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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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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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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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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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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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Books as whole are magical devices that allow us to travel in both space and time, and few are more magical than Gibbon’s masterpiece. I adore history in general but The Decline and Fall is history wrapped in more history. Listening to Gibbon’s majestic 18th Century prose, and grasping his perspective on ancient history and society, you experience both the history he is describing, and the historic perspective of his own time.

He’s incredibly fair-minded in so much of his analysis, and his insights are frankly better than most modern thinkers. The sheer erudition and dedication to the primary material is staggering. This is a lifetime of study and passion compressed into 127 hours of lucid and elegant prose.

Don’t listen to any of the reviews that say the narration is a problem - these are the opinions of idiots with no attention spans. I could not think of a better narrator or a better style of tackling the material. Just a perfect fit.

Honestly I am bereft - this monumental work has been a part of daily life for six weeks. Cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone who loves history.

Believe the hype - it’s really THAT good (including the narration)

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Very long and highly informative history. Well worth the effort. Thank you to Edward Gibbon.

Extraordinary History

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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 (although there are a number of mispronunciations) 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.

Excellent

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