My early morning garage sale purchase! Illustrated with the etchings of Piranesi.

Front cover of Volume I of 'The fall and decline of the Roman Empire' published 1946

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (7 vols)

by Edward Gibbon

The History of the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire was written by English historian Edward Gibbon & originally published in six quarto volumes. Volume 1 was published in 1776, going thru six printings; 2-3 in 1781; 4-6 in 1788-89. It was a major literary achievement of the 18th century, adopted as a model for the methodologies of historians.
The books cover the Roman Empire after Marcus Aurelius, from 180 to 1590. They take as their material the behavior & decisions that led to the eventual fall of the Empire in East & West, offering explanations.
Gibbon is called the 1st modern historian of ancient Rome. By virtue of its mostly objective approach & accurate use of reference material, his work was adopted as a model for the methodologies of 19-20th century historians. His pessimism & detached irony was common to the historical genre of his era.

Paul rated it

Recommends it for: fans of perfect English prose

Well, it's not actually the last word on the Empire. Gibbon hated the Byzantines, thought they were appallingly religious and ineluctably corrupt. So he didn't have a good word to day on the Eastern Empire which lasted 1000 years after the fall of the Western Empire. Modern historians have rehabilitated the Byzantines to a great extent.
I only read vols 1-3 but intend to finish the whole thing one day. Hey, half of Gibbon is still twice as long as anyone else.

Lee rated it

If I could only have one book for the rest of my life, it would be this one. (And its extreme length is only part of the reason). A true epic that combines stunning scholarship, storytelling, and philosophical insight. If this were all fiction, it would still be one of the great masterpieces of English literature. That fact that this is history is stunning beyond words. In a typical chapter, Edward Gibbon will make you feel like you're standing on the walls of Rome as the Goths lay siege; then he'll make you understand the motivation and human character of Aleric, the Gothic warlord; then he'll lead you on a profound and freethinking exploration of the universal truths behnd war and humman suffering. Absolutely spell-binding, and life-changing in its philosophical insight.

It took me over 18 months to finish all 6 volumes, so it's an epic read, but I'm already looking forward to experiencing it again.

Zachary rated it

Unreviewable (in the sense of priceless). I only read it in abridgement, as I figure the full six volumes can wait for my doddering old age. If you read it, in full or in abridgement, get the latest Penguin edition! It preserves Gibbon's original sentence structure, unlike the Everyman edition which chops his flowing prose into more digestible chunks.

Kendra rated it

I read the abridged version as I wasn't up to reading 10 volumes. Gibbon has an odd way of writing direct criticism (he's a philosophical historian rather than a just-the-facts historian) but interspersing it with elliptical references. Fun to try to find out what he means in some of his more obtuse references. But you have to know your ancient geography, however, to visualize the action. Quick Summary: Analysis of the Emperors of Rome, religious quarrels between Rome and Constantinople (The Great Schism), barbarian attacks and internal rot in Rome, the Crusades, the ultimate sack of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks due to lack of assistance from Rome, and finally, the coalescing of religious power in Rome.

René rated it

Wow ! A true masterpiece, free of dogmatism. It not only chronicles the pitfalls Governments may go through, but also wonderfully shows how a religious doctrine evolves and is really made. Tolerance of religious opinions was one of the main factors which allowed the Roman Empire to grow and foster civilization. Monotheism and intolerance of the slightest "articles of faith" weakened its social fabric, and religious/civil wars did more to destroy Rome and Constantinople than the so-called Barbarians, who are looked upon by Gibbon in a refreshing, objective point of view. Such philosophers/authors, unfortunately, are nowhere to be found nowadays. It makes me regret not having bought the complete, unedited version.

for more reviews go to: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19400.The_Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire