The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Immense book & audiobook

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.

44 people found this helpful

This is fantastic value and brilliantly delivered!

I was taking my time to purchase this due to the reviews about the narration. Such a long book and such a listening commitment would obviously be totally spoiled by poor delivery. I can say that I do not agree with the reviews that say this is poorly narrated. First of all, this is extremely difficult to narrate: the sentences are long, full of the detailed sub-clauses, understated opinion and twists and turns that you'd expect from a book written in the late 1700s. The narrator pulls this off admirably, and has done something that I couldn't do by reading myself: get me beyond the first 5 pages without falling asleep. Since then, I've enjoyed the book enormously, and thank you to Audible for getting me into audio books! A word of warning: Gibbon's work is often called 'magisterial' which is sometimes code wording for 'long and dull'. This is a book of its time, and has none of the quips of Stephen Fry, or the efforts to make things 'alive' of Mary Beard, or any other modern television history. But the scope is amazing: the detail and the groundwork that has gone in are breathtaking. Many of his conclusions are tempered by modern historians, he often takes too much of the writings at face value, without any modernist understanding of context, failing to see propaganda where it is obvious to us today. And the final 'fall' is itself subject to debate about whether or not it happened, or how you can describe the end of the Roman empire as a cataclysm or a gradualistic process of change. Hence many of his conclusions are now challenged as being too unilinear, putting too much emphasis on this or that factor, when the processes involved operated on many inter-connected fronts. But Gibbon is one of the very baselines that modern history starts from, and its worth every penny of the 1 credit charged. I started off trying to concentrate on every word, but now I just let it all wash over me and the experience is calming, relaxing and educational all at once. Enjoy!

25 people found this helpful

Excellent

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

Excellent book. Very well read: The narrator has the perfect voice for this kind of story and keeps to a good pace. Also a great deal to get so much material in one audiobook. Moreover Audible allows you to download this as twelve separate downloads, by clicking on the triangle to the left of your pre-download purchase, so no need to worry about waiting around or it taking up too much space.

10 people found this helpful

Sweeping Story - narration takes some getting used

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.

17 people found this helpful

Historic book, worth it for historians and others

Gibbon's work is something that has intrigued me for years, and the audiobook format made it possible for me to know what is inside. Though Gibbon's story is sometimes biased and sometimes superseded by later research, his huge cast of characters each take their turns being described as humans and acting in the big story Gibbon is telling. Something I particularly enjoyed was Gibbon's discussion of the sources he uses, and his analysis of whether they are reliable. That isn't often discussed in histories of more recent times, since the sources are so much more numerous. Charlton Griffin has just the right voice to read this work as well - a deep, cultured English male voice seems fitting for the work of a British author.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. It is not for the impatient, but worth the time if you want to understand both Roman history and Enlightenment history. Next I'll be listening to the Great Courses lecture series on this book to get an even better grasp of its content and setting.

6 people found this helpful

A Monster

This is an absolute monster of a book. I hadn't realised it encompasses the entire Byzantine Empire, rise of Islam, Crusades etc. Bit old fashioned. Just lie back, listen and soak up the knowledge. Don't concentrate too hard!

2 people found this helpful

Top quality history

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.

13 people found this helpful

Great history. Weak narration

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.

10 people found this helpful

Is the narrator even human?

I really enjoy history books, but this one became a treacle like nightmare to wade through very quickly. The narrator reads in such a boring and monotonous style, that the content of the book becomes irrelevant. Would put me to sleep within minutes.

5 people found this helpful

Difficult to listen to

It’s a really interesting book but it’s just hard to listen to because the prose is not well narrated. It’s a slightly archaic style and the narrator does not phrase things in a way I find easy to follow. I strongly suggest you sample the book before you buy it.

2 people found this helpful