
How Rome Fell
Death of a Superpower
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $21.06
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Derek Perkins
In AD 200, the Roman Empire seemed unassailable, its vast territory accounting for most of the known world. By the end of the fifth century, Roman rule had vanished in Western Europe and much of northern Africa, and only a shrunken Eastern Empire remained. This was a period of remarkable personalities, from the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius to emperors like Diocletian, who portrayed themselves as tough, even brutal, soldiers. It was a time of revolutionary ideas, especially in religion, as Christianity went from persecuted sect to the religion of state and emperors. Ultimately, this is the story of how an empire without a serious rival rotted from within, its rulers and institutions putting short-term ambition and personal survival over the greater good of the state.
©2009 Adrian Goldsworthy (P)2014 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
People who viewed this also viewed...


















another great work from Adrian goldsworthy
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Adrian Goldsworthy continues to entertain.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Perkins is great, as usual.
Definitely recommend.
Vast Book for a Vast Subject
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful Story Teller
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very thorough and comprehensive
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fascinating
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.he's got me convinced!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
very good
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Any additional comments?
This is a well written and well researched book. However, as the title implies this is a book of "How" Rome Fell, recounting very specific individuals and events leading up to the fall of the empire. Thus a reader looking for a broader overview of "Why" Rome Fell may be disappointed. Author Adrian Goldsworthy does little to shed light on the socioeconomic, religious, or philosophical conditions which may have contributed to the fall. This is probably because (as the author says time and again) many of those factors would be based on conjecture and the author's own biases.Good Book - But can be dry and dense.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good overview of last centuries of Rome in West
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.