IGX

Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", published between 1776 and 1788, is the undisputed masterpiece of English historical writing which can only perish with the language itself. Its length alone is a measure of its monumental quality: seventy-one chapters, of which twenty-eight appear in full in this edition. With style, learning and wit, Gibbon takes the reader through the history of Europe from the second century AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 - an enthralling account by "the greatest of the historians of the Enlightenment".

I am hearing now audio book in Russian (full book 7 vols). Great book, great language.
And already bought printed book in English.
Wordsworth Classics "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" ISBN 978-1-85326-499-3
(limited edition, 28 chapters from 71)

Will start reading next month :)

Good for you Bill; that's an important book both as a work of history in its own right, as well as for the development of historiography.

While Gibbon's work is important history in it's own right it is not as well respected as it once was by Classical scholars. But the guy gave it a good shot with what he had available to him at the time.

Read anything by Adrian Goldsworthy and you can't go wrong. Caesar: Life of a Colossus is a great read on not just GJC but on the the times leading up to his rise, lot's on Sulla and Marius. His Punic War book is also excellent.

You should read I, Claudius as well, it's fiction but very well researched fiction.

Avoid Conn Iggudien's Emporer series aftet the first peice of shit I threw out the othe other one I bought. It was so inaccurate that I only read his excellent Khan series because it came recomended by Crom's old man who might as well be a Historian.
( I think he took so much shit from people who know about Caesar that he did not want to make the same mistakes again.)

Another great read is Scipio Africanus: A greater than Napolian by Liddel-Hart.

Darth knows his Rome.

DARTH wrote: You should read I, Claudius as well, it's fiction but very well researched fiction.

+1

DARTH wrote: Read anything by Adrian Goldsworthy and you can't go wrong. Caesar: Life of a Colossus is a great read on not just GJC but on the the times leading up to his rise, lot's on Sulla and Marius. His Punic War book is also excellent.

You should read I, Claudius as well, it's fiction but very well researched fiction.
...
Another great read is Scipio Africanus: A greater than Napolian by Liddel-Hart.
...
Darth knows his Rome.

Thanks, will try those. At least "I, Claudius" i saw in the nearest book shop, but haven't read yet :)

You love it, read it in one day, that interesting.

I want to see the BBC mini series someday, I hear great things about it.

Sienkiewicz's 'Quo Vadis' is an excellent historical novel as well. Darth's list is very good, and includes some things that I will put on my reading list.

DARTH wrote:You love it, read it in one day, that interesting.

I want to see the BBC mini series someday, I hear great things about it.

It's awesome. Here's the scene where the queen competes with a whore in a "hoedown".

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp1mk9bdsdM[/youtube]