The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

[jth_ttu]

Does anyone know the difference in Edward Gibbons books The decline and fall of the roman empire and the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire. And are they worth the enormous read?

 

[South Park Fan]

I'm on Chapter 6 right now. The parallels between Rome and America are startlingly numerous.

 

[jth_ttu]

I just started it today but I realized I didnt get the one on RPs book list. The editor seems extremely libertarian though he even makes a reference to the NWO

 

[WRellim]

Does anyone know the difference in Edward Gibbons books The decline and fall of the roman empire and the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire. And are they worth the enormous read?

Book -- singular, by Edward Gibbon (last name is singular you are missing the apostrophe in "Gibbon's" )

Anyway, he published ONE major work on Rome, it was entitled "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" which was a HUGE work, published in SIX volumes (like a mini-encyclopedia).

If you are seeing other versions -- typically paperbacks in a single volume -- with the shorter title of "Decline & Fall..." it is probably because they are one of the modern "condensed" or "abridged" versions.

The full, UNabridged, UNcondensed six-volume work is still published, but you typically have to special order it, because not many people are interested in reading the whole thing -- with all of the countless footnotes, diagrams, etc -- so not many bookstores seem to stock it (at least not in my area).

Also note that you might occasionally run across a 7, 8 or even 12 volume edition -- the extra volumes are typically indexes and commentaries and other additions by various "editors" and may also include some of Gibbon's lesser writings. (Keep in mind that the work was originally published between 1776 and 1789 and the copyright ran out long ago -- so publishers have to add/change things in order to create a pseudo-valid claim to a new "copyrightable" edition).

If you TRULY LIKE history, then it is a good read (a bit archaic in parts, though that appeals to some people too) -- but for the average person, it's more than a bit overwhelming.

BTW, if you want a "taste" of the full version you can find it online -- check the bottom of the wikipedia page on the book, or Gutenberg or even Google Books online (which IIRC has a PDF version as well... big file though).

Cheers!

 

[jth_ttu]

Book -- singular, by Edward Gibbon (last name is singular you are missing the apostrophe in "Gibbon's" )

Anyway, he published ONE major work on Rome, it was entitled "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" which was a HUGE work, published in SIX volumes (like a mini-encyclopedia).

If you are seeing other versions -- typically paperbacks in a single volume -- with the shorter title of "Decline & Fall..." it is probably because they are one of the modern "condensed" or "abridged" versions.

The full, UNabridged, UNcondensed six-volume work is still published, but you typically have to special order it, because not many people are interested in reading the whole thing -- with all of the countless footnotes, diagrams, etc -- so not many bookstores seem to stock it (at least not in my area).

Also note that you might occasionally run across a 7, 8 or even 12 volume edition -- the extra volumes are typically indexes and commentaries and other additions by various "editors" and may also include some of Gibbon's lesser writings. (Keep in mind that the work was originally published between 1776 and 1789 and the copyright ran out long ago -- so publishers have to add/change things in order to create a pseudo-valid claim to a new "copyrightable" edition).

If you TRULY LIKE history, then it is a good read (a bit archaic in parts, though that appeals to some people too) -- but for the average person, it's more than a bit overwhelming.

BTW, if you want a "taste" of the full version you can find it online -- check the bottom of the wikipedia page on the book, or Gutenberg or even Google Books online (which IIRC has a PDF version as well... big file though).

Cheers!

Thanks for the Help. I was afraid I had gotten the wrong book. I like history so I think I'll be interested enough to finish it.

 

[osan]

Book -- singular, by Edward Gibbon (last name is singular you are missing the apostrophe in "Gibbon's" )

Anyway, he published ONE major work on Rome, it was entitled "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" which was a HUGE work, published in SIX volumes (like a mini-encyclopedia).

If you are seeing other versions -- typically paperbacks in a single volume -- with the shorter title of "Decline & Fall..." it is probably because they are one of the modern "condensed" or "abridged" versions.

The full, UNabridged, UNcondensed six-volume work is still published, but you typically have to special order it, because not many people are interested in reading the whole thing -- with all of the countless footnotes, diagrams, etc -- so not many bookstores seem to stock it (at least not in my area).

Also note that you might occasionally run across a 7, 8 or even 12 volume edition -- the extra volumes are typically indexes and commentaries and other additions by various "editors" and may also include some of Gibbon's lesser writings. (Keep in mind that the work was originally published between 1776 and 1789 and the copyright ran out long ago -- so publishers have to add/change things in order to create a pseudo-valid claim to a new "copyrightable" edition).

If you TRULY LIKE history, then it is a good read (a bit archaic in parts, though that appeals to some people too) -- but for the average person, it's more than a bit overwhelming.

BTW, if you want a "taste" of the full version you can find it online -- check the bottom of the wikipedia page on the book, or Gutenberg or even Google Books online (which IIRC has a PDF version as well... big file though).

Cheers!

Here you go - free for download:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25717/25717-h/25717-h.htm