Books That Matter: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

by Leo Damrosch

In Books That Matter: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Professor Damrosch invites you on a riveting, 24-lecture examination of this great work from multiple perspectives; as a vast historical chronicle, as a compelling masterpiece of literature, as a sharp commentary on cultural mores, and as a cautionary tale to Enlightenment Europe. An engaging, chapter-by-chapter guide to the Decline and Fall, Professor Damrosch’s course helps you navigate the book’s themes, structure, philosophies, background, and lasting influence. Whether you’ve read the book before and are looking for new ways to think about it, or whether you’ve always wanted to read it but never knew where to start, Professor Damrosch’s lectures are a fascinating, rewarding, and authoritative guide to the enduring legacy of a once-mighty empire—and the great book that became its eulogy and epitaph.

For all its renown as a work of style, elegance, wit, and insight, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire can be intimidating for the armchair historian. Published between 1776 and 1781, the six volumes contain 1.5 million words, an estimated 8,000 footnotes, a cast of 10,000 historical figures, and they span a timeline of more than 1,000 years.

Yet, even today, centuries after its original publication, Gibbon’s historical chronicle demands to be read and understood. There are several important reasons for this, according to Dr. Leo Damrosch, Professor of Literature Emeritus at Harvard University:

First, while later historians have brought fresh perspectives to the Roman Empire’s collapse, Gibbon’s book remains profoundly truthful in the events it recounts, bringing what Professor Damrosch calls a “unifying, insight-inspiring perspective to the past.”

Second, a great work of history is just as much about storytelling as it is about events. Gibbon is a masterful storyteller, and his Decline and Fall still has the ability to hook modern-day readers with its style and manner—just like a great novel.

And third, Gibbon was (and remains) a landmark historian who revolutionized the way writers think about and interpret the past. Despite being a product of his time in certain views, his techniques and insights would lay the foundation for generations of future historians.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Classics, Literature, European History

Audible Audio

Published March 3, 2017

About the author

Leo Damrosch is an American author and professor. In 2001, he was named the Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature at Harvard University.[1] He received a B.A. from Yale University, an M.A. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. His areas of academic specialty include Romanticism, the Enlightenment, and Puritanism.[1] Damrosch's "The Sorrows of the Quaker Jesus" is one of the most important recent explorations of the early history of the Society of Friends. His Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius (2005) was a National Book Award finalist for nonfiction and winner of the 2006 L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award for best work of nonfiction. Among his other books are "Symbol and Truth in Blake's Myth" (1980), "God's Plot and Man's Stories: Studies in the Fictional Imagination from Milton to Fielding" (1985), "Fictions of Reality in the Age of Hume and Johnson" (1987), and "Tocqueville's Discovery of America" (2010).

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

These twenty-four lectures provide interesting commentary about Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire . These lectures can be used as helpful interpretive guidance for someone reading The Decline, but for me the lectures are simply an easy way to become familiar with a classic work of literature without actually reading all six volumes.

Gibbon devoted much of his life to this work (1772–89), and he is generally credited with furthering historical methodology and scholarship by basing his narrative on thorough research and provided copious footnotes which was an innovation at the time. As literature the book is noted for its carefully crafted paragraphs using periodic construction that follows an engaging middle path that avoids the extremes of dry pompous or shallow casual.

In particular his use of dispassionate irony, much of which is contained in the footnotes, maintains the interest of the modern reader. His subtile disrespect for religious enthusiasm appeals to modern secular sensibilities.

It's interesting to note that whenever the footnotes quote a Latin or Greek source it is provided in its original language untranslated. Leo Damrosch, the lecturer, was quick to provide his own translations of some of the more interesting footnotes; some of which were so explicit of prurient material that translation into English during Gibbon's time would have been scandalous.

Gibbon's critical view of religion is typical for Enlightenment writers of his era. He was surprisingly positive about Islam, not because he liked the religion but because its message was so much simpler compared to the repeated convoluted Christian controversies about the Trinity and the nature of Christ.

Historians since Gibbon's time have been critical of his coverage of religion, economics, Byzantine civilization, and the subject of culture. But Gibbon's depiction of the history of political and military events is still respected within the limits of sources available to Gibbons.

The following are some personal observations about the subject of decline of the Roman Empire:

• I was surprised how "un-barbaric" the barbarians were. When the city of Rome was sacked in 410 A.D. for the first time in almost eight hundred years by the Visigoths led by King Alaric, I found it interesting to note that the invaders considered themselves to be Christians (i.e. Arian Christians).

• Theoretically there were subtile theological differences between Arian and Catholic, however what really mattered was that Arians had no allegiance to the Pope.

• The so-called "sack of Rome" did not result in significant damage to buildings and monuments. The "sackers" were interested in things they could carry off in their sacks (e.g. gold and silver).

• Most architectural damage was done by citizens of Rome who used the old Roman structures as a convenient quarry that was much more conveniently located than the more distant rock quarries.

The following is a listing of the lecture titles and a short description of their contents. The descriptions are copied from the The Great Courses website.

1. The Greatness of Gibbon's Decline and Fall
Ground your understanding of Gibbon's masterpiece with this helpful introductory lecture. Why was Rome so important to Gibbon and his readers? What makes the periodic style so essential to the Decline and Fall's accessibility? Why should we want to read it today in the 21st century?

2. The Making of Gibbon the Historian
Follow Edward Gibbon's intellectual development: his childhood obsession with reading, his military service, his disappointed love, his social circles, his personal politics, and his life as a gentleman "scholar of leisure." Your primary source for this biographical study: fragments from Gibbon's posthumously published Memoirs.

3. The Empire at Its Beginning
Before plunging into the Decline and Fall, which starts in the second century A.D., you need a little background in early Roman history. Professor Damrosch reviews the Empire's important provinces (including their strange names), the excessive influence of the Roman military, the emergence of imperial dictatorship, and other facts Gibbon's original readers took for granted.

4. The Theory and Practice of History
It's no accident that the Decline and Fall survives as a great work of history. Here, explore how Gibbon understood the role of the historian; consider what he thought of Hume, Voltaire, and other Enlightenment writers; and discover how he revolutionized the use of extensive documentation in his work.

5. The Golden Age of the Antonines
Meet the Antonines: the subject of the first three chapters of the Decline and Fall. From Nerva to Hadrian to Marcus Aurelius, these "five good emperors" ruled the only period of history in which the happiness of a great people was the sole object of government.

6. The Hidden Poison Begins to Work
After the peace of the Antonines, things quickly began to fall apart. Describing the horrific reigns of emperors like Commodus, Caracalla, and Elagabalus, Gibbon illustrates the "hidden poison" by which one-man rule produced a vicious cycle of incompetent, power-corrupt emperors.

7. Diocletian and the Triumph of Constantine
Get a close reading of Chapters 8 to 14 of Gibbon's masterpiece. In these pages, follow the first assaults of the barbarians who would eventually bring the Empire to its knees: the Goths. Also, meet two emperors who would radically reshape the structure of the Roman Empire: Diocletian and Constantine.

8. Enlightenment Skepticism
Consider just how dangerous Gibbon's sociological treatment of Christianity in Chapters 14 and 15 (while grounding the faith in extremely detailed historical analysis) seemed to most of his readers. Rather than focusing on divine providence, the Decline and Fall documents the human causes behind Christianity's evolution into the dominant ideology of the ancient world.

9. The Rise of Christianity
Continue your look at Chapters 14 and 15 of the Decline and Fall. In these pages, Gibbon takes up five causes for Christianity's success, including proselytizing zeal the promise of a future life in heaven, but also unprecedented organizational ability. What Gibbon leaves out, however: any imaginative empathy with religion.

10. Constantine and Athanasius
Chapter 17 is the major turning point in the Decline and Fall. What are Gibbon's thoughts on the transferring of the capital to Constantinople, and on Constantine's famous vision of the cross? Why does he give so much attention to theological controversies, and why was he so impressed by Athanasius, the archbishop of Alexandria?

11. Julian and the Return to Paganism
Paganism in the Empire didn't go down without a fight. Enter Julian the Apostate, who tried to reinstate the Olympian gods. Here, study Chapters 22 to 24, which are devoted to this last dying gasp of paganism-struck down by Julian's death during an ill-advised military campaign, and afterward by pushback from the Christians.

12. Barbarian Advances and Theodosius
In the wake of Julian's death there was great confusion, which occupies Chapters 25 to 28. Topics covered here include increased barbarian threats from in Britain, Germany, the Middle East, the Danube, and North Africa; the "chaste and temperate" rule of Theodosius; and Gibbon's intriguing thoughts on Christian veneration of saints' relics.

13 East and West Divided
With Rome's fracture into eastern and western camps, the story of the empire's decline begins to get complicated. Learn how to navigate the tricky waters of Chapters 29 to 33, which examine cataclysmic events including the sack of Rome in 410 A.D. and the loss of North Africa to the Vandals.

14 Huns and Vandals
Professor Damrosch guides you through successive waves of barbarian invaders, beginning with the assault of the Huns, led by Attila. You'lI also get Gibbon's insights on the development of barbarian kingdoms, a sequence of nine Roman emperors in just 20 years, and his biased views on the growth of monasticism.

15 Theodoric and Justinian
The first was a Gothic king; the second Rome's eastern emperor. Theodoric and Justinian (along with his general, Belisarius, and his wife, Theodora) dominate Chapters 39 to 44 of the Decline and Fall, which also examines Constantinople's massive building program (including the Hagia Sophia) and the codification of Roman Law.

16 The Breakup of the Empire
After the fall of the empire in the West, how did Byzantium in the East persist for another nine centuries? Start with this look at Chapters 45 to 47, which cover the consolidation of France under Clovis, the establishment of the papacy as the center of Christendom, and a new swarm of religious heresies.

17 The Byzantine Empire and Charlemagne
Turn now to the fifth volume (of the original six) of the Decline and Fall, where the narrative starts to speed up. In addition to covering historical moments like the reign of Charlemagne and the Comnenian dynasty, you'll also consider the implications of Gibbon's "great man" approach to history from the 7th to 11th centuries.

18. The Rise of Islam
Step back in time to get Gibbon's account of the rise of Islam. Occupying Chapters 50 to 52, this narrative emphasizes how, in Gibbon's view, Islam arrived at a fortunate historical moment when it faced only weak opposition from surrounding powers; he also pays warm tribute to Muhammad's qualities of character.

19. The Byzantine Empire in the 10th Century
At the end of the Decline and Fall's fifth volume, you'll survey the ever-shrinking form of the Byzantine Empire (Chapter 53), early Russians (Chapter 55), Norman conquests in the Mediterranean (Chapter 56), and the expanding dominion of the Turks (Chapter 57)

20. The Crusades
Gibbon's account of the Crusades focused on the way religion was used to rationalize European military and territorial aggression. Learn what this master historian has to say about the rivalry of Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, the birth of the Crusader States, and military orders like the Knights Templar.

21. Genghis Khan and Tamerlane
Unpack another turning point in the Decline and Fall: Genghis Khan and the dawn of the Ottoman Empire. Central to this lecture is another of Gibbon‘s charismatic figures: Tamerlane (known as "the scourge of God"). Then, end with Gibbon‘s account of the discovery of gunpowder-which would forever change history.

22. The Fall of Constantinople
Chapters 66 to 70 chronicle the final defeat of Byzantium. Topics you'll explore in this lecture include the exiled papal court at Avignon, Mahomet the Second's capture of Constantinople, and the Great Schism from 1378 to 1417.

23. The End of Gibbon's Work
How did Gibbon keep the Decline and Fall from simply petering out in its Final chapter? What were some of his assumptions about the "darkness and confusion" of medieval Europe? See how his visit to the physical ruins of Rome inspired Gibbon's final thoughts on the collapse of the empire and helped to bring his great work to a close.

24. Decline and Fall in Modern Perspective
Professor Damrosch ends his course with reflections on the Decline and Fall in the 21st century. You'lI consider why some historians reject the term "fall" in favor of "transformation," together with insistence by recent specialists that there truly was a fall; and also three major blind spots Gibbon exhibits in his history: toward religion, toward Byzantine civilization, and toward the persistence of deep cultural rhythms as contrasted with political and military events.

[Love · Rating 2 out of 5]

About half of the time of these lectures are taken up with summarizing Gibbons writing and those parts are pretty good. The other half has the lecturer babbling on on topics only tangentially related to Gibbons writing.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting course. It wasn't quite what I expected or hoped for, but I still enjoyed it and learned from it. I think I was hoping more for something like a cliff notes of Gibbons' work. And Damrosh certainly talks about the book, its ideas, and arguments. But there is also a lot of material about Gibbons life, his time period, and so on. Not uninteresting or even irrelevant, but at the same time wasn't quite what I was looking for.

Damrosh does a great job of communicating the immensity and importance of Gibbons' masterpiece. I didn't realize how much it covered the Eastern Empire and the Islamic world. The amount of information that Gibbons had to go through and analyze to produce this work is an incredible achievement in itself.

One criticism I might have is that I don't feel like I really have a great grasp on Gibbons' explanation for the decline and fall. It seems to be, broadly, that the Western empire lost its ability to repel the repeated Germanic and eastern tribes pushing into their territory and that this was because of its poor constitution that allowed and even encouraged too many weak and corrupt emperors. The immense bureaucracy held for a while, but eventually the internal pressures from centuries of bad governance ate away at the empire's capacity. The Eastern was better defended by natural boundaries and by the boundary of the Persian empire; and so didn't face the same external pressures and therefore was able to hold out much longer despite having similar internal pressures. Still, I would have liked a lecture, towards the end, that really covered and summarized Gibbons account of the causes in a more in-depth way. Partly, Damrosch might not do this because Gibbons own view (at least according to Damrosh) by the end was that the decline and fall didn't explaining -- what was remarkable was that the empire lasted as long as it did (not that it fell).

This course is no substitute for the book. I am not sure I'll ever have the time or focus to read Gibbons whole work myself, so this course at least gives you a framework for the works influence and as well as a guide for jumping into the narrative at certain points that might be of interest.

[Wendelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

very absorbing and detailed lectures on the content of Gibbon's 'History of Decline and Fall'

[Bruce Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly as advertised: a broad look at the book, the author, the (many) times. Damrosch is an articulate and genial guide. I learned a lot.

[Sam Gruber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic treatment of Gibbon's life work by Professor Damrosch.

In my history phase!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

These lectures aim to provide context for Gibbon's epic history of the final centuries and aftermath of the Roman Empire. I plan to read the original someday and when I do this book will have given me a better foundation for that experience. However, for me, "Books that Matter" is most effective in revealing the heroic nature of Gibbon's endeavor. He spent two decades of his life creating and honing a historical narrative comprising 1.5 million words that became and instant classic when published in the late 18th Century and that remains among our most important connections to the cultural origins of the West. One wonders whether the world has Durant and Toynbee without Gibbon.

[Tom Axworthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good companion to the 24 lecture course by Leo Damrosch on Books that Matter, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

[Predrag Ilić · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been curious about Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, but the sheer scale and density of the original work felt overwhelming. This Audible course, taught by Professor Leo Damrosch, was exactly what I needed—a thoughtful, engaging, and surprisingly accessible guide to Gibbon’s magnum opus.

Damrosch doesn’t just summarize the history; he dives into Gibbon’s worldview, his Enlightenment-era skepticism, and his famously ironic prose. The lectures explore how Gibbon interpreted the fall of Rome through the lens of reason, religion, and empire, and how his biases shaped the narrative. I especially appreciated the literary analysis—Gibbon wasn’t just a historian, he was a stylist, and Damrosch helps you appreciate the elegance (and occasional snark) of his writing.

That said, one of the course’s most glaring omissions—echoing Gibbon himself—is its limited understanding of Christianity, particularly Eastern Orthodoxy and Byzantine theology. Gibbon’s treatment of the Byzantine Empire often feels dismissive, shaped more by Enlightenment prejudice than historical nuance. To be fair, this was partly a product of his time: 18th-century Western scholars had limited access to Orthodox sources and little appreciation for the complexity of Byzantine spirituality. But it’s a gap that modern readers will notice, especially those familiar with the richness of Eastern Christian traditions.

This isn’t a straight retelling of Roman history, so if you’re looking for a timeline of emperors and battles, you might be disappointed. But if you’re interested in how history is written—and how one man’s perspective became a foundational text for generations—this is a rewarding listen.

[Peter Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of lectures was very useful. It gave me an overview of the life Edward Gibbon. Gibbon was an 18th Century English historian. Damrosch places him in the intellectual and social climate of the 18th Century. I know something about 19th Century England but not so much about the 18th Century. As Damrosch summarized The Decline and Fall I realized that I needed even more background information than I first thought. The Decline and Fall goes all the way up until the early Middle Ages and the end of the Holy Roman Empire. I downloaded some more books to cover the second half of the Decline and Fall. I feel myself slowly sliding into a much longer project than I had originally anticipated. I am sure that Gibbon felt the same way as he was writing the Decline and Fall. I have the freedom to stop this madness at any time but once Gibbon started publishing he must have felt an obligation to carry on until the end. In the 18th Century few authors could make a living by writing. Gibbon had some family money that helped make the project possible.

At the end of the course Damrosch reviews some of the blind spots in Decline and Fall. Gibbon doesn’t acknowledge the role of economics in the history of Rome nor is he much interested in the daily life of many of its citizens. Gibbons is generally against organized religion and he does not realize how important faith was to so many people in the past. Nevertheless Damrosch believes the Decline and Fall is well worth reading. Gibbon was able to digest and organize a vast amount of knowledge and was a wonderfully vivid writer.

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books That Matter: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Leo Damrosch is the second course by Damrosch that I've come across, and it surpassed the high bar set by its predecessor. I initially wasn't too sure what to expect, but what follows is an exploration of Edward Gibbon the man, his work, and the way his work fits into the broader study of Roman and late Antiquity studies. I spent some time with Gibbon's work a while back, taking the better part of a year or two going through the book. This companion piece is something that I finished in a couple of days. Damrosch is accessible, passionate, and fully in charge of the material he conveys. He engages in tangents, but these tangents are in the same spirit of Gibbon's own footnotes, providing some aside here, some kernel of new scholarship there. The course doubles as a history itself, as Damrosch's own survey of the book is connected to the narrative the book touches on, making this an interesting introduction to the subject for people who are not yet familiar with the period.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

History of history.
Professor Damrosch's elegant delivery and deep knowledge of Gibbon's classic history of the Roman Empire...its decline and fall...makes this set of lectures much more than a Cliff-Notes type survey of a book. His insights of Gibbon as an author, as well as an historian, gives this student a much more intimate look at the Roman Empire as seen through the eyes of a man living at the height of the British Empire. Those insights have influenced historians, as well as political theorists, ever since it was published in the late 18th century.
I'm barely into reading the first book of Gibbon six volume tome and, I must confess that I find Professor Damrosch's summations much easier to understand. I will persevere, however...I owe that to Eddy!
I found the audio version (mine from Audible) to be perfectly adequate...the guidebook is top knotch.
As always, a sale makes sense...a coupon is divine!

[Tom Axworthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon is the greatest history ever written- luminous in style and massive in scope.In 24 lectures, Leo Damrosch outlines the highlights of the multi volume work ( allowing one to read Decline and Fall in the orginal after Damrosch points out the themes of the chapters) and provides context as Gibbon is a luminary of the 18th century Enlightenment. Gibbon has a commitment to detailed sources and footnotes- a first for historians- but his belief in reason leads him to be skeptical of religion,especially the impact of Christianity. Damrosch explains this well and concludes with how modern historians react to Gibbon.This is another excellent audio lecture series by Damrosch.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I take on Edward Gibbons's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, I thought it would be a good idea to find out what modern academics think about the book. Damrosch does a good job of summarizing the current consensus of the book in general, but also on a section-by-section basis. I particularly liked Damrosch's academic style, citing various books in the course of the lectures. He's a literature professor as opposed to a historian. I suspect his historical knowledge isn't particularly deep, but it's deep enough for me. I like that he cited recent work such as Mary Beard's SPQR, which is also on my to-be-read list. After listening to this set of lectures, along with Thomas Madden's lectures on the actual history of the period, I feel well-armed to take on Gibbons.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent summary of this mammoth work. I read it a couple of years ago and was struggling with the prose and the details that are hard to check. Now I realize that there are many things that I missed and would like to read again. In hindsight, Gibbon's Decline and Fall is an expert's book, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is new to the topic. It has beautiful prose, accurate details, and sweepingly grandiose narrative, but can be hard to follow.

[Germanicusii · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an outline summary of the audio course of the same name, this is is a good guide to the ambition reader aiming to tackle The Decline ... For that, this title gets 5 stars. Reading it in ebook format adds beautiful illustrations throughout. By itself, it lacks sufficient detail to rate more than 3 stars.

[Enrico · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful companion to the book by Gibbon. The professor summarizes the most important chapters of the book as well as adds commentary about the author and his circumstances as well as additional information that was not yet known in Gibbons time.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cant say i will ever read gibbons books, but this was the best runner up option. You are given the overview, the contexts, the details, the discredits, and a solid impression of the authors style. Worth the read!

[Silvano Paternoster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and easy read.
This is a great 200pages summary of Edward Gibbons' history of Rome's decline.
If you are a history nerd and want an easy read (which comes with accompanying lectures for each chapter) this is a great 5 stars read.

[Marc Audet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Great Courses Series, an overview of Gibbon's classic epic tale of the Roman Empire. This is a good course to take before trying to read the original work itself.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad history and economic understanding coupled with no ability to be critical of Gibbon, often instead reading his mind and ascribing the most favorable reading.

[Charles Lincoln]

Not a book, but a lovely audio lecture to supplement Gibbon. I enjoyed listening to it during my drives this week.

[Flash Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a worthy Great Course. The lecturer is indeed an English professor (as one reviewer complained), not a professional historian; the title, after all, begins with “Books That Matter.” These lectures are not an excuse to skip Professor Aldrete’s courses, but for me it was a splendid review (before a business trip to Istanbul) of Gibbon’s history (which I finished sixteen years ago and started fourty-one years ago — yes, it took me longer to read the history than it took Gibbon to write it.) Sometimes the best take on history is by English majors; cp. David McCullough. I agree with the other enthusiastic reviews here, though I will disagree about the lack of drama, at least for Professor Damrosch’s rendition of my alma mater’s signature hymn, “God Our Help in Ages Past.”

     A warning for those about to read Gibbon in the modern age: Most electronic versions I’ve found are not, despite their claim, complete. The electronic Modern Library version (unlike the two-volume hardcover edition I bought second-hand in a previous millennium) omits about half the footnotes. The Project Gutenberg edition admits, if you read the fine print carefully, that it is missing much of the Greek text. The only apparently complete electronic edition I could find is from Standard Ebooks, which is excellently typeset (with marginal dates and even italics), but whose iPad version doesn’t let you select or highlight footnote text [though you can do so if you can navigate to the corresponding endnote], and which can only be side-loaded to a physical Kindle, not to the iOS or desktop Kindle apps.

     A couple of nits: The captions are, as usual, amateurish, with many laughable mistakes like “destroy” for “Troy” and “high Festus” for “Hḗphaistos.” Horatius in Macaulay’s splendid poem did not single-handedly defend the bridge, he got two helpers: “Now, who will stand on either hand and keep the bridge with me?”

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well explained overview of Gibbons magnum opus.

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Definitely worth a listen. Walks you through both Roman history and the book itself, and the writing of it. Will I listen to the book itself? Why not, it’s only 126 hours, lol.