Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower describes in detail the history of Rome from its height in the second century up the the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the late fifth century. The book never fails to admit where the history of the empire may get hazy, and gives evidence for the most likely scenarios. It is fairly easy to read, but is also on the long side, at around 560 pages.
Goldsworthy's book does not only tell the reader the facts of history, but also introduces the reader to the culture of the empire and the mindset of its emperors. Because of this, the actions of the emperors and their enemies are easier to understand. Goldsworthy also gives his own opinion as to why the Roman Empire fell, and relates it directly to modern countries, perhaps making the last few chapters of his book the most interesting.
How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower is a must read for anyone interested with the fall of the Roman Empire, but those who pick it up should know a few things. It is a long narrative history, and can be expected to get dull at parts, and although a 500+ page book about the history of an empire seems sufficient, the Roman Empire lasted for well over 1500 years. Because of this, some parts of the book seem a bit rushed, as it focuses on the most active years of the empire. Adrian Goldsworthy does an excellent job in summarizing the history of the Roman Empire, but it should not be considered perfect.
-Billy Mays
It sounds like this book gives a great overview of hundreds of years of history. I would love to read the last few chapters about Goldsworthy's opinion about why the Roman Empire fell and how this relates to modern nations.
ReplyDelete--Sacagawea
Sounds like a great book. One can expect a book about the fall of Rome to be a pretty long one.
ReplyDelete~Charles Bronson
The fall of Rome is a very interesting topic. This book sounds as though it covers the subject very thoroughly.
ReplyDelete-Napoleon Bonaparte
I wonder what the world would be like if the Roman Empire had stayed alive longer.... does the book talk about their influences on our modern day world?
ReplyDelete-Anastasia Romanov