The Ruin of the Roman Empire: A New History (Hardcover) by James J O'Donnell

from Schmerguls

This is an erudite and well-written book about the declining daysof the Roman Empire, which is full of insight but was not of overly-great interest to me. The author is obviously a master of the subject, though a skeptic as to religion. His words on Theodoric, Justinian, and St Gregory the Great ...

from Schmerguls

This is an erudite and well-written book about the declining daysof the Roman Empire, which is full of insight but was not of overly-great interest to me. The author is obviously a master of the subject, though a skeptic as to religion. His words on Theodoric, Justinian, and St Gregory the Great ...

from madcatnip72

The title of this book caught my eye while I was browsing through my public library catalog, so I borrowed it on a whim, interested in the subject no doubt but knowing nothing about the author, James J. O'Donnell. I found it fantastic - a sweeping saga of late Roman/early Byzantine history massiv...

from nmele

O'Donnell takes a hard look at the usual narrative which ascribes the fall of Rome to barbarian invasions and cultural and military decline. He argues strongly that Rome survived and successfully incorporated a number of "barbarian" invasions through a process of acculturation among border people...

from mcdenis

This is an in your face witty account of the decline of the Roman Empire. The political intrigue and the characters portrayed makes the United States White House appear like some chaotic nursery school. Our politicians could learn a lot by reading History. O"Donnell is a first class Latin scholar...