The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
A Modern Abridgment by Moses Hadas
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Narrated by:
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Mitch Horowitz
About this listen
The Classic History of Rome’s Fall From Glory in an Unparalleled Abridgment and Reintroduction
Few historical works encompass the pathos, drama, and meticulous detail of Edward Gibbon’s extraordinary record of Rome’s demise, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which the English historian issued in six volumes from 1776 to 1789.
In 1962, classics scholar Moses Hadas produced an extraordinary—and long out-of-print—modern abridgment of Gibbon’s landmark, opening its pages to the broadest possible range of readers. Now, Hadas’s gloriously readable digest is available once more—with a new and wide-spanning introduction by PEN Award-winning historian Mitch Horowitz and an appendix of aphorisms from the book.
An artform in itself, “Hadas’s effort is among the finest of any abridged works in English,” Mitch writes in his introduction. “His condensation exposed this vital book to many readers who would have otherwise bypassed it. Hadas intrepidly identified and distilled a narrative throughline in Gibbon’s six volumes, reducing more than 1,000,000 words—not counting nearly half as many more in source notes—to fewer than 100,000 words.”
In its sweeping yet concise arc of history, this abridgment of Decline and Fall covers a span of almost 1,500 years from the time of Trajan in 180 A.D. to the siege of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. “Its theme,” Hadas writes, “is the most overwhelming phenomenon in recorded history—the disintegration not of a nation but of an old and rich and apparently indestructible civilization.”
In his introduction, Mitch clarifies historical confusions, such as the highly unorthodox form of early Christianity to which the Emperor Constantine converted in the early fourth century and the syncretic nature of Roman—and modern—religious traditions.
For listeners eager to experience Gibbon’s brilliant primary historicism, to understand the long decline of Rome—and the reasons for the Empire’s demise—there exists no better or more accessible condensation of Decline and Fall.
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- Length: 20 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Richard of Bordeaux and Henry of Bolingbroke, cousins born just three months apart, were ten years old when Richard became king of England. They were thirty-two when Henry deposed him and became king in his place. Now, the story behind one of the strangest and most fateful events in English history (and the inspiration behind Shakespeare’s most celebrated history plays) is brought to vivid life by the acclaimed author of Blood and Roses, Helen Castor.
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Riveting start to finish
- By Samuel Shurtleff on 11-13-24
By: Helen Castor
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The Blood Telegram
- Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide
- By: Gary J. Bass
- Narrated by: Dennis Heath
- Length: 16 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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This magnificent history provides the first full account of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger’s secret support for Pakistan in 1971 as it committed shocking atrocities in Bangladesh—which led to war between India and Pakistan, shaped the fate of Asia, and left major strategic consequences for the world today.
By: Gary J. Bass
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Every Valley
- The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah
- By: Charles King
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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George Frideric Handel’s Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras, as well as by audiences singing along with the words on their cell phones. But this work of triumphant joy was born in a worried age. Britain in the early Enlightenment was a place of astonishing creativity but also the seat of an empire mired in war, enslavement, and conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth.
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Untitled Praise
- By Michael on 11-19-24
By: Charles King
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The Foundations of Western Civilization
- By: Thomas F. X. Noble, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Thomas F. X. Noble
- Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins
- Original Recording
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What is Western Civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.
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Not Engaging or Very Interesting
- By Tommy D'Angelo on 03-05-17
By: Thomas F. X. Noble, and others
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The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome
- By: Gregory S. Aldrete, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Original Recording
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The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome traces the breathtaking history from the empire’s foundation by Augustus to its Golden Age in the 2nd century CE through a series of ever-worsening crises until its ultimate disintegration. Taught by acclaimed Professor Gregory S. Aldrete of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, these 24 captivating lectures offer you the chance to experience this story like never before, incorporating the latest historical insights that challenge our previous notions of Rome’s decline.
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Gregory S. Aldrete is a treasure
- By Laurel Tucker on 02-04-19
By: Gregory S. Aldrete, and others