The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 1 - Softcover

Gibbon, Edward

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140433937 ISBN 13: 9780140433937

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 1996

Synopsis

Edward Gibbon's six-volume History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88) is among the most magnificent and ambitious narratives in European literature. Its subject is the fate of one of the world's greatest civilizations over thirteen centuries - its rulers, wars and society, and the events that led to its disastrous collapse. Here, in volumes one and two, Gibbon charts the vast extent and constitution of the Empire from the reign of Augustus to 395 ad. And in a controversial critique, he examines the early Church, with fascinating accounts of the first Christian and last pagan emperors, Constantine and Julian.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

About this title

About the Author:

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), English historian. It was on a visit to Rome that he conceived the idea of his magnificent and panoramic history The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (6 vol., 1776-88) which won immediate acclaim, despite some harsh criticism. Gibbon himself was assured of the greatness of his work, which is, indeed, one of the most-read historical works of modern times.

Review:

''I set out upon...Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire [and] was immediately dominated both by the story and the style . . . I devoured Gibbon. I rode triumphantly through it from end to end and enjoyed it all.'' --Winston Churchill

''[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, independent scholar, historian, and author

''Edward Gibbon, in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, has always been my cynosure . . . Gibbon's mind was surely the most powerful and most lucid one that has appeared so far in the whole distinguished company of Western historians . . . Gibbon [produced] a masterpiece of historical research, construction, and writing which had no superior in its own genre in any literature.'' --Arnold Toynbee, historian and New York Times bestselling author

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0140433937
• ISBN 13: 9780140433937
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 1232