Product Description
Roman Warfare surveys the history of Rome's fighting forces from their inception in the 7th century BCE to the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century CE. In non-technical, lively language, Jonathan Roth examines the evolution of Roman war over its thousand-year history. He highlights the changing arms and equipment of the soldiers, unit organization and command structure, and the wars and battles of each era. The military narrative is used as a context for Rome's changing tactics and strategy and to discuss combat techniques, logistics, and other elements of Roman war. Political, social, and economic factors are also considered.Full of detail, up-to-date on current scholarly debates, and richly illustrated with 39 halftones and 27 color plates, Roman Warfare is intended for students of the ancient world and military history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Average at best
There have been many different ways to talk about Roman civilization.Some authors look from the social angle, some from the economic angle.Jonathan P. Roth takes a look at Ancient Rome from the angle of warfare, how warfare built up Rome.This book looks at the entire Roman civilization, from the beginning until the fall of the western half.He looks, quickly, at the many different wars, rebellions and uprisings.He never goes into much depth except for the Punic Wars, and a few campaigns around the time of Octavian.Instead what we get is a pretty basic look at the history of Ancient Rome through the eyes of the army.

The best chapters are the ones about the army specifically, including how they operated, armed, and the tactics they used, both during the time of the Republic and Empire.Besides that, the rest of the book is just your general Roman history, information an educated reader would already know.Mr. Roth does not feel it is needed to take sides when he says the evidence could give two different answers.The writing is not bad, it is just that there is nothing new outside of a few chapters. ... Read more

Product Description
Using a full range of original literary sources, modern Continental scholarship, and current archaeological research, Pat Southern and Karen R. Dixon provide a stimulating overview of the historical period, the critical changes in the army, and the way these changes affected the morale of the soldiers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Detailed Description, Highly Readable
Southern and Dixon's book on the late Roman army breaks down their subject in various chapters and describe in a highly readable manner the organization, recruiting, equipment, and forts of the final centuries of the Western Roman Empire's armies.

The authors detail their subject from many points of view and often summarize older scholarship as well as primary sources and archaeology where they are available.They are also quick to point out where there are many gaps in the historical record that can only be filled in by educated guesswork.The main mode of the book is descriptive: while reading, I felt as though I were being given a personal tour of the sources and artifacts that came together to create a picture of the late roman army.

While the book contains many detailed citations, at no time does it veer off into the obtuse: it is at its core a highly readable book.The language is precise and the logical.

At the end of the book, I left seeing the late roman army in all its paradoxical glory. At once larger than during the principiate, yet unable to defend Rome.Highly organized, yet adaptable. More centralized, yet more barbarian.Any one interested in Roman history will enjoy this book.

Excellent Work on a Rarely Visited Subject
The primary mission of this book is to give the reader a detailed and examined look at the Imperial Roman Army in Late Antiquity, roughly from the time of the 3rd Century Crisis to the fall of the Western Empire and into Justinian's reign in the East. Though being less than 200 pages long, the book gives the reader a sense of understanding on the army during the late Empire that few do. The entire book covers all aspects of the army from the sources that are used for the piece all the way to the Morale of the Army and shows the development from the old Imperial Army to one which imployed Limitani and Field Armies. The main primary sources used are Ammianus, Zosimus and Procopius and is supplamented with excellent secondary sources like A H M Jones and Ramsey MacMullen.

While the book may not be an engrossing read it is filled with evidence and information which answers the question, "What happened to the Roman Army? Why did this force which conquered much of the known world succumb to something so simple as barbarians?" and it disproves the popular theory that barbarization was the main cause of the fall of the army which led to the end of the Western Empire. Through extensive research the author's show that not only is this not the case but that the barbarization had more positive effects than negative.

Discussed is also how many scholars in the past have been quick to write so negatively on not only the army but the emperors of the period save for Diocletian, Constantine, Julian and Justinian. They are seen as the creators of the defense and rebirth of the empire while other emperors left it to ruin, yet credit is given to those which improved fortifications and defensive works across the borders. The author's devout a good chapter on all types of fortifications in the late empire, where and why they were built and the reasoning for their abandonment or transformation over time.

Also talked about is the equipment used by the army at this time and their change in tactics. Numerous plates and figure sketches of equipment from the period adorn this part of the book giving the reader a vivid picture of what a soldier in the late empire would have looked like and how well he would have been trained. The authors go into the changes in recruitment at different periods as well as the change in pay and compensation and the corruption which ate away at the army's structure to the point where civilians and citizens were more afraid of the army than of the enemies of the state.

A key aspect discussed at length is on the role of barbarians in the army from Constantine to Justinian. The authors show how different regions responded to the barbarization of the army, how these peoples were utilized by various Emperors and their policies toward them. One interesting point to note is the point made how two major Germanic groups were settled into the empire at Rome's desire. The Visigoths and the Burgandians were both settled on Roman land with Rome having the position of strength in the diplomatic discussions. The authors go on to discuss why integration and settlement were so important and of the positive and negative aspects of this policy.

Finally, the book leaves you with an excellent grasp at the severity of the situation faced by Rome in the 3rd-5th centuries AD and how the army faced with these difficulties still performed as well as they did, though by comparison to the Early and High Empire periods they are seen as falling quite short, and shows the resilience and adaptability of the Roman army and empire during times of extreme hardships and situations.

All in all, I would rate this a 4 1/2 out of 5; and would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the late Imperial Army and of causes for the decline and collapse of the western empire. It is a lot of information to take in and I would suggest this not to the casual reader due to the heavy dose of information and facts in such a short volume, though if you have a decent grasp on the late period of Rome you should adapt quickly and be able to take in a lot if not all the information presented to you.

A very useful book
If you're looking for a detailed overview of the development of the Roman army from the third century through the end of the fifth century, look no further. This period saw the transformation of the Roman army from its classical infantry-dominated form to a cavalry-heavy precursor of medieval armies. It also witnessed a shift in strategy from frontier defense, to defense-in-depth. This book covers both of these trends in great detail. It offers a narrative history of the troubled third century, the reforming reigns of Diocletian and Constantine, and the barbarization of the army during the fifth century, quoting numerous ancient sources including Ammianus, Zosimus, Vegetius, Procopius, and others. It supplements this with archaeological data, maps, architectural schemes, and plates.

Most useful is the thorough description of the arms, armor, and clothing worn by the Roman soldier during this period, coupled with photos of surviving bits of armor, helmets, swords, belts, etc. The authors also provide an excellent overview of how the dramatic changes in Roman society, economy, and law during this period affected the army.

In conclusion, I found this to be an extremely useful book and recommend it highly. It will be especially useful as an introduction for serious students to Roman military history. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the greatest--and most enigmatic--Roman emperors, Hadrian stabilized the imperial borders, established peace throughout the empire, patronized the arts, and built an architectural legacy that lasts to this day: the great villa at Tivoli, the domed wonder of the Pantheon, and the eponymous wall that stretches across Britain. Yet the story of his reign is also a tale of intrigue, domestic discord, and murder.In Following Hadrian, Elizabeth Speller captures the fascinating life of Hadrian, ruler of the most powerful empire on earth at the peak of its glory. Speller displays a superb gift for narrative as she traces the intrigue of Hadrian's rise: his calculated marriage to Emperor Trajan's closest female relative, a woman he privately tormented; Trajan's suspicious deathbed adoption of Hadrian as his heir, a stroke some thought to be a post-mortem forgery; and the ensuing slaughter of potential rivals by an ally of Hadrian's. Speller makes brilliant use of her sources, vividly depicting Hadrian's bouts of melancholy, his intellectual passions, his love for a beautiful boy (whose death sent him into a spiral), and the paradox of his general policies of peace and religious tolerance even as he conducted a bitter, three-year war with Judea.Most important, the author captures the emperor as both a builder and an inveterate traveler, guiding readers on a grand tour of the Roman Empire at the moment of its greatest extent and accomplishment, from the barren, windswept frontiers of Britain to the teeming streets of Antioch, from the dangers of the German forest to the urban splendor of Rome itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A curiously fractured look at Hadrian
Hadrian is one of those Roman Emperors who seems to have his name stuck on a lot of ancient monuments - the wall in Britain, The Pantheon in Rome and the villa at Tivoli outside Rome are the most obvious ones.However, if you don't know much about him aside from this it comes as a surprise that he spent so much of his reign outside Rome touring the provinces and that he identified more with Greece than Rome.

However, while you might expect a tour of the Roman provinces in Hadrian's time based on the title of this book, it's not really what you'll be getting when you read it.The only areas dealt with in detail in regards to his travels are Greece and Egypt. The rest of his visits get passing mentions, but no real detail - except to explain the Jewish revolts and Hadrian's savage response to it.

Each chapter of the book is prefaced with an imaginative reconstruction of a memoir by Julia Balbilla one of the known attendants in his wife Sabina's train. While these memoirs are well written, they are somewhat distracting and seem to take up a large portion of the book. I feel I know a lot more about Hadrian than I did before reading this book, and I also feel I know some interesting facts about ancient Rome I didn't know before, but having said that this book can also be tedious in spots and doesn't seem to give the Emperors travels their true justice.

Memoirs of Hadrian

Route 66 AD

A Good Esoteric Read
Jullia Balbilla is an ancient lady traveling companion to Empress who lives in the shadow of Emperor Hadrian.Hadrian parades through Judea making the soldiers parade before him in the desert heat before the Jewish Revolt before the Emperor's imperial entry into an Egyptian frontier town.Julia accompanys the Emperor Hadrian visiting the Nile delta with his favorite aging Bithynian boy toy Antinious in tow to the mysterious cults where the priests in the temples sacrifice for the everlasting life of the Emperor or whoever happens to be visiting.She carves a poem or two on the base of the singing Colossi of Memnon and then she goes on to narrate the diefication of the mysteriously drowned Antinious who becomes a God in the spoiling twighlight of Hadrian's reign.

Hard to Follow Hadrian.
The author is scholarly, and her work shows a great deal of thought--but little joy.This is a difficult read!Instead of being a purely scholarly presentation, it was 50% conjecture, mixed with the idea that you would know some of the scholarly research.There were multiple times where the author assumed the reader knew things no one but a student of Hadrian would.And fully more than half of the book dealt with Antinous, not Hadrian.(The author theorizes that Antinous was a homosexual lover of Hadrian, whose death an a trip to Egypt drove Hadrian insane.)What reading this book did for me was teach me that Hadrian was a fascinating individual--and I'd like now to read something about him.Previous to this, my only knowledge of him was that he commissioned a Wall in Northern England.Now I know that he commissioned thousands of projects all over the Roman empire.It is a pity the author didn't more than mention a few.Hadrian was fascinating; this book about him isn't.

An Interesting Combination of Fact and Fiction
The author is a scholar, and her knowledge of this period of history (first and second centruy of the common era) shows itself in many ways.She also writes beautifully, particularly as her fictional diarist.Much of this is history, much is speculation, and the diary entries are outright fiction. I found the combination interesting and entertaining.

Biography, historical novel or travelogue?
This book chronicles some of the travels of the Roman emperor Hadrian, with a discussion of his actions and the presumed underlying thoughts. Unfortunately, the trouble starts early. The author cannot decide if this is to be a biography, a historical novel or a travelogue. These elements are in constant conflict. There is some effort to present the events through the eyes of one Julia Balbilla, a friend of Sabina, the emperor's wife. These passages are only partially developed, their content highly speculative and their overall purpose uncertain. They represent one particular biased viewpoint that seems at odds with the biographical approach. These sections are interspersed with, and detract from, the better biographical sections. Unfortunately, even the biographical and historical passages are arranged in a somewhat haphazard fashion so that the reader tends to lose track of the timeline. Sections dealing with the present condition of various monuments seem out of context with the historical narrative. A working knowledge of ancient Roman history and culture is required to understand the book.

The jacket suggests that the book will cover Hadrian's travels, the buildings constructed during his reign and present a journey through the empire. Actually, only his travels to Egypt and Greece are covered. Hadrian's Wall is not mentioned. Those famous Roman monuments, the mausoleum, the Pantheon and the villa at Tibur (modern Tivoli), are mentioned, but the discussion is quite superficial. Readers interested in Hadrian and his reign should try Marguerite Yourcenar's novel Memoirs of Hadrian. That book is slow, contemplative and often difficult reading, but ultimately rewarding.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (20)

Excellent Writing
This book is quite brief, yet full of ideas. It presents what we have come to think of as the "barbarian invasion of the Roman empire" as simply an immigration problem, one which, at a crucial moment in the ongoing relationship between the empire and the outsiders, was poorly administered by corrupt, rent-seeking middle level provincial officials, leading to chaos, a badly executed military response, and disaster for the home team. I have not read any other books on this subject so have no idea how accurate or controversial it is.But I enjoyed the read.The author writes in a light, brisk, and sometimes bemused style (I note that it is translated so I am really writing about the translation, which must be really well done to capture that tone). I recommend it for its brevity and wit as much as its intellectual content.

Thoughtful and Readable History
Historians love to identify "notably rare moments" in history - symbolic dates that mark the end of one era and the beginning of another, states author Alessandro Barbero. World War II had its D-Day. Napoleon had his Waterloo. Was the Battle of Adrianople that notably rare moment in Roman history? "The Day of the Barbarians - The Battle that Led to the Fall of the Roman Empire" is a tightly written, 146-page review of a key moment in ancient Roman history, but Barbero argues that it's not that "rare moment" that lends itself to such dramatic interpretations.

The Romans were soundly beaten by a barbarian army on August 9, 378. It was a turning point in Roman history, but according to Barbero much less of an earth-shattering, all-or-nothing moment in time as other key battles in history. Barbero's emphasis is that the Battle at Adrianople was a key point in time for the Empire more due to the context surrounding the event, rather than the event itself.

What ultimately became an invasion, started slowly and steadily over time as immigration. Barbero writes, "Before the battle of Adrianople, the barbarian invasions had already begun." Barbero reminds us that the "Roman Empire already was a multiethnic crucible of languages, races, and religions, and it was perfectly capable of absorbing massive immigration without becoming destabilized."

In autumn of 376, barbarians massed along the northern shores of the Danube. They wanted to cross into the Empire because a new threat was looming in the West - the Huns were moving closer and their violent and deadly reputation preceded them.

As citizens of the empire grew increasingly resistant to military enlistment, the Empire looked to fill out its ranks from the outside. Barbero writes that "the barbarians were increasingly seen as...abundant, low-cost manpower...a potential resource that should not be wasted"

So Valens ordered his troops to help the barbarians across the Danube. Except there were too many of them, and despite a reputation for superlative logistics, the Roman army wasn't prepared. Ultimately, the starving and horribly uncomfortable barbarians revolted.

In the face of these challenges, Fritigern, a Gothic tribal chief, had been able to centralize enough cross-tribal power to lead thousands of barbarians on a two year war within the Empire's own boundaries.

Near the walls of Adrianople on the morning of August 9, 378 Valens' armies had finally rallied and moved to face the barbarians whose own armies were positioned on a nearby hilltop. As the battle began, numerous barbarian cavalry, who had been foraging away from their camps, emerged amid the hills near the battle. This became a key moment, in a key battle, at a key point in Roman history. The Roman army was overwhelmed and surrounded by too many riders. Their fate was sealed.

"Day of the Barbarians" is a very readable, enjoyable and engaging book. I'm not an academic and I felt that it had the right mix of historical background, research and most importantly to me, narrative. The book also has its requisite descriptions and analysis of strategic army movements and lively battle scenes. It may not be academic enough for the hardcore scholar, however this is a terrific book for insights into an instrumental period in Roman history.

Easy reading!
The first thing I found out reading this book was the ease of reading it. Either the author has a great gift of writing and organizing the material or the translator did a fantastic job, but I ended up reading this book in two sittings. What I love the most in the historical books is when the author does not attempt to flow over hundreds of pages just for the hell of having written a thick book. This book stays to the subject, presents the facts and wraps chapters up with a short conclusion. After I read this book from the library, I had to buy it and have it. Being so nicely structured, it makes it easy for me to get back any time I need some info for an easy find. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in this area of history.

Easy reading!
The first thing I found out reading this book was the easy of reading it. Either the author has a great gift or writing and organizing the material or the translator did a fantastic job, but I ended up reading this book in two sittings. What I love the most in the historical books is when the author does not attempt to flow over hundreds of pages just for the hell of having written a thick book. This book stays to the subject, presents the facts and wraps chapters up with a short conclusion. After I read this book from the library, I had to buy it and have it. Being so nicely structured, it makes it easy for me to get back any time I need some info for an easy find. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in this area of history.

Just Wish it Were Longer
Put simply this books only problem is that it's too short. It deals with the battle of Adrianople, the immediate aftermath, and then it ends. It's smaller than a paperback novel. When I first saw it I was skeptical that anything so small could be of any use. Actually, I thought I'd been ripped off. But it does such a good job of explaining what happened, why it happened, and what made it such an important battle that I grew to like it. And it's cheap so you have no excuse for not buying it. I mean it. Like right now.

For those of you with money who want a book that covers more than just the battle I'd recommend Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D. It goes into more detail and covers all of Valens life before that. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
This volume publishes records 82 diplomas or fragments which provide vital evidence for the Roman military and legal world. It is the first volume of a set of four created by Roxan, the world’s expert on this subject. ... Read more

Product Description
Attila the Hun - godless barbarian and near-mythical warrior king - has become a byword for mindless ferocity. His brutal attacks smashed through the frontiers of the Roman empire in a savage wave of death and destruction. His reign of terror shattered an imperial world that had been securely unified by the conquests of Julius Caesar five centuries before. This book goes in search of the real Attila the Hun. For the first time it reveals the history of an astute politician and first-rate military commander who brilliantly exploited the strengths and weaknesses of the Roman empire. We ride with Attila and the Huns from the windswept steppes of Kazakhstan to the opulent city of Constantinople, from the GreatHungarian Plain to the fertile fields of Champagne in France. Christopher Kelly utilises a wealth of original texts - including the only surviving account of the historian who met Attila during a top-secret assassination attempt. This tale of espionage and counter-intelligence is one of the most thrilling in the whole of Roman history.Challenging our own ideas about barbarians and Romans, imperialism and civilisation, terrorists and superpowers, this is the absorbing story of an extraordinary and complex individual who helped to bring down an empire and forced the map of Europe to be redrawn forever. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

How Did This Get Published?
Jack Weatherford's "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World" sought to correct the myth of the Mongolian hordes, and illustrate Genghis's military and management genius.Having developed the deadly duo of horseback bowman and seige machines the Mongols swept across Asia and Europe, but it was Genghis Khan's tolerance of diversity, organization of the different nations under him, and management of the powerful Mongolian clans that permitted the Mongols to maintain their empire.It was not a great book, but it was an important book in demystifying and ultimately humanizing Genghis Khan.

I hoped Christopher Kelly's "Attila the Hun" would resurrect the reputation of another "barbarian."I was sorely disappointed.The book is clumsy, sprawling, and badly written.The book promised to discuss Attila the military strategist but instead we only learn that very little is known about Attila -- and if that's the case then why was this book written?

The one interesting piece of information we learn from the book is that the Western and Eastern Roman Empires fell less because of the barbaric clans that threatened their periphery and more because of imperial overstretch and internal decay.The Vandals, the Goths, and the Huns were more like gangs of extortionists, aiming not to topple the Roman Empire but simply to threaten it enough to be paid off.Thus, Attila the Hun would destroy border garrisons and towns but then retreat -- his purpose of always threatening the Roman Empire's eastern flank accomplished.

This book is a gruesome read, and there's no point in reading it at all. ... Read more

Product Description
Though written by a man who admits himself to be "unlearned," the Origin and Deeds of the Goths is important as the earliest surviving work of a Gothic historian. Jordanes wrote in the mid-6th century AD and is believed to be a bishop of Gothic ethnicity who resided in Constantinople--possibly an associate of Pope Vigilius. His work recounts the history of the Goths from their legendary origins in Scandinavia, to their invasion of Scythia and their mythical connections to the Amazons. While much of Jordanes's early history is fabulous, of much greater value is his chronicling of the movements and activities of the Gothic nations in the 4th through 6th centuries. Jordanes cut-and-pasted his history together based on the works of other more eminent ancient scholars, many of which are now lost. These include the works of Ablabius, the Gothic history of Cassiodorus, descriptions of the Huns by Priscus, and several others.

Jordanes wrote from a nakedly pro-Goth viewpoint, spending a great deal more time on the glory years of the 5th century when the Gothic nations were plundering and conquering the western Roman Empire, and considerably less on the subsequent downfall of the Ostrogoths at the hands of Justinian's armies during his own time. Of particular interest are the long passages detailing the ultimately triumphant Romano-Gothic struggle with the armies of Attila the Hun.

This new reprint has been digitally scanned from the 1915 edition and amended to include 17 corrections from an errata sheet that was supplied after the original publication. The book includes a thorough introduction and commentary by Charles Mierow. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

History of the Goths
The Goths, unlike many other barbarians, were fortunate in having the zealous energies of both a missionary and a historian. The missionary Wulfilas, in translating much of the Bible into Gothic, saved the language from the near-oblivion which was the fate of Thracian and Illyrian. Jordanes, the historian, preserved much of the Goths' history and legendary pre-history.

Jordanes' work was an epitome or summary, from memory, of a now lost 12-volume history of the Goths by Cassiodorus which Jordanes says that he had the opportunity to read at a three-day sitting. It makes one wonder how much was irrevocably lost, as well as grateful for his efforts.

The book is a reprint of a 1915 edition. The overall quality and readability is quite high, unlike some reprints of older works which I've seen.

Fully one-quarter of the book is composed of introductory sections on a variety of themes, including Jordanes' name, ethnicity, ecclesiastical situation, language (Mierow concludes that Latin was Jordanes' second language), and an analysis of his probable and possible sources apart from Cassiodorus. If you like philological analyses of these kinds of questions, with reference to scholarly differences of opinion, as I do, then you will enjoy the introduction tremendously. Keep in mind that the state of the scholarship is as of 1915. I'm not a scholar, I just play one on Amazon, but I assume that at least some of the conclusions of the introduction have been called into question. That being said, this introduction is an excellent starting point for the study of the text, and that is how it should be viewed.

Appended to the text, unfortunately at the end of the book instead of the bottom of the relevant page, is a commentary in the form of footnotes which offers explanatory information, cross-references to other writers, and variant readings of the text. These should be treated with some caution; I found one note which stated that the Sarmatians were Slavs, when in fact they were a group of Iranian-speaking peoples.

The first part of the work itself deals with the legendary origins of the Goths. Mierow points out that Jordanes was anxious to demonstrate the distinguished history of the Goths, and so he makes the Dacian King Burebista a Goth, as well as the Thracian Getae and the Amazons (Jordanes explains as Gothic women whose husbands were away at war; they got bored, apparently, and decided to do some campaigning themselves), and portrays the Goths as players in the Trojan War and involved in an early, unsuccessful invasion of Egypt.

The later part of the work deals with actual historical events. Jordanes is our only surviving source for many events involving the Goths, as well as the Vandals, Heruli, Gepids, and Huns. He is our only source for the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields or Chalons, as well as much of the information about Attila.

There is another edition on Amazon at about half the price of this one. I might buy that one eventually. I have read other books from that publisher, and they are generally text only, with no introduction or notes, and for this book I really wanted some background information. ... Read more

Product Description
Between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD the traditional legions of heavy infantry were whittled away and eventually replaced by a force of various arms and nationalities dominated by cavalry and supported by missile troops. However, in spite of this trend towards cavalry, the pedes remained the backbone of the Roman army until well into the 5th century. This book details a warrior who was very different from the legionary who preceded him; perhaps he was not as well disciplined, but in many ways he was more flexible – ready for deployment to trouble spots, and for fighting both as a skirmisher and a heavy infantryman. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Osprey is a tease
As with all the Osprey series, this book is a good teaser. It lacks the expanded detail to be a good resource. However, it is brief enough, with enough visual information to spark interest for further research. This one c ould be avoided for those looking into the earlier period of it, as it concentrates on the 5/6 Centuries.

Details on an ignored period
I have been interested in this general topic for several years, and have long tried to find a good book on the later Roman army, especially the footsoldiers.Upon the discovery of this book, I had to look no more.This book helped me get rid of some common misconceptions I held, and parts of it introduced me to concepts I had no idea of whatsoever.Using archaeology and Roman literature and artwork, the author paints a detailed picture of the late infantryman's origins, appearance, and experience, tactics, and duties in both war and peace.The soldier is also not portrayed in as negative a light as the later Imperial army usually is; even though the Romans of the 3rd-6th Centuries had fallen so far, their armies could still hold their own against their Sassanid, Germanic, and Hunnish foes.I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the late Roman army.

Very useful little book
For the novice or the expert, this book gives a nice overview of the transformation of the Roman infantryman from being the heavily-armored core unit of the Imperial Roman army, to the lightly armed auxiliary force of early Byzantine times. As always, the plates in this Osprey book are well done and every attention is paid to getting the details right. A useful list of further reading is included at the end, which is very helpful for those who wish to flesh-out the scanty but tantalizing descriptions in the text with true research material.

All in all, this is a very useful little book and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the military of late antiquity.

A good book on a misunderstood era
A very good book about an era that is really fascinating to me. The subject being the change over from the "Classic" era to the start of the "Dark Ages". It is during this time that the Legions change into Field Armies and Garrison Troops because of the pressures of the Barbarians and the ecomonic collaspe of the Empire. (I shall not go into the near constant state of civil wars between the competing thugs, nutters and other sods that wanted to wear the purple.)
The Illustrations alone are worth the price but the text,maps are an added bonus. I have to agree with the other reviewer in the the B/W photos are the only down side of this book. All in all a very good buy for those with a taste for this type of history.

Another beautifully illustrated and informative Osprey book.
Do you ever feel frustrated by books which have a lot of illustrations but not sufficient text to explain them?How about books which have plenty of text but lack maps, diagrams, or other illustrations which would reallyhelp you understand what the writer is talking about?Well, what I likeabout the Osprey military books is that they offer a good ballance of textand illustrations which harmonize to convey information to the reader in anefficient and entertaining manner.

This is one of my favorite titlesfrom them.It covers a very fascinating period of transition in Europe --that of the late Roman Empire.Much of the information in the text istaken from writers who lived around that time, and there are photographs ofart works from the period which show us the dress and equipment of the lateRoman infantrymen.My only complaint is that these photographs are printedin black & white and are often small, so one can miss much of thespectacular color and detail of these invaluable mosaics and frescos. Printing everything in color would, of course, make the book moreexpensive, but it still might be worthwhile.Depends on how one looks atit, I suppose.Osprey books do, however, offer a section of full colorillustrations in the middle which reconstruct as best as possible theappearance and activities of the troops under study.The colorillustrations in this one are superb.They show just how beautiful theuniforms were, and how slick the armor could be in the Roman armies even inthe period where everything was declining and falling apart, giving way toa new European order.Though the Dark Ages were coming up, the late Romanperiod forshadowed aspects of the Medieval period which would bloom like aPhoenix from the ashes of the Dark Ages.

I recommend this title to anyonewho is into history or who just enjoys good color illustrations.Those ofyou who have read my other reviews on Amazon know that I do a lot ofresearch on Arthurian matters, particularly the historical origins of theArthurian myths.Though this is not a title which focuses on Arthur oreven Britain particularly, I still recommend it to anyone who is intoArthurian studies because it covers that general part of the world inroughly the same period. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Good work, but can be improved a lot
Mr Stephenson researched the subject with care, and this work is worthy, but there are certain aspects that must be read with care and suspicion. To prove is point of view, Mr. Stephenson, use lots of evidence reporting to the 1st, 2nd and 4th century (either pictorial, archeological or written) but only when it's convenient, otherwise he disregards as anachronistic...a scholar must be scientific. He doesn't explain where he got evidence for that scale over mail armour represented on plates 9 and 11; I've studied extensively the period in question, and never i've walked into iconographic evidence to support the paintings on the plates; shields with an overall thickness of 2 inches(5 cm)???!! Please. I accept the explanation for the breastplates fasteners, but there is no sculpture(even very detailed ones) that shows them in use...probably they weren't so widespread as the author pretends them to be. The "spangelhelm" is one of the most popular helmets of the 3rd century (arch of galerius in tessalonika, artifacts on Rijksmuseum and Museo Chiaramanti, etc,etc) but the author doesn't even mentions it! The comments on the penetration of mail armour should be (almost) disregarded, there are several muslim descriptions that crusaders (armoured with mail in the 11th century) we're almost impervious to their weapons (composite bows) except at extremely short range...and for several centuries, mail was the armour of kings and nobles.

On the positive side, Mr. Stephenson explains very well the new threats that led to the overall changes in the roman infantry, from swordsman to Spearman. He made a good research looking for artifacts like the Gorget (although it certainly wasn't standard equipment), Breastplate fasteners, greaves, combat postures, the decoration of spears, the "standardization" between legionaries and auxilia, etc.

I read this book with interest, and got some new ideas to develop my own research. Like I said, it's a fine book, and Military History needs researchers like Stephenson, but this work needs a considerable revision and a 2nd edition.

Waste of my time and money
The artwork is good for making paperdolls, perhaps.The coverage of helmets is one example of the limited use for this book.It mentions only 3 types of helmets, (even though there are many more dated to this period), and only shows decent photos of one type, (see the cover).The continual repetition of how lorica hamata was useless against most period weapons goes in the face of the fact that it was sought after by the soldiers and worn in battle.Maybe the modern "butted chain" is useless against stabbing and arrows, but riveted and punched chain is not, (modern anachronism like this abound in this book).Save your money and get the Osprey books.I was very disappointed by this one.If you want a better investment, try Southern and Dixon's book "The Late Roman Army" here at Amazon. (ISBN: 0300068433)

Roman Infantry Equipment "the Later Empire"not worth the $
The research is very focused and misses many items in the same plane of study.The focus on only three types of Infantry helmets, the idea that hamata was easily penetrated by arrows, andother limiting concepts are weaknesses in the work, as are the various color drawings of period soldiers.Many anachronistic quotes and examples also keep this from being a work worth spending a great deal of money on, unless you wish to have a complete library of the genre.This is about ISBN 0-7524-1908-0 which may not be the same one listed by Amazon at this time.It was published in 1999 and 2001.
There aren't many better works available, but an Osprey book will be almost as good, with a lot less fluff and expense.

Review
As a result of both internal and external pressures on the Empire, the third century was a period of transition and transformation for the Roman army. It saw changes in its role, organization and equipment. The third-century infantryman looked fundamentally different from his early Empire counterpart - and in the following centuries the physical image of the army was to change yet again.

Having looked briefly at the tactics of the army, Ian Stephenson deals systematically with defensive equipment (helmets, body armour, shields, greaves etc); offensive equipment, whether for close combat (spear, sword, pugio) or long-range missiles (javelin, pila, bow, sling); and other military equipment (tunic, trousers, belts, shoes, tools). Throughout he also considers how each piece of equipment was used - not just how it looked.

Ian Stephenson is a Postgraduate Student at the Department of Archaeology, University of Newcastle, who has made a special study of the later Roman infantry. He has also just completed his M Lit on 'Early Anglo-Saxon Shields and Warfare'.

The book includes 144 pages and 81 illustrations. Perfect for allthose interested in the Imperial Roman Army - whether historians, military enthusiasts, wargamers or re-enactors.

A Must Have For The Roman Military History Enthusiast
A short but excellent treatment of an obscure and neglected subject.Many historians have fixed the beginning of Rome's decline in the 3d Century A.D., the subject period of Stephenson's work.The internal instability triggered by continuous civil war and external threats by barbarians on the Empire's Western and Eastern frontiers almost brought about Rome's collapse two centuries before it actually occurred.Stephenson provides a detailed account of the 3d century Roman Legionary's equipment and, to a lesser degree, fighting styles.He draws upon archeaological and literary evidence and complements his text with numerous diagrams and color plates.The result is an accurate picture of the legionary during Rome's most turbulent century. ... Read more

Product Description
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 4

by Edward Gibbon



With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman

Vol. 4

1782 (Written), 1845 (Revised)

Chapter XXXIX: Gothic Kingdom Of Italy.

Part I.

Zeno And Anastasius, Emperors Of The East. - Birth,
Education, And First Exploits Of Theodoric The Ostrogoth. - His
Invasion And Conquest Of Italy. - The Gothic Kingdom Of Italy. -
State Of The West. - Military And Civil Government. - The Senator
Boethius. - Last Acts And Death Of Theodoric.

After the fall of the Roman empire in the West, an interval
of fifty years, till the memorable reign of Justinian, is faintly
marked by the obscure names and imperfect annals of Zeno,
Anastasius, and Justin, who successively ascended to the throne
of Constantinople.During the same period, Italy revived and
flourished under the government of a Gothic king, who might have
deserved a statue among the best and bravest of the ancient
Romans.

Theodoric the Ostrogoth, the fourteenth in lineal descent of
the royal line of the Amali, ^1 was born in the neighborhood of
Vienna ^2 two years after the death of Attila. ^! A recent
victory had restored the independence of the Ostrogoths; and the
three brothers, Walamir, Theodemir, and Widimir, who ruled that
warlike nation with united counsels, had separately pitched their
habitations in the fertile though desolate province of Pannonia.
The Huns still threatened their revolted subjects, but their
hasty attack was repelled by the single forces of Walamir, and
the news of his victory reached the distant camp of his brother
in the same auspicious moment that the favorite concubine of
Theodemir was delivered of a son and heir.In the eighth year of
his age, Theodoric was reluctantly yielded by his father to the
public interest, as the pledge of an alliance which Leo, emperor
of the East, had consented to purchase by an annual subsidy of
three hundred pounds of gold.The royal hostage was educated at
Constantinople with care and tenderness.His body was formed to
all the exercises of war, his mind was expanded by the habits of
liberal conversation; he frequented the schools of the most
skilful masters; but he disdained or neglected the arts of
Greece, and so ignorant did he always remain of the first
elements of science, that a rude mark was contrived to represent
the signature of the illiterate king of Italy. ^3 As soon as he
had attained the age of eighteen, he was restored to the wishes
of the Ostrogoths, whom the emperor aspired to gain by liberality
and confidence.Walamir had fallen in battle; the youngest of
the brothers, Widimir, had led away into Italy and Gaul an army
of Barbarians, and the whole nation acknowledged for their king
the father of Theodoric.His ferocious subjects admired the
strength and stature of their young prince; ^4 and he soon
convinced them that he had not degenerated from the valor of his
ancestors.At the head of six thousand volunteers, he secretly
left the camp in quest of adventures, descended the Danube as far
as Singidunum, or Belgrade, and soon returned to his father with
the spoils of a Sarmatian king whom he had vanquished and slain.
Such triumphs, however, were productive only of fame, and the
invincible Ostrogoths were reduced to extreme distress by the
want of clothing and food.They unanimously resolved to desert
their Pannonian encampments, and boldly to advance into the warm
and wealthy neighborhood of the Byzantine court, which already
maintained in pride and luxury so many bands of confederate
Goths.After proving, by some acts of hostility, that they could
be dangerous, or at least troublesome, enemies, the Ostrogoths
sold at a high price their reconciliation and fidelity, accepted
a donative of lands and money, and were intrusted with the
defence of the Lower Danube, under the command of Theodoric, who
succeeded after his father's death to the hereditary throne of
the Amali. ^5

[Footnote 1: Jornandes (de Rebus Geticis, ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 44. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy were a series of conflicts between the co-emperors of the Roman Empire, starting in 306 AD with the usurpation of Maxentius and the defeat of Severus, and ending with the defeat of Licinius at the hands of Constantine I in 324 AD. The emperor Diocletian who established the Tetrarchy.The Tetrarchy refers to the administrative division of the Roman Empire instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293 CE, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire. The first phase, sometimes referred to as the Diarchy ('the rule of two'), involved the designation of the general Maximian as co-emperor - firstly as Caesar (junior emperor) in 285, followed by his promotion to Augustus in 286. Diocletian took care of matters in the Eastern regions of the Empire while Maximian similarly took charge of the Western regions. In 293, feeling more focus was needed on both civic and military problems, Diocletian, with Maximian's consent, expanded the imperial college by appointing two Caesars (one responsible to each Augustus) - Galerius and Constantius Chlorus. The senior emperors jointly abdicated and retired in 305 AD, allowing Constantius and Galerius to be elevated in rank to Augusti. They in turn appointed two new Caesars - Severus in the west under Constantius, and Maximinus in the east under Galerius. The death of Constantius at York in 306 AD saw the first crack in the political edifice of the Tetrarchy. Rather than accepting the elevation of Severus from Caesar to Emperor, the troops at York elevated Constantius son, Constantine, to the position of emperor .. Contacting Galerius as the senior emperor, he requested rec...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=24204781 ... Read more

Product Description
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. 3

by Edward Gibbon



With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman

Vol. 3



Chapter XXVII: Civil Wars, Reign Of Theodosius.

Part I.

Death Of Gratian. - Ruin Of Arianism. - St. Ambrose. - First
Civil War, Against Maximus. - Character, Administration, And
Penance Of Theodosius. - Death Of Valentinian II. - Second Civil
War, Against Eugenius. - Death Of Theodosius.

The fame of Gratian, before he had accomplished the
twentieth year of his age, was equal to that of the most
celebrated princes.His gentle and amiable disposition endeared
him to his private friends, the graceful affability of his
manners engaged the affection of the people: the men of letters,
who enjoyed the liberality, acknowledged the taste and eloquence,
of their sovereign; his valor and dexterity in arms were equally
applauded by the soldiers; and the clergy considered the humble
piety of Gratian as the first and most useful of his virtues.
The victory of Colmar had delivered the West from a formidable
invasion; and the grateful provinces of the East ascribed the
merits of Theodosius to the author of his greatness, and of the
public safety.Gratian survived those memorable events only four
or five years; but he survived his reputation; and, before he
fell a victim to rebellion, he had lost, in a great measure, the
respect and confidence of the Roman world.
The remarkable alteration of his character or conduct may
not be imputed to the arts of flattery, which had besieged the
son of Valentinian from his infancy; nor to the headstrong
passions which the that gentle youth appears to have escaped.A
more attentive view of the life of Gratian may perhaps suggest
the true cause of the disappointment of the public hopes.His
apparent virtues, instead of being the hardy productions of
experience and adversity, were the premature and artificial
fruits of a royal education.The anxious tenderness of his
father was continually employed to bestow on him those
advantages, which he might perhaps esteem the more highly, as he
himself had been deprived of them; and the most skilful masters
of every science, and of every art, had labored to form the mind
and body of the young prince. ^1 The knowledge which they
painfully communicated was displayed with ostentation, and
celebrated with lavish praise.His soft and tractable
disposition received the fair impression of their judicious
precepts, and the absence of passion might easily be mistaken for
the strength of reason.His preceptors gradually rose to the
rank and consequence of ministers of state: ^2 and, as they
wisely dissembled their secret authority, he seemed to act with
firmness, with propriety, and with judgment, on the most
important occasions of his life and reign.But the influence of
this elaborate instruction did not penetrate beyond the surface;
and the skilful preceptors, who so accurately guided the steps of
their royal pupil, could not infuse into his feeble and indolent
character the vigorous and independent principle of action which
renders the laborious pursuit of glory essentially necessary to
the happiness, and almost to the existence, of the hero.As soon
as time and accident had removed those faithful counsellors from
the throne, the emperor of the West insensibly descended to the
level of his natural genius; abandoned the reins of government to
the ambitious hands which were stretched forwards to grasp them;
and amused his leisure with the most frivolous gratifications. A
public sale of favor and injustice was instituted, both in the
court and in the provinces, by the worthless delegates of his
power, whose merit it was made sacrilege to question. ^3 The
conscience of the credulous prince was directed by saints and
bishops; ^4 who procured an Imperial edict to punish, as a
capital offence, the violation, the neglect, or even the
ignorance, of the divine law. ... Read more

Product Description
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. 6



by Edward Gibbon





With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman



Vol. 6









The Crusades.





Part I.



Preservation Of The Greek Empire. - Numbers, Passage, And

Event, Of The Second And Third Crusades. - St. Bernard. - Reign

Of Saladin In Egypt And Syria. - His Conquest Of Jerusalem. -

Naval Crusades. - Richard The First Of England. - Pope Innocent

The Third; And The Fourth And Fifth Crusades. - The Emperor

Frederic The Second. - Louis The Ninth Of France; And The Two

Last Crusades. - Expulsion Of The Latins Or Franks By The

Mamelukes.



In a style less grave than that of history, I should perhaps

compare the emperor Alexius ^1 to the jackal, who is said to

follow the steps, and to devour the leavings, of the lion.

Whatever had been his fears and toils in the passage of the first

crusade, they were amply recompensed by the subsequent benefits

which he derived from the exploits of the Franks.His dexterity

and vigilance secured their first conquest of Nice; and from this

threatening station the Turks were compelled to evacuate the

neighborhood of Constantinople.While the crusaders, with blind

valor, advanced into the midland countries of Asia, the crafty

Greek improved the favorable occasion when the emirs of the

sea-coast were recalled to the standard of the sultan. The Turks

were driven from the Isles of Rhodes and Chios: the cities of

Ephesu and Smyrna, of Sardes, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, were

restored to the empire, which Alexius enlarged from the

Hellespont to the banks of the Maeander, and the rocky shores of

Pamphylia.The churches resumed their splendor: the towns were

rebuilt and fortified; and the desert country was peopled with

colonies of Christians, who were gently removed from the more

distant and dangerous frontier.In these paternal cares, we may

forgive Alexius, if he forgot the deliverance of the holy

sepulchre; but, by the Latins, he was stigmatized with the foul

reproach of treason and desertion. They had sworn fidelity and

obedience to his throne; but he had promised to assist their

enterprise in person, or, at least, with his troops and

treasures: his base retreat dissolved their obligations; and the

sword, which had been the instrument of their victory, was the

pledge and title of their just independence.It does not appear

that the emperor attempted to revive his obsolete claims over the

kingdom of Jerusalem; ^2 but the borders of Cilicia and Syria

were more recent in his possession, and more accessible to his

arms.The great army of the crusaders was annihilated or

dispersed; the principality of Antioch was left without a head,

by the surprise and captivity of Bohemond; his ransom had

oppressed him with a heavy debt; and his Norman followers were

insufficient to repel the hostilities of the Greeks and Turks. In

this distress, Bohemond embraced a magnanimous resolution, of

leaving the defence of Antioch to his kinsman, the faithful

Tancred; of arming the West against the Byzantine empire; and of

executing the design which he inherited from the lessons and

example of his father Guiscard.His embarkation was clandestine:

and, if we may credit a tale of the princess Anne, he passed the

hostile sea closely secreted in a coffin. ^3 But his reception in

France was dignified by the public applause, and his marriage

with the king's daughter: his return was glorious, since the

bravest spirits of the age enlisted under his veteran command;

and he repassed the Adriatic at the head of five thousand horse

and forty thousand foot, assembled from the most remote climates

of Europe. ^4 The strength of Durazzo, and prudence of Alexius,

the progress of famine and approach of winter, eluded his

ambitious hopes; and the venal confederates were seduced from his

standard. A treaty of peace ^5 suspended the fears of the Greeks;

... Read more

Product Description
Title: The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 5

Author: Edward Gibbon



With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman

Vol. 5




Chapter XLIX: Conquest Of Italy By The Franks.


Part I.

Introduction, Worship, And Persecution Of Images. - Revolt
Of Italy And Rome. - Temporal Dominion Of The Popes. - Conquest
Of Italy By The Franks. - Establishment Of Images. - Character
And Coronation Of Charlemagne. - Restoration And Decay Of The
Roman Empire In The West. - Independence Of Italy. - Constitution
Of The Germanic Body.

In the connection of the church and state, I have considered
the former as subservient only, and relative, to the latter; a
salutary maxim, if in fact, as well as in narrative, it had ever
been held sacred.The Oriental philosophy of the Gnostics, the
dark abyss of predestination and grace, and the strange
transformation of the Eucharist from the sign to the substance of
Christ's body, ^1 I have purposely abandoned to the curiosity of
speculative divines.But I have reviewed, with diligence and
pleasure, the objects of ecclesiastical history, by which the
decline and fall of the Roman empire were materially affected,
the propagation of Christianity, the constitution of the Catholic
church, the ruin of Paganism, and the sects that arose from the
mysterious controversies concerning the Trinity and incarnation.
At the head of this class, we may justly rank the worship of
images, so fiercely disputed in the eighth and ninth centuries;
since a question of popular superstition produced the revolt of
Italy, the temporal power of the popes, and the restoration of
the Roman empire in the West.

[Footnote 1: The learned Selden has given the history of
transubstantiation in a comprehensive and pithy sentence: "This
opinion is only rhetoric turned into logic," (his Works, vol.
iii. p. 2037, in his Table-Talk.)]

The primitive Christians were possessed with an
unconquerable repugnance to the use and abuse of images; and this
aversion may be ascribed to their descent from the Jews, and
their enmity to the Greeks. The Mosaic law had severely
proscribed all representations of the Deity; and that precept was
firmly established in the principles and practice of the chosen
people.The wit of the Christian apologists was pointed against
the foolish idolaters, who bowed before the workmanship of their
own hands; the images of brass and marble, which, had they been
endowed with sense and motion, should have started rather from
the pedestal to adore the creative powers of the artist. ^2
Perhaps some recent and imperfect converts of the Gnostic tribe
might crown the statues of Christ and St. Paul with the profane
honors which they paid to those of Aristotle and Pythagoras; ^3
but the public religion of the Catholics was uniformly simple and
spiritual; and the first notice of the use of pictures is in the
censure of the council of Illiberis, three hundred years after
the Christian aera.Under the successors of Constantine, in the
peace and luxury of the triumphant church, the more prudent
bishops condescended to indulge a visible superstition, for the
benefit of the multitude; and, after the ruin of Paganism, they
were no longer restrained by the apprehension of an odious
parallel.The first introduction of a symbolic worship was in
the veneration of the cross, and of relics.The saints and
martyrs, whose intercession was implored, were seated on the
right hand if God; but the gracious and often supernatural
favors, which, in the popular belief, were showered round their
tomb, conveyed an unquestionable sanction of the devout pilgrims,
who visited, and touched, and kissed these lifeless remains, the
memorials of their merits and sufferings. ^4 But a memorial, more
interesting than the skull or the sandals of a departed worthy,
is the faithful copy of his person and features, delineated by
the arts of painting or sculpture.In every age, such copies, so
congenial to human feelings, ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from PS, the Preventive Maintenance Monthly, published by PS Magazine on April 1, 2009. The length of the article is 635 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The real fall of the Roman Empire.(Cartoon)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: PS, the Preventive Maintenance Monthly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2009
Publisher: PS Magazine
Issue: 677Page: 27(8)

Article Type: Cartoon

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
The December 20, 1998, edition of the European reported that E.U., NATO, and the U.S. had agreed to destroy Yugoslavia and Kosovo, then rebuild to bring them into the European Union. Was the Muslim-Christian issue used as an excuse?Now with Russian involvement, the entire scenario depicting the coming wars between the Kings of the East, West, North, and South comes into view.Where leads the road to Kosovo? To a one-world government, a one-world dictator, and the battle of Armageddon. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more