How Rome Fell

Death of a Superpower

By: Adrian Goldsworthy

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

In AD 200, the Roman Empire seemed unassailable, its vast territory accounting for most of the known world. By the end of the fifth century, Roman rule had vanished in Western Europe and much of northern Africa, and only a shrunken Eastern Empire remained. This was a period of remarkable personalities, from the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius to emperors like Diocletian, who portrayed themselves as tough, even brutal, soldiers. It was a time of revolutionary ideas, especially in religion, as Christianity went from persecuted sect to the religion of state and emperors. Ultimately, this is the story of how an empire without a serious rival rotted from within, its rulers and institutions putting short-term ambition and personal survival over the greater good of the state.

©2009 Adrian Goldsworthy (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This richly rewarding work will serve as an introduction to Roman history, but will also provide plenty of depth to satisfy the educated reader." ( Publishers Weekly)

another great work from Adrian goldsworthy

this is my third work of nonfiction by Adrian goldsworthy that I've read this year. All of his books have been very rewarding. I even enjoyed his new novel. is biographies of Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar are must-reads, too.

Adrian Goldsworthy continues to entertain.

After listening to and enjoying Goldsworthy's biography on the life of Augustus I decided to give this a try and I was surprised at how enthralled I was. It covers a period that I hadn't truly ever paid much attention to in the grand scheme of Roman history and it's written in an almost story format that kept me coming back for more.

Vast Book for a Vast Subject

I'm no historian, but this book goes pretty deep (or deep enough for me), to explain the complexity of the late western Roman Empire, and some of the many elements that contributed to its eventual downfall. Anyone who tells you that Rome fell because of one thing, should get some serious side eye. It's a really great and detailed book. I often found myself toggling to Wikipedia to find out more about emperors, generals, leaders of Persia, various gothic tribes and a lot more.
Perkins is great, as usual.
Definitely recommend.

Wonderful Story Teller

A very informative history of the Roman Empire from Augustus past the fall of the Western Empire in 476 thru Justinian! (A nice surprise!) It is truly amazing that the Western Empire lasted as long as it did thru numerous & almost constant civil wars!

Very thorough and comprehensive

This is an understandable but very complete account of the military and political history of Rome from around the time of Christ until well into the sixth century. Periodically other aspects of the empire such as architecture, rural life, and religious matters are mentioned. The author emphasizes the fact that civil wars contributed as much to the fall of the empire as Gothic and other invasions. The only slight change I would like to see is a frank and honest inclusion of certain very famous Christian events, such as the details of the Council of Nicaea, and a realistic description of the meeting between Pope Leo I and Attila. Regarding the latter, the author claims that, rather than being influenced by Leo’s powerful and inspirational speech, the kindly Hun turned back from attacking Rome because he wanted his tired troops to be able spend time with their families in Eastern Europe. Right.

Fascinating

The book details several centuries of change in the Roman Empire, telling the story in new and interesting ways. Summary: It’s not what you thought.

he's got me convinced!

Would you listen to How Rome Fell again? Why?

Yes, and I might do that. I've read or listened to several recent books on this question, and Goldsworthy's argument is compelling. If every time you have a change of government, you have a devastating, depopulating civil war, and you have changes of government all the time, then it seems that you don't have to go very far to find out why Rome fell.Goldsworthy is really good at marshaling the evidence and not going beyond.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I did not have a favorite character.

Which character – as performed by Derek Perkins – was your favorite?

Derek Perkins is a fine narrator. I should add that I am not extraordinarily fastidious in that regard.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no, it is too long.

Any additional comments?

Goldsworthy is an excellent writer with fine analytical skills. He also wrote a terrific book on Julius Caesar, Life of a Colossus.

very good

This book and the author's book on Julius Caesar both seem thoroughly researched and carefully written. I appreciate how throughout the books he informs the reader where the source material is weak/strong.

For me How Rome Fell would probably flow better in print. Because of the high level view necessary to capture all the characters involved, the names of people and places often rush by and I found myself having to go back to remember them. I don't find this a fault of the author or narrator, but the nature of the material.

Good Book - But can be dry and dense.

Any additional comments?

This is a well written and well researched book. However, as the title implies this is a book of "How" Rome Fell, recounting very specific individuals and events leading up to the fall of the empire. Thus a reader looking for a broader overview of "Why" Rome Fell may be disappointed. Author Adrian Goldsworthy does little to shed light on the socioeconomic, religious, or philosophical conditions which may have contributed to the fall. This is probably because (as the author says time and again) many of those factors would be based on conjecture and the author's own biases.

Good overview of last centuries of Rome in West

Didn't skip over the third century. Written in an accessible way, not just an endless list of names and numbers. There are a lot of those though since Roman Emperors didn't last more than a year for about sixty years. I enjoyed this book and would listen to it again.