run, and its eventual decay is no mystery. They were the greatest power in the world for a while, and then eventually they weren't anymore. You can look for answers in demographics, politics, religion, economics, and there are pieces of it in all of those, but the truth is simpler. Time passes. This book offers you the chance to stand among those broken columns and marvel at the vast waves of human generations that rose to the heights of Empire before crashing against the rocks of history and falling back into that void that will claim us all: the ravenous maw of time. (less)

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Oct 13, 2012 Terrysmithemail rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This classic history is supposed to be an automatic 5-star,but for me it became more of a study in how classics age as our society advances. Gibbon tracks the history of the Roman empire for 600 years. It is exhaustive in its description of each emperor's personality and governing style, less so for the major battles. He tracks the gradual incursions of the non-Romans in their military victories and the gradual inclusion of their people into the governing apparatus. But it became clear that much...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Dave Christofer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this up to find the parallels between the Roman Empire and our culture. I was disappointed that the book focused almost exclusively on the wars of the emperors and politics in place of a more general cultural and policy driven narrative (with the very notable exception of the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire).

The book is thick with history. It is well written enough to make the reading interesting and insightful. Probably best to jot down notes as one reads, the line of emperor...more

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Jul 18, 2012 David Gyles rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rome-8-forms-of-government-as-predi

Editing later = work in progress

all total it will be noticed the Eight forms of government to rule Rome with Papal being the present form.
First form

Roman emperors
27BC-14AD: Augustus/ Octavius
14-37: Tiberius
37-41: Caligula
41-54: Claudius
54-68: Nero
68-69: Galba
69: Otho
69: Vitellius
69-79: Vespasian
79-81: Titus
81-96: Domitian
96-98: Nerva
98-117: Trajan
117-38: Hadrian
138-61: Antoninus Pius
161-80: Marcus Aurelius
161-69: Lucius Aurelius Verus
180-92: Commodus
193: Pertinax
193: Didius...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Thom Swennes rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is an unique classic that has never been overshadowed. Written in 1776, Edward Gibbon spent years on research of his passion; the Roman Empire. He outlines the turbulent times, starting about 200 AD and ending around 1000 AD, including wars, revolts and assassinations. I don’t doubt that the historical facts that he presents are all documented in various documents of antiquity but I do have a problem with his estimations and suppositions....more

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Jan 03, 2012 John P rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Exquisitely written, extensively researched, this work provides a detailed look at the people, places, and politics during the final centiries of the Roman empire.

There is no question of Gibbons mastery of English prose. However, the style is dated and, while it is surely elegant, is is difficult to follow, especially for someone used to modern English and educated in public schools.

Sentences are complex and certain words are, by modern standards, uncommon; others are wholly unknown to me, requ...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Justin Evans rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-etc

Hard to know where to begin with this.

His much praised style? Sure, it's better than most historians, but it still bears the scars of the eighteenth century in general, and eighteenth century self-importance in particular. Yes, there's the odd ironic gotcha, but I got the distinct impression that he was shooting fish in a barrel. With a shotgun. An automatic shotgun, like in a video game. Compare, for instance, Swift- he was hunting big game.

The ideology? Only one kind of person could read thi...more Hard to know where to begin with this.

His much praised style? Sure, it's better than most historians, but it still bears the scars of the eighteenth century in general, and eighteenth century self-importance in particular. Yes, there's the odd ironic gotcha, but I got the distinct impression that he was shooting fish in a barrel. With a shotgun. An automatic shotgun, like in a video game. Compare, for instance, Swift- he was hunting big game.

The ideology? Only one kind of person could read this and think 'oh, it's refreshing how fair and balanced he is.' Basically, if you're the kind of person who thinks there are two (and only two) sides to every story, who also reads revisionist histories without understanding why the authors of said histories feel the need to 'revise,' and who thinks that anything that's been said more than twice deserves to be revised... you'll find this fair and balanced. If, on the other hand, you think that someone who comes to history with an absolute determination to read it through their own highly idiosyncratic beliefs (here- and I say this without knowing what Gibbon actually believed, so I might be wrong- classical republicanism, classical liberalism, and Voltaire-induced anti-clericalism) is likely to write from a skewed perspective... well, you might disagree with the idea that he's anything other than an extraordinarily, perhaps uniquely intelligent, well-read eighteenth century liberal.

I should, though, have started with the breadth of the thing, which is fabulous. Even in abridgment, it's more wide-ranging than almost any history I've ever read. And I was particularly thankful for the editor's work: he included chapters from all the volumes, including a great chapter on the origins of Islam, and a speculative chapter linking 'Paulicianism' to the Cathars (no idea if this is at all accurate). On this basis, I'd far rather read the final volumes in full and skip the first one. I know most people would rather read about Rome than about medieval Europe, or the Eastern Empire, and so on. But I still can't work out why.

So this has all the strengths and all the weaknesses of non-scholarly history, but is stronger and less weak than most of it. In the absence of statistical or archaeological research, the best thing you could do was read everything and try to weed out the facts from the legend, and Gibbon did that better than anyone. This is history as a moral discipline, in which you pick your heroes and your villains and then write (about individuals- groups are ipso facto villainous, except for heretics, merchants and intellectuals) accordingly; it's closer to Dante than historiography. That said, you will learn something; and if you're anything like me, you'll learn the most from the closing chapters. (less)

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Sep 14, 2011 Darwin8u rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, favorites

Volumes 1 - 6 = 3589 pages, and I can't think of more than 200 that I would have preferred to have skipped.

Love Gibbon's sense of humor, his methodology, his hard bigotry towards the Huns, his soft bigotry towards the Christians, and his ability to find interesting nouns to link with rapine: "idleness, poverty, and rapine"; "rapine and oppression"; "violence and rapine"; "rapine and cruelty"; "rapine and torture"; "rapine and corruption"; "rapine and disregard"; "War, rapine, and freewill offer...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Kirk Bresniker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I do an international trip from California to either Asia or Europe every other month, and I wanted something that I could read on my Kindle for long periods of time. What is particularly interesting to me is that this is the review of an empire in decline by a member of an second growth empire which was in turn starting to wane. It's also a fascinating middle ground between romantic speculation and emotionless historiography. The transformation of Christianity from community of outsiders throug...more

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Sep 11, 2010 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Volume I.

Fabulous and complete with a grand style.

“The empress Faustina would have avoided her mortality had she condescended to dissemble her ardor.” Eunuchs are called “pernicious vermin.” Jews are labeled as “an unsociable people.” And lastly, “Caesar had a 22,000 volume library and 30 concubines in his harem, and one, and the other, were for use, not ostentation.” James Kirkpatrick claims E. Gibbon is the best writer of prose in the English language. I would agree, but Volume I took four m...more

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Nov 06, 2009 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thehistorynerd

This book should more realistically be called, the decline of the roman empire and the rise of Christianity. Much of the book is focused on the early history of the church, which makes for interesting reading if you are at all interested in that period of time.
What is also interesting is the ideas Gibbon's expresses in the book. As it was written in the late 1700's before footnotes and needing to back the sources you use, it is very interestingly written with his views on politics, religion, and...more

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Jul 09, 2009 Dhsparkman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Edward Gibbon is the greatest writer of history, and perhaps the best writer ever to employ the English language. Like nearly everyone, I cannot say that I read the entire text, but I say that with deep regret, and the hope that one day I can read the complete text of this awesome book all the way through.
Gibbon is dead a good 200 years, but his scholarship and analysis live on now, and hopefully, forever. Of course the book is massive, but when one deals in great detail with nearly fifteen hu...more Edward Gibbon is the greatest writer of history, and perhaps the best writer ever to employ the English language. Like nearly everyone, I cannot say that I read the entire text, but I say that with deep regret, and the hope that one day I can read the complete text of this awesome book all the way through.
Gibbon is dead a good 200 years, but his scholarship and analysis live on now, and hopefully, forever. Of course the book is massive, but when one deals in great detail with nearly fifteen hundred years of history of the greatest empire in antiquity, one should expect nothing less. He covers the entire empire, not just the western empire, but the entire empire right to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D., and provides so much thoughtful anaylsis and endless amounts of information that one takes it for granted, until one picks up any other history book.
On top of the above, Gibbon showed himself to be an absolute master of the English language, and I still consider him to be the best writer of anything that ever lived. He is the absolute master of providing detailed information about a topic in lengthy, extended sentences in which one never loses the train of the author's thought: the words flow on like a clear stream, ever carrying the reader to a better understanding of the subject without being tiresome. He uses an extensive vocabulary. One just cannot find a better way to write.
Gibbon is a master of the subject matter, and his analysis is faultless. The controversial attribution by him of the cause of the empire's decline to its Christianity is not the only reason he gives for the decline, but it holds up quite well if one gives Gibbon a chance to clarify it. And his famous prognostication about the rise of the then non-existent USA and of Russia as powers in the future has clearly been fulfilled.
I believe that every serious history student and buff should own the complete edition of this book. Abridgments only cheat the owners of a classic of world historiography, and an awesome piece of literature in its own right.(less)

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Oct 02, 2012 Aurochz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, literature, philosophy, economics, politics, rome

A book and author whose great reputations in literature, history, philosophy and now in historical sciences well proceeds any review that can be given.

Still a well rounded accurate view of Roman history. As well as being a prose masterpiece. It was as fun to read as it was to learn about the times it examined. It's one flaw if any, from a technical standpoint is that his ideas on what actually caused the downfall of the Roman empire are too shallow for modern scholars. Though one cant Deny Gibb...more A book and author whose great reputations in literature, history, philosophy and now in historical sciences well proceeds any review that can be given.

Still a well rounded accurate view of Roman history. As well as being a prose masterpiece. It was as fun to read as it was to learn about the times it examined. It's one flaw if any, from a technical standpoint is that his ideas on what actually caused the downfall of the Roman empire are too shallow for modern scholars. Though one cant Deny Gibbon didn't give them a great running start to examining that subject with this work.

Many would depute that barbarians or the onset of Christianity were formative causes for the downfall of Rome, seeing as the eastern or Byzantine half of the Romam empire lasted much longer then that under fiercer barbarians and even more ingrained forms of Christianity. The counter example of the Byzantine empire's survival being a general litmus test for most modern scholars on the subject that Gibbon for one reason or another didn't take seriously. It is one of the only major omissions in this work in examining the downfall of Rome. Another development has been the study of trade routes, monetary policy, diseases, corruption levels/degrading of infrastructure of the Roman administration and a series of ethnographic studies on Rome all of which Gibbon could not of had at the time.

These omissions aside again its a very great work and way to learn some of the History of Rome and the detail and thought put into Gibbons ideas on its downfall. One problem I have aside from his perceived omissions and errors. Was that like ILIAD or THE BIBLE, some passages seem to list like and dull. You can get lost in them too easily and not remember much of what you read because of the lack of pauses or emotional breaks. I also felt, he tried to cover too much material. A lot of the first third of the book is not necessary for a start on how Rome declined. Though I'm glad it is in their anyway and it only shows Gibbon's love of the subject that he literally wanted to start this even earlier then that and the book way later then he actually did. I thought his writings on the Era of the so called "five good emperors" were particularly interesting and filled with good prose works and facts. Particularly because from experience it tends to be the most boring period of Rome when examined by other scholars.

Still a classic, still great. I would obviously recommend to those interested in anything Roman.(less)

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Nov 16, 2010 Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If I could only have one book for the rest of my life, it would be this one. (And its extreme length is only part of the reason). A true epic that combines stunning scholarship, storytelling, and philosophical insight. If this were all fiction, it would still be one of the great masterpieces of English literature. That fact that this is history is stunning beyond words. In a typical chapter, Edward Gibbon will make you feel like you're standing on the walls of Rome as the Goths lay siege; then h...more

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Feb 17, 2013 M Pereira rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, roman-history, roman, roman-empire, christianity

I wish I could have something profound to say about this book. But it's really long and there are so many details that just pass me by without really understanding it. I quite enjoy the way that Gibbon goes over many different aspects of Roman History. Particularly the role of Christianity, trade, military engagements and of course, Roman Britain.

My classics teacher (who looked and dressed like Indiana Jones) once quoted someone who taught him saying that Roman Britain is the arsehole end of an...more

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Jan 26, 2009 Zachary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics-unrateable

Unreviewable (in the sense of priceless). I only read it in abridgement, as I figure the full six volumes can wait for my doddering old age. If you read it, in full or in abridgement, get the latest Penguin edition! It preserves Gibbon's original sentence structure, unlike the Everyman edition which chops his flowing prose into more digestible chunks.

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May 30, 2013 Clive Ashman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Edward Gibbon! Who could match him?
With a magisterial style that unrolls like a river whilst armies and megalomaniacs collide; no modern editor could tolerate, airport bookseller condone. Unique product of his age, still speaking to us now.
"Scribble, scribble, scribble, Mr Gibbon?" once commented that king who lost us the colonies, but 'Decline & Fall' covers slower, bigger catastrophes yet, cataclysm epic in scale. All that horrible inevitability in how human venality delivers up disaster -...more

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Feb 16, 2009 Kendra rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read the abridged version as I wasn't up to reading 10 volumes. Gibbon has an odd way of writing direct criticism (he's a philosophical historian rather than a just-the-facts historian) but interspersing it with elliptical references. Fun to try to find out what he means in some of his more obtuse references. But you have to know your ancient geography, however, to visualize the action. Quick Summary: Analysis of the Emperors of Rome, religious quarrels between Rome and Constantinople (The Gre...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Sarah Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

The Romans made too many friends and then, suddenly, they didn't have any left.

Also, I hate Edward Gibbon for using the word 'barbarian' so liberally and for his application of the word 'effeminate.' The sweeping generalizations were disgusting and amusing at the same time.

I feel like I have a store of impractical knowledge now, useless facts - like, Attila the Hun died on his wedding night. Elagabalus was the first man to wear silk (Gibbon calls him effeminate for that offense.) Mohammad was...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Cassandra Silva rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history

I read the abridged version, 800 pages plus notes, so I can't comment on the full extent of Gibbons work here, but I must say that I was very impressed with his breadth and scope even in the abridged form, so I am sure that the full version would be amazing. I have to admit I was (stupidly) surprised by the amount of early Christian history that went into the making of this work (and the fall of the Roman Empire and descent into the dark ages). I was also surprised at the number of interesting p...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Brian rated it 2 of 5 stars

Gibbon's work is thorough, but suffers from inconsistent expectations of the reader's previous historical knowledge. Some chapters relate detailed history of people, places, and events that are edifying to the reader with limited prior knowledge, but which may be tiresome for readers already familiar with the history. And in these chapters, there is still often a lack of dates; it seems the expectation is that the reader will be able to supply the dates purely based on the emperors' reigns, but...more Gibbon's work is thorough, but suffers from inconsistent expectations of the reader's previous historical knowledge. Some chapters relate detailed history of people, places, and events that are edifying to the reader with limited prior knowledge, but which may be tiresome for readers already familiar with the history. And in these chapters, there is still often a lack of dates; it seems the expectation is that the reader will be able to supply the dates purely based on the emperors' reigns, but again, if the reader already knows the dates and general history, these chapters are probably superfluous, and for readers that do not, it would be helpful to have this additional detail. The same observation applies to geography of the Empire, especially as Gibbon tends towards the use of historical place names without reference to the modern equivalents. Other chapters tilt more towards commentary and seem to expect the reader to already be familiar with the figures and places under consideration, even if these were not previously covered from a purely empirical perspective. Perhaps this can be explained by the different educational background of Gibbon's 18th century audience, but it hurts the work's modern relevance.

Not all of the fault, however, lies with Gibbon--certainly some of the the inconsistent flow is due to the work of the editor in creating this abridgment. Among the most surprising omissions are all of Gibbon's chapters on the Crusades. The overall selection of material is weighted towards the two opposite ends of the Empire--the rise of the Caesars and the fall of Constantinople. The middle period receives short shrift in this edition. The division into Western and Eastern Empires is largely included, but the actual fall of the Western Empire is mostly ignored in favor of focusing on the final collapse of the Empire in the East. A chapter which Gibbon prefaces as important largely as context for the surrounding chapters--focusing on the birth and rise of Islam--is presented in full, but the surrounding chapters are all excluded, so Gibbon's intent is lost, as there is no context.

Gibbon's work certainly still has value and historical significance, but readers are best advised to have a prior base in Roman history and geography, or to consult supplementary material while reading to get the full benefit of Gibbon's insights. Additionally, the value of this abridgment is questionable--readers may have better luck picking and choosing chapters from a complete edition.(less)

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About Edward Gibbon

Edward Gibbon 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 critic...more

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Books by Edward Gibbon

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume I

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 1-3: Volumes 1, 2, 3

The History of the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire 3

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 4-6: Volumes 4, 5, and 6

The Christians and the Fall of Rome (Great Ideas)

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“The policy of the emperors and the senate, as far as it concerned religion, was happily seconded by the reflections of the enlightened, and by the habits of the superstitious, part of their subjects. The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful. And thus toleration produced not only mutual indulgence, but even religious concord.” — 13 people liked it

“Revenge is profitable, gratitude is expensive.” — 11 people liked it

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