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The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

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The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

By: Edward Gibbon
Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
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About this listen

Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam. It is a story that begins in Rome and ends in the capture of Constantinople by the Turks almost 1,500 years later. To aid in navigating this massive work, please refer to the accompanying PDF, which contains a table of contents and starting times for each chapter.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2015 Audio Connoisseur Ancient Civilization Rome World Italy

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All stars
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Really long but amazing. The understanding that you gain not just of this era but of the wider history of the world and they way it all holds together is second to none.

Really long but amazing.

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An excellent book. I didn’t find the narration difficult to follow - it must be quite hard to make a long academic work sound any more exciting than the words allow. The narrator occasionally pronounces words strangely: e.g. the American lootenant instead of the English leftenant for lieutenant. There is an odd paragraph in the second chapter where the narrator smoothly moves in to saying Gibbon glosses over the horrors of slavery and neglects to mention that Christianity was the major force for its destruction in the Roman Empire. I doubt Gibbon wrote that about himself, so what was that, if this is meant to be Gibbon’s work?

A great book but some question marks

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A superb performance of an outstanding work of historical literature and significance. I have listened to it in its entirety.

Outstanding work of History

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Where does The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Definitely the longest, by some significant margin.

What other book might you compare The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire to, and why?

Nothing to compare this to. Magnificent in scope and ambition - much like the empire itself.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

American pronunciations from a very British speaker was a bit odd. Narration was a bit slow for me and was actually much more listenable when played at twice normal speed.

Sweeping Story - narration takes some getting used

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would to anyone who like Roman history this much (120 + hours). It is not for the faint-hearted.

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

All the characters (and we are talking hundreds) are depicted in such depth, with this acute, sharp self-assured moral judgement of the 18th century. Gibbons made us feel he had the chance to observe them for long hours and days before he formed his opinion. Theses characters' depiction were my favourite parts by far.

Have you listened to any of Charlton Griffin’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Never heared any other performance but the narrator is truly fantastic. He has the perfect voice and tone to transfigure the complexity and sophistication of 18th century writing style to restitute with strength and clarity the meaning of the text and the personality of the author. You feel like Gibbons is talking to you, that after years and years of studies and reading, he finally delivers to you the pared down, quintessential truth of many years of reflexion about centuries of history. The long sentences, complex structures, the narrator always turns them to his advantage to make them easily understood by the listener, carrying their gravitas without falling into mannierism. This audiobook made me realize that 18th century writing lends itself beautifully to orality (while we could actually find the reading quite arduous and complext)Truly, I have never been more impressed by a narrator. Charlton Griffin truly adds a lot to this audiobook and to Gibbons' work.

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

120+ hours, even with the best of enthusiasm ... It took me 2 months.

Any additional comments?

It is a superproduction of very high quality. A massive piece of literature, a very well-produced audiobook and the best narrator possible.

Immense book & audiobook

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. With such a lot of content, the narrator needs to be better. I loved the history but could not continue after the second part because of the colourless narrator. This may in part be because of Gibbon's old fashioned 'cerebral' writing style. The text is packed with facts, which I love, it could do with a bit more drama.

Great history. Weak narration

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What made the experience of listening to The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire the most enjoyable?

The most thorough account you could want for what is effectively a history of Europe, and the rise of the modern states that we see today.

What about Charlton Griffin’s performance did you like?

Excellent narration. The only mistake I found was at one point the narrator said "pause" and silence ensued for a few seconds.

Top quality history

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This took 2 months but I mourn the loss of this expansive work. It isn't just the Romans and the empire, it's the foundational history of the western world from before the death of Christ. I have found that I understand references to time periods covered by Gibbon in other books and audio books, my understanding of the world has broadened. Time for the Greeks...

A masterpiece

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it seems unecessary to say the decline and fall is a great work. As the hours rolled by i was amazed by how modern it seems. But hour after hour of the narrator became painful. Odd pronunciations, a strange vowel shift, a slightly robotic delivery etc. It took a while to understand that the narrator seems to be an american doing his best cod English accent. For me it became a distraction, waiting for the next comedy cock up of pronunciation. There are millions of English people, surely one could have been found who could do a better job than this ?

Wonderful history reduced by poor narration

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The reading is admirable. Very good. Especially considering the crazy length of this work. Must own for history buffs that dig the classical period. And relatively cheap, if you consider the many, many hours of listening you own after purchasing this title.

Must own for history buffs

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