Synopsis
The dream Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar shared of uniting Europe, the Medi-terranean, and the Middle East in a single community shuddered and then collapsed in the wars and disasters of the sixth century. Historian and classicist James J. O'Donnell—who last brought readers his masterful, disturbing, and revelatory biography of Saint Augustine—revisits this old story in a fresh way, bringing home its sometimes painful relevance to today's issues.
With unexpected detail and in his hauntingly vivid style, O'Donnell begins at a time of apparent Roman revival and brings readers to the moment of imminent collapse that just preceded the rise of Islam. Illegal migrations of peoples, religious wars, global pandemics, and the temptations of empire: Rome's end foreshadows today's crises and offers hints how to navigate them—if present leaders will heed this story.
About James J. O'Donnell
See more books from this AuthorA vigorous history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire—which, as Georgetown University Provost O’Donnell (Augustine, 2005) notes, happened precipitously over three centuries.
Sep 16 2008 | Read Full Review of The Ruin of the Roman Empire:...The Roman empire was not invaded by barbarians in the fifth century, says classical historian O’Donnell.
Jul 21 2008 | Read Full Review of The Ruin of the Roman Empire:...O'Donnell's writing style is occasionally somewhat affected but The Ruin of the Roman Empire is by and large very readable.
Nov 20 2012 | Read Full Review of The Ruin of the Roman Empire:...The Ruin of the Roman Empire.
Aug 07 2009 | Read Full Review of The Ruin of the Roman Empire:...An aggregated and normalized score based on 26 user ratings from iDreamBooks & iTunes