Empires and Barbarians

The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe

By: Peter Heather

Narrated by: Sean Schemmel

Length: 25 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Empires and Barbarians presents a fresh, provocative look at how a recognizable Europe came into being in the first millennium AD. With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds - the undeveloped barbarian world and the sophisticated Roman Empire - into remarkably similar societies and states.

The book's vivid narrative begins at the time of Christ, when the Mediterranean circle, newly united under the Romans, hosted a politically sophisticated, economically advanced, and culturally developed civilization - one with philosophy, banking, professional armies, literature, stunning architecture, even garbage collection. The rest of Europe, meanwhile, was home to subsistence farmers living in small groups, dominated largely by Germanic speakers. Although having some iron tools and weapons, these mostly illiterate peoples worked mainly in wood and never built in stone. The farther east one went, the simpler it became: fewer iron tools and ever less productive economies. And yet 10 centuries later, from the Atlantic to the Urals, the European world had turned. Slavic speakers had largely superseded Germanic speakers in central and Eastern Europe, literacy was growing, Christianity had spread, and most fundamentally, Mediterranean supremacy was broken.

Bringing the whole of first millennium European history together, and challenging current arguments that migration played but a tiny role in this unfolding narrative, Empires and Barbarians views the destruction of the ancient world order in light of modern migration and globalization patterns.

©2009 Peter Heather (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Book is Great, Performance Shameful

Peter Heather's work provides a detailed history of people and factors which drove the relationship between Rome and its neighbors. His review of the evidence for and against the notion of mass migration was new information for me.

Unfortunately, the audio version requires the listener to to endure a reading totally without nuance or comprehension of the text itself.

The mispronunciation of proper names, geographic locations, and common words makes me wonder where the producer/editor was for this reading.

For example, before reading further, pronounce the name of the dead language spoken in Italy during late antiquity. Many people took the class in high school.

Right, the answer is LATIN. Last syllable rhymes with "sin"

It took me a while to fully understand what the reader was talking about as he kept referring to the "LATINE West". Last syllable pronounced to rhyme with "fine"

Peter Heather deserved better

Would you listen to Empires and Barbarians  again? Why?

Enjoyed the book, and the humor. There is a lot of content there, and I'd go back again and listen, now that I know where it's going

What did you like best about this story?

The tour of Europe -- taking each section in turn

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator was horrible. Peter Heather is a very witty man, and I don't think the narrator got most of his jokes. Mr. Heather deserves a narrator erudite enough to know when he is being funny! There is a lot of warmth and humanity in this book, too, which is also obscured by the delivery.

Good book - unbearable narration

What did you love best about Empires and Barbarians ?

Peter Heather's scholarship has depth and breadth, and he covers an astonishingly long period and range of subjects. He synthesizes a large and disparate range of scholarship to develop a complex and fascinating story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I was convinced at one point that this was an AI voice. The performance is so robotic and droning, and I am convinced that Sean Schemmel was most of the time just saying words on a page, with absolutely no understanding or interest. This performance is such an insult to the author, and frankly, to the listeners as well. From the monotonous tone to the mispronunciation of not only subject-related terms, but also simple English words, this was a miserable listen. I am really disappointed that Audible has allowed this one through. I have given up on this book - I have just come to dread turning it on and end up turning it off in irritation and rage every time I try. Audible should be offering refunds and firing whoever manages quality.

Any additional comments?

Worst performance ever.

Enjoying the book, but the performance....

What did you like best about Empires and Barbarians ? What did you like least?

I am fascinated by the topic of the millennium which started during the Roman Empire and after its collapse, seemed to be a confused mess of Huns, Goths and Vandals. This author sheds light on what has been called the Dark Ages and brings to life the people and the ebb and flow of the societies which lived in Europe during the period. There is some repetition - my attention span is not so short that I needed to be reminded of the parallels with some 20th century events, which seemed to me to happen fairly frequently. However the attention to detail and scholarship of the author is amazing.

The performance needed a really good editor and some instruction for the narrator, however. I doubt if too many English peasants set sail for America in the 7th(sic) century. The first syllable in Pyrenees rhymes with fir, not fire, at least every time I have heard it said. I presume the word the author meant was 'denuded' not 'denunded' which I have not found in any dictionary. If such frequent errors could be corrected, it would certainly improve the experience, from which they currently detract. I am not a particularly pedantic or critical listener but the errors grate.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Empires and Barbarians ?

The sections which mention areas of northern France (Loire etc) as I am about to visit the area and will look at it this time with an enhanced awareness of its history and see the chateaux and their surroundings in the context of a much longer time span than previously. This book is helping me fill in the gaps in my knowledge of european society between Roman times and approximately 1000AD.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

See above

Was Empires and Barbarians  worth the listening time?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Please let me know when the errors have been corrected - I think the author is owed this attention.

Decent book- TERRIBLE narrator

What disappointed you about Empires and Barbarians ?

Heather's previous book was great. This offers more convoluted expositions of his theses, which necessitate careful listening to discern and understand (and I had to buy the print edition to REALLY follow it.) The narrator has NO clue as to pronounce these admittedly complex names for the various peoples of central and eastern Europe in the first millennium CE. However, even current place names evade his comprehension. Sevastopol is pronounced sev-as-TO-pol instead of the more common se-VAST-o-pol. I'm really surprised he did not have more guidance provided to him in preparing and delivering his performance. Anyway, it makes Heather's points HARDER to understand rather than elucidating them.

Would you recommend Empires and Barbarians  to your friends? Why or why not?

The book, simultaneously more ambitious and complex than his previous work on the fall of Rome, is very thorough in its breadth, but its depth must be worked at more assiduously by the listener.

Would you be willing to try another one of Sean Schemmel’s performances?

Not on THIS basis.

What character would you cut from Empires and Barbarians ?

Not relevant to an historical work

Any additional comments?

I am disappointed, as I was looking forward to this book.

Great book, terrible reading

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book itself is great, an important and likely enduring work of scholarship. The reading, unfortunately is terrible. I feel for the narrator because many of the names of both people and places are quite difficult to pronounce correctly. Unfortunately though the narrator consistently mispronounces well-known names such as "Constantius", "Dacia", "Nicomedia" and even "Nicea." Both he and the producers of this book should have done their homework before-hand. I stuck through the audiobook, but the reading often left me either shaking my head or grinding my teeth. Sorry to be so critical but it is what it is.

Good material hampered by really bad narration.

I went to look up this narrator because he sounded like he was reading a business book badly. To my surprise he mostly narrates kids books. I’m sure they’re good for lulling kids to sleep. I had to dump the narration and read the book. If I was only slightly interested in the material I wouldn’t have bothered. It’s rare that a narration actively damages the material, but this is certainly one of those cases. Monotone pacing and poor pronunciation make it a difficult listen at all speeds.

Read by a novice!!!

What did you love best about Empires and Barbarians ?

Broad scope of history

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This narrator made numerous, basic errors in pronunciation, e.g.,. the river Seine was pronunciation "sign." Does no one, especially the author listen before publishing?

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

anger at the idiot pronunciation

Essencial book on Late Antiquity

Heather is one of the giants when it comes to the study of Late Antiquity, and in my opinion this is his most essential book. Many reviewers are hating on the narrator for mispronouncing the names of the barbarian tribes, but in my opinion he didnt do any worse than the average narrator of history books here on audible. Instead of hiring lay voice actors they should go to a university and hire a history grad student. (again, the narration isnt awful, just average)

The Perils of Pronunciation

What didn’t you like about Sean Schemmel’s performance?

It is terribly sad when a good book is ruined due to insufficient preparations on the part of the reader and/or audiobook producer. Peter Heather's "Empires and Barbarians" is positively brimming with names of people, places, cultures etc. most of which are not familiar to the average listener. The recording would have been so much better if the reader and producer had spent a couple of hours figuring out how to pronounce things. Asking the author, e.g., might have been a good idea. As it stands, the recording is a complete failure. Some of the worst cases are almost unidentifiable without access to the printed text.