This account of the Roman Empire was in its time a landmark in classical and historiographical scholarship and remains a powerful contribution to the interpretation of Roman history.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Right Book, Wrong Edition,
By
This review is from: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Everymans Library Classics) (v. 1-3) (Hardcover)
A few notes of caution to prospective buyers - There are many pleasing aspects to this set which really are an advantage. The books are well bound, and the fonts are a good size and highly legible. The volumes themselves are compact and easy to hold while reading - unlike other more cumbrous editions that I have found.
What I find lacking in this set is any sort of supplementary material that might give a modern reader a better understanding of the subject matter. If you have no use for translations, commentaries or recent scholarship, then this might very well be what you're looking for; otherwise, read on. I'm going to confess that I bought this particular edition because it looked academic and gave me a warm smug feeling. Just open that plain green hardcover with gold lettering and thread bookmark, and try NOT feeling sophisticated. Unfortunately there should be some sort of warning against purchasing books based solely on their external aesthetics... Before I dive into a rather dull tirade (see below: many paragraphs) I want to say that the only truly damning shortcoming of these books are their complete lack of translations. Gibbon, not counting on the sharp decline in Latin awareness, frequently cites original Roman sources using original Roman words and phrases. Now while it might amuse a scholar or professor to read these excerpts in their unadulterated purity, an amateur like me is left completely in the dark. As a low estimate, I would say that I'm forced to ignore entirely about one fourth of Gibbon's footnotes - and that's not counting what I skip from laziness. The footnotes are obviously not meant for your average reader, but they at least could have been kept more up to date. These books still use the editors notes from the 1910 edition, which add almost nothing illuminating or interesting, while still managing to distract the reader from the narrative. This 'modern' editor may correct Gibbon on some minor, rather forgettable details, but fails to offer any new perspectives that would enlarge our understanding. Very frequently in fact, he seems to snivel over some negligent point of opinion, particularly when it comes to the sanctity of early christianity. I would not much mind these defensive commentaries, were it not such an obvious sore point with Sir Oliphant ( editor. ) Gibbon's severity is well known, and I fully expected a few words of balance to be included in any modern criticism, but Smeaton's pedantic invectives are simply tiring. To wit: "Divest this whole passage of the latent sarcasm betrayed by the subsequent tone of the whole disquisition, and it might commence a Christian history..." Yes, the editor has surely convinced me that he knows many words. A variety of other trifles give Oliphant the opportunity to exercise his tone of persnickety condescension. Corrections are fine, but we don't need to hear a paragraph of 'disquisition' on why this or that term has been 'confounded' by Gibbon. More than anything though, I'm worried about the corrections themselves being outdated. If Smeaton and Gibbon are in disagreement, I really wonder if an entire century of archeology hasn't already settled the argument more firmly. It kind of makes all those trifling notes feel that much more pointless. Just to really complain now, I'd like to add that I can't open the book wide enough to see the middle of the maps, and I really wish there were more modern appendices - Just give us something more for the sixty dollars we spend. So in conclusion, box set bad. Very Pretty; but bad. If you're going to buy a heavy read like this, take awhile to browse the additional material and make sure you're satisfied.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent books with original source notes.,
This review is from: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Everymans Library Classics) (v. 1-3) (Hardcover)
If you are looking for accurate information and original source notes and information regarding the fall of the Roman empire then I highly recommend these books.
I love the fact the the author did not dumb down the information and speaks to us in an intelligent manner. I have learned so much from this series of books. It is so hard to find accurate historical information that hasn't been watered down. This is an excellent series!!!
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