The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. I


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.3 stars; 89 reviews)

The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of the 18th century published in six volumes, was written by the celebrated English historian Edward Gibbon. Volume I was published in 1776, and went through six printings (a remarkable feat for its time). Volumes II and III were published in 1781; volumes IV, V, VI in 1788-89. The original volumes were published as quartos, a common publishing practice of the time.The books cover the period of the Roman Empire after Marcus Aurelius, from just before 180 to 1453 and beyond, concluding in 1590. They take as their material the behaviour and decisions that led to the decay and eventual fall of the Roman Empire in the East and West, offering an explanation for why the Roman Empire fell.Gibbon is sometimes called the first “modern historian of ancient Rome.” By virtue of its mostly objective approach and highly accurate use of reference material, Gibbon’s work was adopted as a model for the methodologies of 19th and 20th century historians. (Summary from Wikipedia) (19 hr 50 min)

Chapters

Introduction and Prefaces 14:21 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Chapter I: Part 1 16:14 Read by Chris Chapman
Chapter I: Part 2 23:11 Read by Chris Chapman
Chapter I: Part 3 34:24 Read by Chris Chapman
Chapter II: Part 1 12:54 Read by Sibella Denton
Chapter II: Part 2 17:37 Read by Sibella Denton
Chapter II: Part 3 15:42 Read by Sibella Denton
Chapter II: Part 4 17:23 Read by Sibella Denton
Chapter III: Part 1 23:42 Read by Christie Nowak
Chapter III: Part 2 24:38 Read by Christie Nowak
Chapter IV: Part 1 20:58 Read by Gesine
Chapter IV: Part 2 24:13 Read by ontheroad
Chapter V: Part 1 25:47 Read by Jim Mowatt
Chapter V: Part 2 29:36 Read by Jim Mowatt
Chapter VI: Part 1 17:11 Read by ontheroad
Chapter VI: Part 2 22:43 Read by ontheroad
Chapter VI: Part 3 21:03 Read by ontheroad
Chapter VI: Part 4 23:32 Read by ontheroad
Chapter VII: Part 1 33:45 Read by krithiga
Chapter VII: Part 2 28:31 Read by Robin Cotter
Chapter VII: Part 3 5:07 Read by Robin Cotter
Chapter VIII: Part 1 10:54 Read by Julian Jamison
Chapter VIII: Part 2 28:15 Read by Julian Jamison
Chapter IX: Part 1 & 2 28:12 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter IX: Part 3 25:19 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter X: Part 1 16:57 Read by Lizzie Driver
Chapter X: Part 2 22:52 Read by Lizzie Driver
Chapter X: Part 3 31:44 Read by Lizzie Driver
Chapter X: Part 4 35:47 Read by Lizzie Driver
Chapter XI: Part 1 26:34 Read by krithiga
Chapter XI: Part 2 20:41 Read by Måns Broo
Chapter XI: Part 3 27:25 Read by Måns Broo
Chapter XII: Part 1 32:47 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
Chapter XII: Part 2 37:31 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
Chapter XII: Part 3 25:15 Read by Lucy Burgoyne (1950 - 2014)
Chapter XIII: Part 1 25:02 Read by Justin Brett
Chapter XIII: Part 2 28:12 Read by Justin Brett
Chapter XIII: Part 3 33:12 Read by Justin Brett
Chapter XIII: Part 4 33:12 Read by Justin Brett
Chapter XIV: Part 1 24:48 Read by Justin Brett
Chapter XIV: Part 2 26:07 Read by Justin Brett
Chapter XIV: Part 3 32:16 Read by Justin Brett
Chapter XIV: Part 4 23:07 Read by Justin Brett
Chapter XV: Part 1 13:42 Read by ontheroad
Chapter XV: Part 2 16:45 Read by ontheroad
Chapter XV: Part 3 17:34 Read by Cori Samuel
Chapter XV: Part 4 21:25 Read by Cori Samuel
Chapter XV: Part 5 17:18 Read by Måns Broo
Chapter XV: Part 6 17:58 Read by Måns Broo
Chapter XV: Part 7 23:08 Read by Måns Broo
Chapter XV: Part 8 14:35 Read by Måns Broo
Chapter XV: Part 9 12:15 Read by Måns Broo

Reviews

Incredible!!!


(5 stars)

This is a phenomenal achievement, simply phenomenal! It is such a literary as well as historical classic and this version does it full justice. I think this is a real landmark achievement and anyone interested in history will find it fascinating. All of life is here.... can't help repeating myself, but this is a magnum opus achievement, every history student should know about this BRILLIANT recording.


(4 stars)

Some very good readers, butt also some very bad reader with strong accents and no understanding of the subject matter. However this was still incredibly informative.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire


(5 stars)

My thanks to all of you who volunteer your time to read these great books. Just to let you know it is fantastic.

An arduous but excellent recording


(4 stars)

Gibbon. I've had the books for years and not cracked them open. Thanks team!

Illuminating


(5 stars)

An incomparable gem of wisdom that shows the inner nature of man and society.

Overall great narration


(5 stars)

There are many different narrators here, but the average level is high.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. 1


(5 stars)

Excellent!!!! And wonderfully read by each and every volunteer. Those who take issue should: 1. Volunteer their own time and perhaps read a book not in their own language before they comment. It’s a book written and then translated into English. The accents are distinct and easily understood. The slower pace at times merely gives your brain time to assimilate. What a wondrous work and 🙏🏻🙌🏻👏🏻 to all the volunteers who take time to read these tomes so I can “read” them while I work the vines 11 months out of the year. I’m well into the second volume!


(5 stars)

The narrators are a bit slow at times, but there is a lot of information, so I do not mind. I prefer too slow to too fast.