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The Ruin of the Roman Empire: A New History Audiobook
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What really marked the end of the Roman Empire? Was it a long, inevitable decay, or did real people make real choices with surprising and unintended effects? The Ruin of the Roman Empire takes us back to the sixth century, into the lives, cultures, and events that influenced ancient Rome. James O'Donnell restores the reputations of many "barbarians," while showing that Rome's last emperors doomed their realm with the hapless ways in which they tried to restore and preserve it.
Sweeping and accessible, The Ruin of the Roman Empire captures the richness of late antique life and the colorful characters of the age while offering insight into today's debates about barbarism, religion, empires, and their threatened borders.
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“O’Donnell provides a sweeping panorama that includes diverse Christian sects, surprisingly civilized barbarians, and ordinary humans striving to survive in an unstable world.”
— Booklist
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“O’Donnell’s vivid prose…[makes] it easy for readers to imagine the world as it was at the empire’s close.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“O’Donnell’s richly layered book provides significant glimpses into the many factors that leveled a mighty empire.”
— Publishers Weekly -
O'Donnell's vivid prose…[makes] it easy for [listeners] to imagine the world as it was at the empire's close.
— Library Journal Starred Review
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About James J. O’Donnell
James J. O’Donnell is a classicist who served for ten years as Provost of Georgetown University and is now University Librarian at Arizona State University. He is the author of several books, including Augustine, The Ruin of the Roman Empire, and Avatars of the Word.
About Mel Foster
Lauren Ezzo, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a commercial voice talent and Chicago-based actor and graduate of Hope College. She has acted in Peppermint Creek Theatre Company’s world premiere of Or You Could Kiss Me. Her narrations have placed her on several “Best of the Year” lists, including AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of the Year list. In 2018, she was part of a full cast of narrators nominated for the prestigious Audie Award for Best Original Work.