edward gibbon's "the decline & fall of the roman empire": C/D?

this is probably the best book ever

Yearly reminder to read Gibbon

it's actually not that great as an intro to Roman history - it starts after all the famous imperial stuff (Caesar Augustus, Claudius, Nero) is over (and assumes its audience knows its way around that iirc); but the title hides the fact that you do get Attila, Genghis Khan, Charlemagne, rise of Islam, Crusades etc etc.

― you don't exist in the database (woof), Monday, 5 September 2011 bookmarkflaglink

Is it worth reading Suetonius before starting on this btw?

neither of them are the most accurate things to read as history in 2020, both of them are the best things to read as entertainment, you certainly *could* read Suetonius first but then there's 600-odd years of Roman history before the Caesars so it's still not the whole empire. i think the Decline makes sense on its own, Gibbon sets out his terms at the beginning and in the title.

Got it, Ty.

Iggy Pop on Gibbon’s Decline and Fall is the most poignant thing I’ve read all week. https://t.co/jksAqwnpAQ pic.twitter.com/sG5aW5gN9h

— Mary Harrington (@moveincircles) January 3, 2021

I've seen that before but it is great

"I feel less tyrannized by the present day"

Iggy's frequenting the bookstore at which I worked in the early '90s was a delight.

Ha, was wondering when that was going to get mentioned.

did he ever come into the bookstore shirtless?

Barefoot.