Can't finish it.

In the age of the bad orange man, we get a thinly (if at all) veiled indictment of America and its immigration policies within the first five minutes of a book about Alaric the Goth. Mix in some convoluted views on the role of Christianity... Alaric the Goth was a Christian but since he's also an illegal immigrant... he's okay... and the rise of Christianity and Christian values of Rome justified the aggressions of Alaric the Goth... and you have the beginnings of an unbearable (returning) book about Alaric the Goth. And by the way... all of this comes after the writer clearly states that there is little or no information about Alaric the Goth. That's okay... we'll just improvise and use the writer's political compass. Good grief.

24 people found this helpful

The Life and Times of Alaric

Alaric the Goth might be titled "The Life and Times of Alaric". He is the Barbarian leader who sacked Rome in 410, inspiring St. Augustine's The City of God. Alaric died soon after and was buried underneath a river bed with the choicest treasures of Rome never yet found. The primary focus is the period from the Battle of Adrianople in 378 to 410. It describes how the Goths were considered "outsiders", which is to say unwelcome immigrants, who were treated poorly by racist and xenophobic Roman citizens. They were abused while at the same time employed to the do the dirty work no one else wanted. The Goth's got their revenge. Alaric's life is not well documented so Boin takes the innovative approach of describing what we actually know about this period. For example we know Alaric spent time in Athens, and Boin describes Athens from archaeologic and written evidence - the popular plays, the city layout, it being a desirable address for up and coming Romans - and places it into context with Alaric's likely experiences there at that time. In this way we travel through his life and footsteps around the Roman Empire. The small details bring it alive in a way no other book about this period has before, that I have read. It's a fascinating and effective approach to history when documentation is otherwise sparse. This period is endlessly fascinating, Boin has placed the transition from Roman to Barbarian in technicolor showing both peaceful transition and violent change, as told through the microhistory of a single man.

12 people found this helpful

great story told from a different perspective

if you want to learn more about the goths told from their perspective this is a great place to start. well organized and well written. enjoyable read

4 people found this helpful

The fall of Rome-The rest of the story

The author does an amazing job of reconstructing the career of Aleric the Goth; who was a Roman General. Spoiler alert: As a Goth, he was not given Roman citizenship and was even slighted on pay for himself and his troops. While such abuse makes the case for why Aleric sacked Rome in 410 AD, and perhaps similar treatment led the Vandals to trash Rome again shortly after, I for one, was left wondering exactly how these two attacks had such a longstanding catastrophic effect on world civilization.

3 people found this helpful

Wonderful Read

Truly a great book for someone who wasn’t as familiar with the Gothic culture. Alaric is a fascinating character lost in history until now.

3 people found this helpful

Totally Bizarre

Anachronistic & badly researched. Not what I expected at all. Sad. All historians manipulate facts, craft narratives, but this is just nonsense. Weird NeoLib take on the life of a famous historical figure that seems to live in its own world entirely. Can't recommend, even though it's an interesting idea.

2 people found this helpful

lots of good history!!

I enjoyed this way more then I expected. it had explanations for things I didn't think to connect. it's got more then gothic history, as would be right because they were a tribe on the move. I liked the info about the religious subjects and forming of the christianity.
I highly recommend it. the author adds well researched takes on issues and events I believe we previously misrepresented.
I enjoyed it

1 person found this helpful

More interested in story telling than history

Evidently there isn't enough information on Alaric to warrant writing a book about him. I've never read/heard a book that, in the absence of evidence, said things like "he almost certainly" or "he probably did" with such incredible frequency. The information presented about Goths in 4th and 5th century Rome was better but still was light on factual support.

shoehorning modern politics into ancient history

The author is clearly trying to tie the fall of rome in with modern politics, unfortunately they distort the actual history in doing so; no the Romans didnt suddenly become xenophobic before the fall of rome, they always were massively xenophobic, even at the height of their empire, as were almost all ancient civilizations. its so painfully obvious the narrative the author is trying to forge, often skipping over some facts or presenting others in a "different light". Modern politics dont belong in ancient historical narratives. Many authors make modern parallels, but they usually keep it in the preface or introduction.

More a discussion of an era

Not a lot of hard facts concerning Alaric. The discussion of Rome during Alaric's era was interesting. Not sure I buy it's message on immigration and citizenship, without doing more reading on my part. Read Adrian Goldsworthy book on the fall of Rome, if you want a different perspective.