The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1

By: Edward Gibbon

Narrated by: Bernard Mayes

Considered one of the finest historical works in the English language, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is lauded for its graceful, elegant prose style as much as for its epic scope. Remarkably accurate for its day, Gibbon's treatise holds a high place in the history of literature and remains an enduring subject of study.

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.

©Public Domain (P)1992 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Gibbon] stood on the summit of the Renaissance achievement and looked back over the waste of history to ancient Rome, as from one mountain top to another." (Christopher Dawson)

Dry

The narrator killed the experience for me. I really tried to go through the book, but the performance was excessively dry.

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.

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.

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.

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.