Rating: 
Summary: The book that inspired...
Review: ...a young Isaac Asimov to write the classic 'Foundation' trilogy. If you haven't read that particular classic, be sure to do, even if you don't normally read science fiction, it describes the decline and fall of a future galactic empire.
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Summary: good history and good writing
Review: ...this really is a monumental work. It is common to say that Gibbon was a great writer but it's best to look elsewhere for the history...if you can swallow, say, _The Federalist Papers_, you will enjoy Gibbon....There is still a lot of good history to learn in Gibbon. The important thing to remember is that Gibbon often takes the point of view of conservative elements in Rome, so he inherits a particular agenda that does not look favorably on the decline of Rome the city or the Roman senate, or on the rise of the military dictatorship. That just means that the punch line is, don't make Gibbon your introduction to Roman history. Maybe start with Michael Grant's _History of Rome_. But Gibbon is still a valuable read from a purely historical point of view, not just a literary one. Also important to remember is that Gibbon uses "decline and fall" in maybe a different way than we do. He essentially means the drift away from the principles and institutions of Golden Age Rome (that's the conservatism again) over the 1500 years that the Roman Empire (as he conceived it -- rolling the Byzantine Empire into the Roman) existed. DON'T read these volumes (this 3 volume Modern Library edition is a complete reproduction of the 6 volume text edited by J.B. Bury) if you want to learn about the death of the Roman Republic, because it's not covered (for that and other general history try Cary and Scullard's _A History of Rome Down to the Reign of Constantine_). Gibbon begins (in Vol. 1) in the 2nd century AD and goes (in Vol. 3) to 1453 AD; the Republic ended in the 1st century BC. Trite comparisons aside, it's also difficult to find anything deep or valuable in Gibbon that directly foreshadows the modern American experience. For starters, the grand princples of Federalist America are different from Golden Age Rome, and any decline away from them is fundamentally different (if there even is such a decline).
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Summary: Lessons to Learn
Review: A wonderful book for the classical history enthusiast. Lots of names to keep straight but there are lessons to learn about permanence of governments and institutions. Nothing lasts forever and change isn't always for the best.
Rating:
Summary: Clear and noble English describing a fascinating 1000 years
Review: About ten years ago, as I was growing bored with newspaper reading on my daily trips to New York and back to Philadelphia, I started Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I'd had the 6-volume set for some years, one of many fine, old, numbered sets printed in the last century and bought by me during the previous decade from Bryn Mawr College's used book store. (An aside: none of the sets--I have about ten or so--had been read through. I know this because in each case, after a chapter or so, I had to slit the pages of the signatures as I read.) I was enthralled immediately with Gibbon's history. I believe Gibbon's opening sentence to be among the best of any work. It was difficult for me to get used to the lofty style, but after a chapter or two, I was acclimated. (It's still the case--it takes a chapter or so before my grammar and syntax can power up to Gibbon's level.) As I read I could hear in his cadences and phrasing the Gibbon that Winston Churchill credited with forming his own style. So began a fascinating journey in those fine, old books, one that I have recently begun again. And though I discovered the route by chance, may I recommend it to you? From the Roman Empire through the fall of the eastern empire (Gibbon, 6 volumes) change the scene to Spain, which began to form with the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella about the time that the Turks sacked Constantinople. Follow Spain to its conquest of the Moors (Prescott, 4 volumes) to the Conquest of Mexico (Prescott, another 4 volumes), of the Incas (4 again) to the story of Charles V, King of Spain, the low countries, etc. and Holy Roman Emperor (Robertson, 5 volumes--included within the 19-volume set of Prescott's histories); finally to the unfinished story of Charles' son Philip, Elizabeth's suitor, then adversary whose Spanish Armada was defeated by her in 1588. Prescott died before completing his work on Philip, but Motley wrote about him from the Dutch perspective in his chronicle of their 80-year (!) struggle for Independence, The Founding of the Dutch Republic (4 volumes) and History of the United States of the Netherlands (another 3). Finally, move to Macauley's History of England from the Accession of James II, another 50 years in 10 volumes. I hope that first sentence of Gibbon's will hook others as it did me. I have found no modern writer of history who is able to write so clearly and nobly as those I mention above.
Rating:
Summary: Abridgement Misses Some Interesting Material
Review: Although this CD abridgement (CD Volume I of the two volume CD set) of the first (Western) half of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" gives some sense of this monumental and influential work, I was disappointed that most of the passages selected for the abridgement were the more mundane historical passages telling of the succession of the emperors and the battles they fought.
Gibbon is most noted for his interpretation of the history of the late Roman empire (whether one agrees with that interpretation or not) and for his English prose style. Some of this style, which is a monument of English prose, comes through in this abridgement, but little of his analysis does. For example, I would have liked a lot more material from the critical chapters 15 and 16, in which he lays out his controversial theory about Christianity being one of the two major contributors to the decline and fall.
The two voices on the CD, one to read excerpts from Gibbon and the other to summarize the intervening passages missing from the abridgement, are in melodious British English and pleasant to listen to. I would quibble only about the pronunciation of some of the names.
It seems these days that with so many supposedly educated people having an appalling lack of Latin, accentation becomes a matter of whim rather than correctness. For example, Commodus is correctly accented on the first syllable, not the second. Severus is correctly accented on the second syllable, not the first. For those knowing their Latin, little shudders creep up the spine upon hearing these solecisms. I am sure that Gibbon, who was fluent in both Latin and Greek, would *not* have approved!
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Summary: Lovers of History -- come to the table!
Review: Before tackling Gibbon's daunting work, I had only read smaller volumes of history. Some Livy here, a Polybius there, a Dio in between, but I was unprepared for the joys I would find with Gibbon. His style is typical 18th century. This may take some getting used to, but it shouldn't take much. From the opening chapter, Gibbon brings the reader through an exciting, fulfilling, and sometimes a hopelessly tragic panorama of the Roman Empire. He has been criticized by modern scholarship as misleading, since he neglected issues that modern scholars find so pivotal in Roman and Byzantine history, yet the volumes are wonderful reads nevertheless. He has also been criticized for his sarcastic criticism and denunciation of weak socities, religious institutions, government, cultures, etc., but this has been set down as an 18th century fixation -- and who can argue against this? Gibbon treats his subject very lucidly. He appears in his footnotes from time to time, just to visit with his readership. I thoroughly like the man!
Rating:
Summary: Beware
Review: Before you decide to embark on this journey you should be aware of a few things. First, this work is a narrative history, devoid of any real analysis. You will not gain anything from the content of the book other than the chrnological linking of facts and entertaining stories. Second, this work is really really L O N G. If you are looking for a narrative history of the Roman Empire for the entertainment value, look elsewhere. You will tire of this work if that is your reason for reading it. Thirdly, Gibbon's conclusion about the "moral decadence" of the Romans being the cause of the collapse of the Western Empire is wrong. Gibbon has viewed history through the foggy lense of his own value system. If you are looking to discover why the Western part of the Empire collapsed you should take a look at Rostovtzeff's Rome, Delbruck's Barbarian Invasions, Haussig's intro to A History of Byzantine Civilization, and Strayer's intro to The Middle Ages. Finally, if you are interested in reading some of the greatest English language prose of all time, read an abridgment. The Penguin abridgement has all the wonderful narration, entertaining stories, and is only about a third of the length of the whole work.
Rating:
Summary: "Enthralling, Lucid, Eloquent...An Intellectual Edifice"
Review: Dero A. Saunders abridged edition of the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" enhances the already elucidating and comprehensive full volume set sketched by Gibbon, and adds a precise tone to make this edition a quick and fulfilling read. At proscribed intervals throughout this work, Saunders summarizes portions of Gibbon's original volume, and successfully renders a "magnum opus" accessible for busy students and readers in general. The latter half of Gibbon's original work - after the sack of Rome - is composed of excerpts deemed necessary for a better understanding of the Empire's condition after the fall; and consists of: the age of Justinian, the rise of Islam, the fall of Constantinople, the ruins of Rome, and Gibbon's conclusion to the work as a whole. The breadth of this work brims with irony and a captivating charm that pervasively treats the vicissitudes of the Roman Empire with a witty candor. This is a timeless classic and a must have for anyone intersted in late Roman and Christian antiquity. It took a bit of courage on my part to give this excellent book four stars, but a few things must be considered. First of all, Gibbon wrote this history through a reformation lense and shamelessly exhibits his sentiments towards a history that was strictly catholic. Constantine is looked at with disregard and even indiffernce, while latter Julian the Apostate - the enemy of Christianity - is praised for his intelligence and valor. Hardly something I would expect from a christian historian. Also, as I said earlier, this edition is made accessible for busy students and readers; not historians and scholars. So for those who wish for a more in-depth and comprehensive approach to Gibbon's work, I would suggest the whole set. But for anyone who wishes to find a precise edition with all the essentials, undoubtedly Dero A. Saunders is the best.
Rating:
Summary: "Enthralling, Lucid, Eloquent...An Intellectual Edifice"
Review: Dero A. Saunders abridged edition of the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" enhances the already elucidating and comprehensive full volume set sketched by Gibbon, and adds a precise tone to make this edition a quick and fulfilling read. At proscribed intervals throughout this work, Saunders summarizes portions of Gibbon's original volume, and successfully renders a "magnum opus" accessible for busy students and readers in general. The latter half of Gibbon's original work - after the sack of Rome - is composed of excerpts deemed necessary for a better understanding of the Empire's condition after the fall; and consists of: the age of Justinian, the rise of Islam, the fall of Constantinople, the ruins of Rome, and Gibbon's conclusion to the work as a whole. The breadth of this work brims with irony and a captivating charm that pervasively treats the vicissitudes of the Roman Empire with a witty candor. This is a timeless classic and a must have for anyone intersted in late Roman and Christian antiquity. It took a bit of courage on my part to give this excellent book four stars, but a few things must be considered. First of all, Gibbon wrote this history through a reformation lense and shamelessly exhibits his sentiments towards a history that was strictly catholic. Constantine is looked at with disregard and even indiffernce, while latter Julian the Apostate - the enemy of Christianity - is praised for his intelligence and valor. Hardly something I would expect from a christian historian. Also, as I said earlier, this edition is made accessible for busy students and readers; not historians and scholars. So for those who wish for a more in-depth and comprehensive approach to Gibbon's work, I would suggest the whole set. But for anyone who wishes to find a precise edition with all the essentials, undoubtedly Dero A. Saunders is the best.
Rating:
Summary: The Decline and Fall proffers an increase in understanding
Review: Edward Gibbon has set the stage on which hundreds of other successful writers show history, and on which thousands of teachers tell history. From the Age of the Antonines to the reign of the Vandals, Gibbon explains to us just how the government of Rome faltered in a well-balanced tale, measuring external and internal factors. Gibbon grades Marcus Aerilius Antoninus's successors using the last of the Great Roman Emperors as the benchmark. Each emperor thereafter is respectively a degree away from Marcus Aerilius in ethics, morals and values. Guards, friends or family readily dispatch those that live as the model good citizen. The author, however, keeps his hope in finding a hero. He includes the Empire's adversaries, such as Attila and Alaric in describing wanton virtues for a good ruler. Written two hundred years ago, the language is far from contemporary. But, if you are serious about learning Western History and Culture, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a must read. Make the commitment and read Volumes 1, 2 and 3. From there, you will gain a better understanding when reading other epics on history, such as The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin. More importantly, you may say that you have successfully walked with Gibbon through nearly 500 years of history!
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