The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1

By: Edward Gibbon

Narrated by: Bernard Mayes

Length: 41 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

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.

Dry

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

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.

THIS one is the BEST version! Narrator AMAZING

If you could sum up The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1 in three words, what would they be?

A funny and shockingly contemporary tale.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1?

When I realized that I was receiving insights from today's headlines, yet this book was written in 1776!

Have you listened to any of Bernard Mayes’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Narrator was superb. He inhabited the intelligence of the words, unlike the other versions which were stiff and traded comprehension for projection -- the other readers sounded as if they were in a school play and "showing off" at finally doing Shakespeare. Mayes fully conveyed humor, facts, wisdom and his somewhat archaic voice was warm and easy to spend hours and hours listening to. (I am a New Yorker by birth and a Washingtonian by chance, and NOT your usually plummy BBC fan) -- this reader was NOTHING like that. Mayes conveyed the words and author's intention with a lack of pomposity that sounded natural to my ear.

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

This is a book to listen to cooking and knocking out tasks as it will take sustained effort, but well worth it. By the end of Chapter One I felt I had made a new friend who was dazzling me with time travel and greater sense of the scope of human experience.

Any additional comments?

If you have ever been curious about whether or not history truly rhymes, or merely repeats itself, check out this book -- if you already have this book on your bucket list, Mayes is the reader of choice!

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me

Would you listen to The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1 again? Why?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

What did you like best about this story?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

What about Bernard Mayes’s performance did you like?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

Any additional comments?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

One of the best purchases of my life

I came on here to check something else, and was shocked to see the negative reviews. I spent three credits on this series a few years ago and they were the best-spent money of the last few years. It would be heaven to know that all my Audible purchases would be so rewarding.

The book is so classic that my voice would be nearly meaningless, but I'm sad to see the narrator so maligned. His stodgy sounding voice made the text come alive for me because he sounds just so classically English. Just as another reviewer said, it sounded like Gibbon himself was reading his book to me, or reciting the history of the decline and fall of Rome.

I really can't imagine why he's getting bad reviews. I guess I'm just the type of person who will appreciate a book like this and a narrator like this. What type is that? A lover of history, a lover of old things, a lover of classical things, I suppose.

Decline and Fall I

A 5 for Gibbon and a 3 for narrator Bernard Mayes, whose English is barely comprehensible. (Average rating of 4.) The Mayes problem is the charateristic, and maddening, British propensity to drop all r's, coupled with Mayes' habit of rarely stopping for a breath between sentences, let alone between paragraphs. It's a chore--but doable.

Bravo Bernard Mayes!

If you could sum up The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1 in three words, what would they be?

sublimely written classic

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1?

Caracalla murdering his younger brother, Geta, in front of their mother and then murdering near 20,000 people who might possibly have had anything to do with Geta. As foul and loathsome as humans can get. The bloodbaths of imperial regime changes must rank as one of the darkest moments of the human experience.

What does Bernard Mayes bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It would be my hope that he pronounced names and words correctly. I have heard other readers who mispronounced words that appeared regularly in the text. The usually excellent reader of the Patrick O'Brien Aubrey/Maturin series, Patrick Tull, mispronounces "bowsprit." This important and frequently referred to "bowsprit" is the "mast" that protrudes horizontally from the front of the ship, referred to as the "bow", pronounced like "bough" of a tree...or as dogs say, in "bow-wow." Alas, Mr. Tull pronounces "bow" as in "bow and arrow." Generally, my friends very much applaud Patrick Tull's reading.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

This classic work is notable that the reader may open the work just about anywhere, read and be entertained, delighted, enlightened. It doesn't get better than this.

Any additional comments?

The decision of over two centuries is pretty much in: It is a classic. The depth of Gibbon's research, study, eloquence, and philosophical wisdom has won this work the just praise of thoughtful readers and will continue to do so. As long time resident of Frostbite Falls, MN, Mr. Bullwinkle J. Moose, observed to his pal, Rocky, "Ya just can't beat the classics!" Amen!