/lit/ - Literature

hmm i'm pretty sure there's this one book about it op - hopefully someone can remember

>>9396470
Something like a 6 volume epic history written by a prominent English aristocrat?

>>9396422
Decline and Fall volumes 1 & 2 are still great. Modern historians love Gibbons style and his level of source knowledge is as great or greater than modern scholars.

Where he fails is that he ignores social/cultural history, and his Greek is shit so that his assessment of Byzantium is way off the mark he thinks they were declining 1000 years before the fall of byzantium. Also, he was an 18th century anti-clerical scholar, so his views on "Popery" are very biased and cynical. That said, his works up to the usurpation of Odoacer are still beautiful and mostly correct.

If you want a modern reassessment, Mary Beard is well regarded academically, although those here who tend towards the /pol9k/ will criticize her for writing a popular history (SPQR) that deals where Gibbons doesnt, that is cultural and social history. She also gives more modern academic views based on work done since Gibbons time.

>>9396479
SPQR is decent entry level stuff. (Its on the Oxbridge reading list for classics which i take to be pretty good at non-shit kid entry level.)

Rome fell because Christianity made the slaves and the plebs think were worth anything. Nothing more to it.

rome never fell

I vent'anni di governi pdl e pdmenoelle hanno scassato sta città

>>9396422
>something that juxtaposes the rampant hedonism with imminent collapse
Why do you need a book about something that is happening in front of our own very eyes?

>>9396479
>Mary Beard
Opinion disregarded

>>9396490
Its on the harvard classics list as well i believe

>>9398287
see
>>9396479
>although those here who tend towards the /pol9k/ will criticize her for writing a popular history (SPQR) that deals where Gibbons doesnt, that is cultural and social history

Go make unsubstantiated claims elsewhere frogposter.

>>9398321
>muh modern academia circlejerk
Kill yourself

Mary Beard is worthless, although those here who tend towards the reddit will criticize me for writing that Beard is a dumb cunt only valued for her contribution to the diversity quota

>>9396498
This. The Empire Never Ended.

>>9399535
This is great. growth, complexity, collapse, rebirth. basic forest ecology stuff that can also be viewed in comparison with roi strategies in economic terms that we Westerns love. The only thing Protestants love more than free markets is efficiency. Taxation is theft, but if you say it'll be cheaper to give you my money to protect me than well hell, I'm not complaining. Now back to my crack pipe and then off to play some bagpipes.