The tragic story of the fall of a great empire

What made the experience of listening to How Rome Fell the most enjoyable?

How comprehensive the story was. It began before Commodus and went past 476. This emphasized how the fall was not in a vacuum nor was it necessarily a true, catastrophic collapse.

What did you like best about this story?

It continually emphasized the facts instead of wide held societal beliefs. Each supposed cause of the fall of the Roman empire was examined and preconceived notions where attacked and discarded. It is very balanced and reasonable.

What does Derek Perkins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

As with all my reviews of his work, he is an excellent narrator who can really bring the story to life.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

They said it was un-filmable, and they where right

Any additional comments?

If you want a general overview of the narrative and potential causes of Rome's dissolution, this is an excellent source

19 people found this helpful

he's got me convinced!

Would you listen to How Rome Fell again? Why?

Yes, and I might do that. I've read or listened to several recent books on this question, and Goldsworthy's argument is compelling. If every time you have a change of government, you have a devastating, depopulating civil war, and you have changes of government all the time, then it seems that you don't have to go very far to find out why Rome fell.Goldsworthy is really good at marshaling the evidence and not going beyond.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I did not have a favorite character.

Which character – as performed by Derek Perkins – was your favorite?

Derek Perkins is a fine narrator. I should add that I am not extraordinarily fastidious in that regard.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no, it is too long.

Any additional comments?

Goldsworthy is an excellent writer with fine analytical skills. He also wrote a terrific book on Julius Caesar, Life of a Colossus.

6 people found this helpful

Interesting, loosely connected facts

The book is interesting, but it seems like the topics are a bit random because the author doesn't really talk in terms of cause and effect. At times it makes it hard to tell why he is even talking about certain topics. The only time the author puts forward a causal argument is in the very end after all these random facts are thrown at you. The upshot of this is that you know the facts are truly that and not opinions of the author. Worth the listen.

5 people found this helpful

Good Material, Lots of Caveats

I suppose the story of how Rome fell, like many aspects of ancient history, is liable to be shrouded in mystery. One can imagine how, for example, Donald Trump would be viewed if only one religious cleric writing 100 years from now was all you had to go on. There is a ton of equivocation in this book. Often the author will talk for several minutes stating a theory of a particular event, and then say something along the lines of "this has been recently called into question" or even "this seems unlikely in the light of such-and-such evidence." On one hand, this gives you a more honest picture, and I appreciate it, but it hardly makes for a good or thrilling story. The story of how Rome eroded (largely, as it turned out, from within) is an interesting story, and given the continuation of the Eastern Roman empire in a progressively diminished form, the story more fades from sight then ends entirely. For example, Justinian, an Eastern Roman emperor who wasn't even born until after the last Western Roman emperor was overthrown, gets an extensive treatment. The book presents a lot of good information, and you just have to take the broad themes and decide for yourself what "lessons" can be learned from it.

5 people found this helpful

very good

This book and the author's book on Julius Caesar both seem thoroughly researched and carefully written. I appreciate how throughout the books he informs the reader where the source material is weak/strong.

For me How Rome Fell would probably flow better in print. Because of the high level view necessary to capture all the characters involved, the names of people and places often rush by and I found myself having to go back to remember them. I don't find this a fault of the author or narrator, but the nature of the material.

3 people found this helpful

Names & Dates, Names & Dates

I am not an historian & this kind of book is why. 18 hours of endless repetition of generals & battles but so little insight into WHY. Goldsworthy clearly has the academic & data base to write such a book but he failed to make a case for any of several possible reasons why the Empire fell. A small saving grace attempt in the last chapter and epilogue did not make up for the numbing recitation of battles. How about the rest of society? Did the life of the citizen benefit from the Empire, and so earn its support? And for a book of 2017 vintage he badly presages the US destiny

2 people found this helpful

Excellent!

Adrian Goldsworthy appears to deserve all of the accolades he has received if his other works are all this good. His writing is clear, his research is deep and his interpretations are interesting without being fanciful or melodramatic. Most impressively, he manages to keep the sections where where were multiple concurrent emperors with similar names from being a confusing mess! The narrator was great as well, with a pleasant vocal tone and cadence, and clear diction.

2 people found this helpful

Another home run by Goldsworthy

If you wonder why the political world works the way the political world works then there is no better place to start than with Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell. The epilogue of this book alone is worth the price of admission.

2 people found this helpful

Another Great book by Goldsworthy

Yet another amazing book by probably the best writer for this entire period especially for Roman history, his detail and present the facts writing is the best of the best. I love how with all of his books he goes out of his way to present the facts, tell you what some people think about it and then show by what is the facts what is the most likely thing that happened for a period that we truly don't know everything about.

Derek Perkins also does another amazing job with the narration, this is probably the 8th book by this pair I have enjoyed and every one is a treat of knowledge that could not be executed or presented better.

1 person found this helpful

Great read, highly recommend it

Goldsworthy provides an eloquent and detailed summary of the collapse theory regarding Rome with accurate notation of events and an enjoyable style. The performance by Derek Perkins is engaging and well done, and this is a great introduction to modern discourse on the fall of Rome. While I don't personally agree with the collapse thesis I found this to be a great summary of Gibbon's work with additions by less antiquated (heh) historians, great entry level reading.

1 person found this helpful