-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1
- Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
- Length: 41 hrs and 2 mins
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
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $31.16
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Gibbon's monumental work traces the history of more than 13 centuries, covering the great events as well as the general historical progression. This first volume covers A.D. 180 to A.D. 395, which includes the establishment of Christianity and the Crusades.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- By: Edward Gibbon
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 126 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century A.D. at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam.
-
-
Masterpiece - Best Audiobook I’ve Listened To
- By Student on 09-18-18
By: Edward Gibbon
-
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
- A History of Nazi Germany
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 57 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer’s monumental study of Hitler’s German empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of the 20th century’s blackest hours. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers an unparalleled and thrillingly told examination of how Adolf Hitler nearly succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print around the globe, it has attained the status of a vital and enduring classic.
-
-
Held my interest for 57 hours and 13 minutes
- By Jonnie on 11-08-10
-
Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant
-
Emperor of Rome
- Ruling the Ancient World
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Mary Beard
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
-
-
Wasn't sure but won me over
- By John S. on 01-26-24
By: Mary Beard
-
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
- By: Ulysses S. Grant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 29 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Among the autobiographies of great military figures, Ulysses S. Grant’s is certainly one of the finest, and it is arguably the most notable literary achievement of any American president: a lucid, compelling, and brutally honest chronicle of triumph and failure. From his frontier boyhood, to his heroics in battle, to the grinding poverty from which the Civil War ironically rescued him, these memoirs are a mesmerizing, deeply moving account of a brilliant man told with great courage.
-
-
Surprisingly funny and very informative.
- By Trent on 08-20-12
By: Ulysses S. Grant
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 33 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based in part on Dickens's own life, it is the story of a young man's journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among its gloriously vivid cast of characters, he e.ncounters his tyrannical stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; the frivolous, enchanting Dora; and one of literature's great comic creations, the magnificently impecunious Mr. Micawber.
-
-
"I am born."
- By Barbara K. on 05-21-09
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- By: Edward Gibbon
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 126 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century A.D. at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam.
-
-
Masterpiece - Best Audiobook I’ve Listened To
- By Student on 09-18-18
By: Edward Gibbon
-
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
- A History of Nazi Germany
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 57 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer’s monumental study of Hitler’s German empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of the 20th century’s blackest hours. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers an unparalleled and thrillingly told examination of how Adolf Hitler nearly succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print around the globe, it has attained the status of a vital and enduring classic.
-
-
Held my interest for 57 hours and 13 minutes
- By Jonnie on 11-08-10
-
Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant
-
Emperor of Rome
- Ruling the Ancient World
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Mary Beard
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
-
-
Wasn't sure but won me over
- By John S. on 01-26-24
By: Mary Beard
-
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
- By: Ulysses S. Grant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 29 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Among the autobiographies of great military figures, Ulysses S. Grant’s is certainly one of the finest, and it is arguably the most notable literary achievement of any American president: a lucid, compelling, and brutally honest chronicle of triumph and failure. From his frontier boyhood, to his heroics in battle, to the grinding poverty from which the Civil War ironically rescued him, these memoirs are a mesmerizing, deeply moving account of a brilliant man told with great courage.
-
-
Surprisingly funny and very informative.
- By Trent on 08-20-12
By: Ulysses S. Grant
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 33 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based in part on Dickens's own life, it is the story of a young man's journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among its gloriously vivid cast of characters, he e.ncounters his tyrannical stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; the frivolous, enchanting Dora; and one of literature's great comic creations, the magnificently impecunious Mr. Micawber.
-
-
"I am born."
- By Barbara K. on 05-21-09
By: Charles Dickens
-
Titan
- The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 35 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller’s exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world’s richest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.
-
-
He makes Bill Gates look like a Pauper!
- By Rick on 11-04-13
By: Ron Chernow
-
The House of Morgan
- An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A gripping history of banking and the booms and busts that shaped the world on both sides of the Atlantic, The House of Morgan traces the trajectory of the J. P.Morgan empire from its obscure beginnings in Victorian London to the crash of 1987. Ron Chernow paints a fascinating portrait of the private saga of the Morgans and the rarefied world of the American and British elite in which they moved. Based on extensive interviews and access to the family and business archives, The House of Morgan is an investigative masterpiece.
-
-
The construction of the House of Morgan
- By Darwin8u on 10-22-18
By: Ron Chernow
-
Bleak House
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Teresa Gallagher
- Length: 35 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A complex plot of love and inheritance is set against the English legal system of the mid-19th century. As the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce drags on, it becomes an obsession to everyone involved. And the issue on an inheritance ultimately becomes a question of murder.
-
-
WONDERFUL NARRATIONS!
- By KT on 08-25-11
By: Charles Dickens
-
Swann's Way
- By: Marcel Proust
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Swann’s Way is the first of seven volumes in Remembrance of Things Past. It sets the scene with the narrator’s memories being famously provoked by the taste of that little cake, the madeleine, accompanied by a cup of lime-flowered tea. It is an unmatched portrait of fin-de-siècle France.
-
-
Not a book one reads but inhabits & floats through
- By Darwin8u on 02-24-13
By: Marcel Proust
-
War and Peace
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 61 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable.
-
-
Glad I finally decided to read it
- By Plumeria on 09-25-05
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
The Second World War: Milestones to Disaster
- By: Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Churchill's history of the Second World War is, and will remain, the definitive work. Lucid, dramatic, remarkable for its breadth and sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction.
-
-
Brilliant! Only Churchill could have done this.
- By John M on 10-30-08
-
Kissinger
- A Biography
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 34 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time Henry Kissinger was made secretary of state in 1973, he had become, according to a Gallup poll, the most admired person in America and one of the most unlikely celebrities ever to capture the world’s imagination. Yet Kissinger was also reviled by large segments of the American public, ranging from liberal intellectuals to conservative activists. Kissinger explores the relationship between this complex man's personality and the foreign policy he pursued.
-
-
A dissapointment
- By Mike From Mesa on 12-16-13
By: Walter Isaacson
-
The Source
- A Novel
- By: James A. Michener
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 54 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the grand storytelling style that is his signature, James Michener sweeps us back through time to the very beginnings of the Jewish faith, thousands of years ago. Through the predecessors of four modern men and women, we experience the entire colorful history of the Jews, including the life of the early Hebrews and their persecutions, the impact of Christianity, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition, all the way to the founding of present-day Israel and the Middle East conflict.
-
-
Unlistenable
- By GGS Engineering on 09-11-15
-
In the First Circle
- By: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Harry T. Willets - translator
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 31 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moscow, Christmas Eve, 1949. The Soviet secret police intercept a call made to the American embassy by a Russian diplomat who promises to deliver secrets about the nascent Soviet Atomic Bomb program. On that same day, a brilliant mathematician is locked away inside a Moscow prison that houses the country's brightest minds. He and his fellow prisoners are charged with using their abilities to sleuth out the caller's identity, and they must choose whether to aid Joseph Stalin's repressive state - or refuse and accept transfer to the Siberian Gulag camps, and almost certain death.
-
-
One of the five finest novels written in the 20th Century
- By Ellis D Vener on 04-08-19
By: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and others
-
Pax
- War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind. Pax is a captivating narrative history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland shows ancient Rome in all its glory
-
-
Great book!
- By Mic on 09-27-23
By: Tom Holland
-
Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained
- By: John Milton
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paradise Lost, along with its companion piece, Paradise Regained, remain the most successful attempts at Greco-Roman style epic poetry in the English language. Remarkably enough, they were written near the end of John Milton's amazing life, a bold testimonial to his mental powers in old age. And, since he had gone completely blind in 1652, 15 years prior to Paradise Lost, he dictated it and all his other works to his daughter.
-
-
SELL YOUR SHIRT FOR THIS AUDIO BOOK!
- By thomas on 04-23-11
By: John Milton
-
The Aeneid
- By: Virgil
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The publication of a new translation by Fagles is a literary event. His translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, Fagles has reintroduced Virgil's Aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of Western civilization.
-
-
Good but the chapters aren't IN ORDER
- By Maggie on 10-18-17
By: Virgil
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
The Jugurthine War & The Conspiracy of Cataline
- By: Sallust, Cicero
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A bloody revolt by a North African prince and a plot to seize control of Rome are the subjects of two short masterpieces of ancient history by the illustrious Roman chronicler, Sallust. He could not have chosen two more dramatic episodes in the long history of this city.
-
-
Excellent Production
- By cbrann on 04-22-05
By: Sallust, and others
-
Lives of the Twelve Caesars
- By: Suetonius
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suetonius wrote his Lives of the Twelve Caesars in the reign of Vespasian around 70AD. He chronicled the extraordinary careers of Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, and Domitian and the rest in technicolour terms. They presented some high and low times at the heart of the Roman Empire. The accounts provide us with perspicacious insights into the men as much as their reigns.
-
-
Translation doubts
- By Elizabeth on 05-20-07
By: Suetonius
-
The Bad Popes
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
-
-
Complete trash.
- By George on 07-16-21
By: E.R. Chamberlin
-
The Moors in Spain
- By: Stanley Lane-Poole
- Narrated by: Andrea Giordani
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Alhambra in Granada, the Mosque in Cordova - these are some of the magnificent physical remnants of Moorish rule in Spain. Their influence on culture, engineering, and civilization has also remained in ways often unacknowledged. Lane-Poole was the first to publish a scholarly history in English about a non-Christian civilization, making this a ground-breaking work. Written with extensive knowledge, wit, and admiration, Lane-Poole’s The Moors in Spain is not to be missed.
-
-
An excellent brief intro to Moors Spain
- By wireless-0110 on 06-20-19
-
The Byzantine Empire
- By: Charles Oman
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Byzantine Empire survived as a self-contained political entity longer than any other in the history of Christianity. This history by Charles Oman is a catalog of good, bad, and indifferent emperors who either pushed Byzantine Civilization to new heights or savagely drove it to defeat and dissolution. It is a strange tale populated by some of the most interesting men and women who have ever lived.
-
-
adequate good book. great reader
- By Felisa Kay on 01-30-21
By: Charles Oman
-
Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans
- By: Plutarch
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 83 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Plutarch (c. AD 46-AD 120) was born to a prominent family in the small Greek town of Chaeronea, about 20 miles east of Delphi in the region known as Boeotia. His best known work is the Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues and vices. The surviving lives contain 23 pairs, each with one Greek life and one Roman life as well as four unpaired single lives.
-
-
For the Very Dedicated
- By John Pinkerton on 03-13-18
By: Plutarch
-
The Jugurthine War & The Conspiracy of Cataline
- By: Sallust, Cicero
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A bloody revolt by a North African prince and a plot to seize control of Rome are the subjects of two short masterpieces of ancient history by the illustrious Roman chronicler, Sallust. He could not have chosen two more dramatic episodes in the long history of this city.
-
-
Excellent Production
- By cbrann on 04-22-05
By: Sallust, and others
-
Lives of the Twelve Caesars
- By: Suetonius
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suetonius wrote his Lives of the Twelve Caesars in the reign of Vespasian around 70AD. He chronicled the extraordinary careers of Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, and Domitian and the rest in technicolour terms. They presented some high and low times at the heart of the Roman Empire. The accounts provide us with perspicacious insights into the men as much as their reigns.
-
-
Translation doubts
- By Elizabeth on 05-20-07
By: Suetonius
-
The Bad Popes
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
-
-
Complete trash.
- By George on 07-16-21
By: E.R. Chamberlin
-
The Moors in Spain
- By: Stanley Lane-Poole
- Narrated by: Andrea Giordani
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Alhambra in Granada, the Mosque in Cordova - these are some of the magnificent physical remnants of Moorish rule in Spain. Their influence on culture, engineering, and civilization has also remained in ways often unacknowledged. Lane-Poole was the first to publish a scholarly history in English about a non-Christian civilization, making this a ground-breaking work. Written with extensive knowledge, wit, and admiration, Lane-Poole’s The Moors in Spain is not to be missed.
-
-
An excellent brief intro to Moors Spain
- By wireless-0110 on 06-20-19
-
The Byzantine Empire
- By: Charles Oman
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Byzantine Empire survived as a self-contained political entity longer than any other in the history of Christianity. This history by Charles Oman is a catalog of good, bad, and indifferent emperors who either pushed Byzantine Civilization to new heights or savagely drove it to defeat and dissolution. It is a strange tale populated by some of the most interesting men and women who have ever lived.
-
-
adequate good book. great reader
- By Felisa Kay on 01-30-21
By: Charles Oman
-
Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans
- By: Plutarch
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 83 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Plutarch (c. AD 46-AD 120) was born to a prominent family in the small Greek town of Chaeronea, about 20 miles east of Delphi in the region known as Boeotia. His best known work is the Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues and vices. The surviving lives contain 23 pairs, each with one Greek life and one Roman life as well as four unpaired single lives.
-
-
For the Very Dedicated
- By John Pinkerton on 03-13-18
By: Plutarch
-
The Story of the Goths
- By: Henry Bradley
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Goths are the most enigmatic of all the ancient German tribes. Their name today is still widely in use for a variety of cultural and artistic movements. But unlike other famous German tribes whose names are still descriptive of nations they founded - the Franks, the Lombards, the Angles, the Saxons and the Alemanni - the Goths simply disappeared. The subject of Henry Bradley's splendid short history is tracing the rise, the migrations, and the impact of the Goths on European history along with their spectacular fall.
-
-
Interesting Book about a little understood people
- By Mark on 07-29-15
By: Henry Bradley
-
Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant
-
The Birth of Britain
- A History of the English Speaking Peoples, Volume I
- By: Sir Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The English-speaking peoples comprise perhaps the greatest number of human beings sharing a common language in the world today. These people also share a common heritage. For his four-volume work, Sir Winston Churchill took as his subject these great elements in world history. Volume 1 commences in 55BC, when Julius Caesar famously "turned his gaze upon Britain" and concludes with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
-
-
Birth of Britain
- By Terryl Pettengill on 02-11-07
-
Constantine and the Conversion of Europe
- By: Arnold Jones
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the end of Diocletian's reign in the opening years of the fourth century, the pagan world had collapsed into the arms of a multicultural religious movement which had spread from the eastern Mediterranean. These were the "mystery religions" which had been in competition with one another for a century. By the time of Constantine, they had spread everywhere within the empire. But one of these religions, Christianity, was chosen by the young emperor.
-
-
A Lot of Potentially Boring Detail
- By Christopher on 07-08-10
By: Arnold Jones
-
The Dark Ages: 476-918
- By: Charles Oman
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 19 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Dark Ages is the story of the birth of Western civilization. It was a harrowing crucible of war, destruction, and faith. For over 100 years, Charles Oman's famous history has remained one of the finest sources for the study of this period. Covering a period of 500 years and an area stretching from Northern Germany to Egypt, this is the definitive history that will alter your conceptions of a period of history that gave birth to the civilization we live in today.
-
-
An Excellent Production
- By Ken on 08-11-17
By: Charles Oman
-
The End of the Ancient World and the Beginnings of the Middle Ages
- By: Ferdinand Lot
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ferdinand Lot (1866-1952) was one of the great historians of his generation, and the transition from Roman to Medieval civilization was a process that fascinated him most of his life. Rather than placing the emphasis for Rome’s fall on purely political or military reasons, Lot put forth multiple explanations for the birth of the Middle Ages which embrace not only politics and war, but linguistic, geographic, cultural, social and economic factors.
-
-
A Rome "too vast, too complicated and too cunning"
- By Philo on 11-26-15
By: Ferdinand Lot
-
History of the Conquest of Mexico
- By: W.H. Prescott
- Narrated by: Kerry Shale
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1519, Hernando Cortés arrived in Mexico to investigate stories of a wealthy empire. What he encountered was beyond his wildest dreams; an advanced civilization with complex artistic, political, and religious systems (involving extensive human sacrifice) and replete with gold. This was the Aztec empire, headed by the aloof emperor, Montezuma.
-
-
Gripping story
- By Roger Conner on 11-05-04
By: W.H. Prescott
-
Reflections on the Revolution in France
- By: Edmund Burke
- Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This famous treatise began as a letter to a young French friend who asked Edmund Burke’s opinion on whether France’s new ruling class would succeed in creating a better order. Doubtless the friend expected a favorable reply, but Burke was suspicious of certain tendencies of the Revolution from the start and perceived that the revolutionaries were actually subverting the true "social order". Blending history with principle and graceful imagery with profound practical maxims, this book is one of the most influential political treatises in the history of the world.
-
-
A good historical perspective
- By CMC on 08-30-14
By: Edmund Burke
-
The New World
- A History of the English Speaking Peoples, Volume II
- By: Sir Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between 1485 and 1688, England became a Protestant country under Henry VIII. His daughter, Elizabeth I, battled for succession and supremacy at home, and the discovery of 'the round world' enabled a vast continent across the Atlantic to be explored. While this new era was spawning the beginnings of modern America, England was engaged in a bloody civil war and sustained a Republican experiment under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell.
-
-
Churchill series
- By Elizabeth Weingarten on 08-27-08
-
The Age of Reason
- By: Thomas Paine
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology, published in three parts from 1794, was a best seller in America, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. Promoting a creator-God while advocating reason in the place of revelation, Paine’s controversial pamphlet caused his native British audience, fearing the results of the French Revolution, to receive it with more hostility than their American counterparts.
-
-
Amazed by the energy, originality & bravery
- By Darwin8u on 10-06-12
By: Thomas Paine
-
Machiavelli
- Philosopher of Power
- By: Ross King
- Narrated by: Tim Reynolds
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part of the acclaimed Eminent Lives series, Machiavelli is a superb portrait of the brilliant and revolutionary political philosopher - history's most famous theorist of "warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed" - and the age he embodied. Ross King, the New York Times best-selling author of Brunelleschi's Dome, argues that the author of The Prince was a far more complex and sympathetic character than is often portrayed.
-
-
Awesome
- By Crisitna Tunon on 07-16-21
By: Ross King
-
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
- By: John Foxe
- Narrated by: Robin Lawson
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Originally published in the 16th century, this is the classic history of the lives, sufferings, and deaths of the early Christian martyrs. As interesting as fiction, it is written with both passion and tenderness, telling the dramatic story of some of the most thrilling periods in Christian history.
-
-
Truely a Great Book
- By Steve on 10-03-06
By: John Foxe
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- By: Edward Gibbon
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 126 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century A.D. at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam.
-
-
Masterpiece - Best Audiobook I’ve Listened To
- By Student on 09-18-18
By: Edward Gibbon
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- By: Edward Gibbon
- Narrated by: Alastair Cameron
- Length: 108 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (an English historian) is a six-volume collection that examines the fate of one of the most renowned civilizations in history, the Roman Empire. In this masterpiece, Gibbon covers the time periods from the second century A.D. to the 15th century, and takes a look at the history of early Christianity along with the Roman State church, the history of Europe and the Middle East along with the rise of Islam, and the events that lead to the collapse of the Roman Empire among many other historical events.
-
-
Absolutely Loved It!
- By Emily Spencer on 10-01-21
By: Edward Gibbon
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- A Modern Abridgment by Moses Hadas
- By: Edward Gibbon, Moses Hadas, Mitch Horowitz
- Narrated by: Mitch Horowitz
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
By: Edward Gibbon, and others
-
The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition
- By: Daniel N. Robinson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Daniel N. Robinson
- Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions-without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.
-
-
A Hard Review to Write
- By Ark1836 on 11-20-15
By: Daniel N. Robinson, and others
-
Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant
-
Emperor of Rome
- Ruling the Ancient World
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Mary Beard
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
-
-
Wasn't sure but won me over
- By John S. on 01-26-24
By: Mary Beard
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- By: Edward Gibbon
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 126 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century A.D. at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam.
-
-
Masterpiece - Best Audiobook I’ve Listened To
- By Student on 09-18-18
By: Edward Gibbon
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- By: Edward Gibbon
- Narrated by: Alastair Cameron
- Length: 108 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (an English historian) is a six-volume collection that examines the fate of one of the most renowned civilizations in history, the Roman Empire. In this masterpiece, Gibbon covers the time periods from the second century A.D. to the 15th century, and takes a look at the history of early Christianity along with the Roman State church, the history of Europe and the Middle East along with the rise of Islam, and the events that lead to the collapse of the Roman Empire among many other historical events.
-
-
Absolutely Loved It!
- By Emily Spencer on 10-01-21
By: Edward Gibbon
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- A Modern Abridgment by Moses Hadas
- By: Edward Gibbon, Moses Hadas, Mitch Horowitz
- Narrated by: Mitch Horowitz
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
By: Edward Gibbon, and others
-
The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition
- By: Daniel N. Robinson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Daniel N. Robinson
- Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions-without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.
-
-
A Hard Review to Write
- By Ark1836 on 11-20-15
By: Daniel N. Robinson, and others
-
Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant
-
Emperor of Rome
- Ruling the Ancient World
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Mary Beard
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
-
-
Wasn't sure but won me over
- By John S. on 01-26-24
By: Mary Beard
-
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
- A History of Nazi Germany
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 57 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer’s monumental study of Hitler’s German empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of the 20th century’s blackest hours. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers an unparalleled and thrillingly told examination of how Adolf Hitler nearly succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print around the globe, it has attained the status of a vital and enduring classic.
-
-
Held my interest for 57 hours and 13 minutes
- By Jonnie on 11-08-10
-
Persian Fire
- The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 14 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the fifth century BC, a global superpower was determined to bring truth and order to what it regarded as two terrorist states. The superpower was Persia, incomparably rich in ambition, gold, and men. The terrorist states were Athens and Sparta, eccentric cities in a poor and mountainous backwater: Greece. The story of how their citizens took on the Great King of Persia, and thereby saved not only themselves, but Western civilization as well, is as heart-stopping and fateful as any episode in history.
-
-
Engaging
- By Jean on 02-16-17
By: Tom Holland
-
1177 B.C. (Revised and Updated)
- The Year Civilization Collapsed
- By: Eric H. Cline
- Narrated by: Eric H. Cline
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook narrated by acclaimed archaeologist and best-selling author Eric Cline offers a breathtaking account of how the collapse of an ancient civilized world ushered in the first Dark Ages.
-
-
Look past the one-star reviews: this is an enlightening and engaging read.
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-07-22
By: Eric H. Cline
-
The Rising Sun
- The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 41 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This Pulitzer Prize-winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, "a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened - muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox."
-
-
A political as well as military history
- By Mike From Mesa on 07-30-15
By: John Toland
-
Christendom
- The Triumph of a Religion, AD 300-1300
- By: Peter Heather
- Narrated by: Peter Heather
- Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the fourth century AD, a new faith exploded out of Palestine. Overwhelming the paganism of Rome, and converting the Emperor Constantine in the process, it resoundingly defeated a host of other rivals. Almost a thousand years later, all of Europe was controlled by Christian rulers, and the religion, ingrained within culture and society, exercised a monolithic hold over its population. But, as Peter Heather shows in this compelling new history, there was nothing inevitable about Christendom's rise to Europe-wide dominance.
-
-
What I Thought I Knew…
- By Sharon Sowders on 10-26-24
By: Peter Heather
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
-
Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
What listeners say about The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SAMA
- 05-29-13
Dry
The narrator killed the experience for me. I really tried to go through the book, but the performance was excessively dry.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 10-05-09
Ancient History At Its Best
This exhaustive history is one of the best on the subject. Gibbon knew his material and gave us one of the greatest works about the long period that this history covers. Where this history might seem long and tedious in places, it is made up for by the numerous explanations of battles and descriptions of the cities and characters of the times. Where Gibbon sometimes seems to opinionated about the times and people, he gives reasons for this and helps the listener to understand the circumstances and ideas of the times. The narration is at times tedious as well. You get the idea that you are in a college lecture hall rather than listening to the reading of a book. Bernard Mayes does a good job with the material. Overall, I would recommend this set of volumes to anyone who is interested in the hisory of the world. Others will find this material tedious and boring at times. My advice? Give a listen and stick with this. You might find out some things that you didn't know and might find this history as extremely interesting as I have.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Charlie
- 07-22-08
Great for history buffs
Very long and detailed, but well narrated. You do have to focus and pay attention, otherwise you'll lose track. Only issue is he tends to skip around a bit, so sometimes it's difficult to tell which emperor or time period he is talking about. Excellent thesis on early Christianity.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DC Churbuck
- 10-17-12
A masterpiece of historical literature
Where does The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This is my first audible book and audiobook experience and what a great introduction to the medium.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The Emperor Julian the Apostate: the last non-Christian of the Roman Empire. An outstanding general, scholar and philosopher.
Have you listened to any of Bernard Mayes’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No. He is a wonderful narrator.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
yes
Any additional comments?
Many hours but so worthwhile. The Decline and Fall made many a weekly drive from Cape Cod to New York City something to look forward to and not dread.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Antonio
- 12-15-12
Magnificent version of a classic
The decline and fall is generally seen as a forbidding Everest that the intellectually ambitious must surpass in order to qualify for cultured status (rather like the Divine Commedy, of the History of Herodotus or the 6 Jane Austen novels). But although formidable (and not just in extension, but also in breadth of learning), this first volume of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is also a great story. Not only does it prove that the hereditary principle doesn't work as a way to run governmental affairs (from Augustus to Constantine there isn't even one example where acted wisely by leaving the empire to his son), it also shows that great architecture and art doesn't necessarily mean civilization as we understand it. Volume I also has the deservedly infamous chapters about the origins and spread of the Christian religion. Although they retain a power to offend believers, they are also very funny. This narration by Bernard Mayes (who is a former anglican priest, teacher and scholar, and quite a character in his own right- look him up in Wikipedia) is perfect. His perfect ennunciation and languid delivery are perfect for this work. I am looking forward to hearing the other 5 volumes.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Washingtonian
- 08-27-17
THIS one is the BEST version! Narrator AMAZING
If you could sum up The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1 in three words, what would they be?
A funny and shockingly contemporary tale.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1?
When I realized that I was receiving insights from today's headlines, yet this book was written in 1776!
Have you listened to any of Bernard Mayes’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Narrator was superb. He inhabited the intelligence of the words, unlike the other versions which were stiff and traded comprehension for projection -- the other readers sounded as if they were in a school play and "showing off" at finally doing Shakespeare. Mayes fully conveyed humor, facts, wisdom and his somewhat archaic voice was warm and easy to spend hours and hours listening to. (I am a New Yorker by birth and a Washingtonian by chance, and NOT your usually plummy BBC fan) -- this reader was NOTHING like that. Mayes conveyed the words and author's intention with a lack of pomposity that sounded natural to my ear.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
This is a book to listen to cooking and knocking out tasks as it will take sustained effort, but well worth it. By the end of Chapter One I felt I had made a new friend who was dazzling me with time travel and greater sense of the scope of human experience.
Any additional comments?
If you have ever been curious about whether or not history truly rhymes, or merely repeats itself, check out this book -- if you already have this book on your bucket list, Mayes is the reader of choice!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 01-07-13
I just want to give a star rating. If you force me
Would you listen to The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1 again? Why?
I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.
What did you like best about this story?
I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.
What about Bernard Mayes’s performance did you like?
I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.
Any additional comments?
I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MJL
- 10-03-11
One of the best purchases of my life
I came on here to check something else, and was shocked to see the negative reviews. I spent three credits on this series a few years ago and they were the best-spent money of the last few years. It would be heaven to know that all my Audible purchases would be so rewarding.
The book is so classic that my voice would be nearly meaningless, but I'm sad to see the narrator so maligned. His stodgy sounding voice made the text come alive for me because he sounds just so classically English. Just as another reviewer said, it sounded like Gibbon himself was reading his book to me, or reciting the history of the decline and fall of Rome.
I really can't imagine why he's getting bad reviews. I guess I'm just the type of person who will appreciate a book like this and a narrator like this. What type is that? A lover of history, a lover of old things, a lover of classical things, I suppose.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
38 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Raleigh
- 01-18-08
Decline and Fall I
A 5 for Gibbon and a 3 for narrator Bernard Mayes, whose English is barely comprehensible. (Average rating of 4.) The Mayes problem is the charateristic, and maddening, British propensity to drop all r's, coupled with Mayes' habit of rarely stopping for a breath between sentences, let alone between paragraphs. It's a chore--but doable.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- E. W. Littlefield, Jr.
- 02-15-13
Bravo Bernard Mayes!
If you could sum up The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1 in three words, what would they be?
sublimely written classic
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1?
Caracalla murdering his younger brother, Geta, in front of their mother and then murdering near 20,000 people who might possibly have had anything to do with Geta. As foul and loathsome as humans can get. The bloodbaths of imperial regime changes must rank as one of the darkest moments of the human experience.
What does Bernard Mayes bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
It would be my hope that he pronounced names and words correctly. I have heard other readers who mispronounced words that appeared regularly in the text. The usually excellent reader of the Patrick O'Brien Aubrey/Maturin series, Patrick Tull, mispronounces "bowsprit." This important and frequently referred to "bowsprit" is the "mast" that protrudes horizontally from the front of the ship, referred to as the "bow", pronounced like "bough" of a tree...or as dogs say, in "bow-wow." Alas, Mr. Tull pronounces "bow" as in "bow and arrow." Generally, my friends very much applaud Patrick Tull's reading.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
This classic work is notable that the reader may open the work just about anywhere, read and be entertained, delighted, enlightened. It doesn't get better than this.
Any additional comments?
The decision of over two centuries is pretty much in: It is a classic. The depth of Gibbon's research, study, eloquence, and philosophical wisdom has won this work the just praise of thoughtful readers and will continue to do so. As long time resident of Frostbite Falls, MN, Mr. Bullwinkle J. Moose, observed to his pal, Rocky, "Ya just can't beat the classics!" Amen!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful