The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

“It’s a formidable task to read it, but it’s very readable, because although Gibbon was humourless about himself, he has a tremendous sense of humour about the rest of the world.” Read more...

The Best Books on the History of Christianity

Diarmaid MacCulloch, Theologians & Historians of Religion

“It takes Tacitus as its model, who was famous for his waspish style, and a careful balancing and modulating of the sentences so that irony would be generated. This is what Gibbon does as well, and it means that not only is it an incredible work of scholarship but it is also compulsively entertaining. I really think that anyone who is prepared to give it a chance will find themselves smiling at the very least throughout it.” Read more...

The best books on Ancient Rome

Tom Holland, Classicist