Terry Jones' Barbarians
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Book Description
An entertaining rewriting of Roman history from the perspective of the 'Barbarians' - who weren't really barbaric at all!
Product Description
Terry Jones' Barbarians takes a completely fresh approach to Roman history. Not only does it offer us the chance to see the Romans from a non-Roman perspective, it also reveals that most of those written off by the Romans as uncivilized, savage and barbaric were in fact organized, motivated and intelligent groups of people, with no intentions of overthrowing Rome and plundering its Empire.
This original and fascinating study does away with the propaganda and opens our eyes to who really established the civilized world. Delving deep into history, Terry Jones and Alan Ereira uncover the impressive cultural and technological achievements of the Celts, Goths, Persians and Vandals.
In this paperback edition, Terry and Alan travel through 700 years of history on three continents, bringing wit, irreverence, passion and scholarship to transform our view of the legacy of the Roman Empire and the creation of the modern world.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In "Barbarians," Terry Jones and Alan Ereira finally answer the question posed in "Monty Python's Life of Brian": "What did the Romans ever do for us?" "The answer," according to the authors, "is not usually very nice."
Jones and Ereira explain that while there are many books setting out the history of Rome from the Roman perspective, there is no general history in English that tells the tale from the viewpoint of the so-called "barbarians." This book is their attempt to remedy this omission, and it recounts the history of Rome as experienced by the Atlantic Celts, the Germans (including the Dacians), the Hellenes (Greeks and Persians), the Huns and others who encountered the pointy end of Roman civilization. The message is that the Romans were not so much bringers of civilization as destroyers of advanced societies, not innovators but relentless conservatives who deliberately suppressed the hard-earned knowledge of the peoples they conquered. In Tacitus' famous phrase, the Romans had a habit of making a wasteland and calling it peace--at least until they encountered the equally ruthless Parthian and Sassanian empires.
"Barbarians" is "popular history" (it accompanies a BBC TV series), and the effort to tell the story from a non-Roman point of view sometimes lapses into exaggeration--for instance, I'm skeptical that the Greeks were really on the verge of an "industrial revolution" before being rolled by the Romans. Still, Jones (of Monty Python fame) and Ereira are witty racontuers--their latest book is a highly readble and surprisingly illuminating account of the ancient world that will raise the hackles of Romanophiles everywhere.
Jones and Ereira explain that while there are many books setting out the history of Rome from the Roman perspective, there is no general history in English that tells the tale from the viewpoint of the so-called "barbarians." This book is their attempt to remedy this omission, and it recounts the history of Rome as experienced by the Atlantic Celts, the Germans (including the Dacians), the Hellenes (Greeks and Persians), the Huns and others who encountered the pointy end of Roman civilization. The message is that the Romans were not so much bringers of civilization as destroyers of advanced societies, not innovators but relentless conservatives who deliberately suppressed the hard-earned knowledge of the peoples they conquered. In Tacitus' famous phrase, the Romans had a habit of making a wasteland and calling it peace--at least until they encountered the equally ruthless Parthian and Sassanian empires.
"Barbarians" is "popular history" (it accompanies a BBC TV series), and the effort to tell the story from a non-Roman point of view sometimes lapses into exaggeration--for instance, I'm skeptical that the Greeks were really on the verge of an "industrial revolution" before being rolled by the Romans. Still, Jones (of Monty Python fame) and Ereira are witty racontuers--their latest book is a highly readble and surprisingly illuminating account of the ancient world that will raise the hackles of Romanophiles everywhere.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have to say that this was probably the best book I read last year. You obviously need to have some interest in history to get everything out of it but it is still extremely accessible. It is apparently a companion to a BBC TV series, but it can't have been advertised very much as I don't recall it. You certainly don't miss anything by not having seen it.
It is a history of what happened outside the Roman Empire and thus doesn't concentrate on the Empire itself (though it has fair bit of information to provide the backdrop) and sometimes comes across as biased against the Romans. However as it says in the intro, this is a concious stance taken to highlight the fact that most accounts of the period, and thus accepted "standard" history, are based on Roman writings very often full of contemporary Roman propaganda and so are themselves heavily biased in favour of the Romans.
The authors also highlight the unconcious prejudice of many modern historians in dealing with the period, particularly the technological achievements of non-Romans.
Aside the technical details this was just a great read, with many illuminating facts on people and races that are often portayed wrongly (The Vandals) or simply ignored (The Dacians). The occasional digressions were always interesting (the Roman legion captured and sent to Mongolia; the finds of clothing in ancient Chinese graves that were identical to Celtic clothing of a much later date), and the general style of the writing is as entertaining as Terry Jones always is. He also gives you a great historical overview of a period you won't have learnt about in school.
I can't recommend this book highly enough.
It is a history of what happened outside the Roman Empire and thus doesn't concentrate on the Empire itself (though it has fair bit of information to provide the backdrop) and sometimes comes across as biased against the Romans. However as it says in the intro, this is a concious stance taken to highlight the fact that most accounts of the period, and thus accepted "standard" history, are based on Roman writings very often full of contemporary Roman propaganda and so are themselves heavily biased in favour of the Romans.
The authors also highlight the unconcious prejudice of many modern historians in dealing with the period, particularly the technological achievements of non-Romans.
Aside the technical details this was just a great read, with many illuminating facts on people and races that are often portayed wrongly (The Vandals) or simply ignored (The Dacians). The occasional digressions were always interesting (the Roman legion captured and sent to Mongolia; the finds of clothing in ancient Chinese graves that were identical to Celtic clothing of a much later date), and the general style of the writing is as entertaining as Terry Jones always is. He also gives you a great historical overview of a period you won't have learnt about in school.
I can't recommend this book highly enough.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Romans were the all conquering, civilising super-heroes of ancient history. Or at least that is pretty much what we have all been brought up to believe. This book is an enjoyable and very readable counterpoint to that hypothesis.
Perhaps the key point to this book is not whether it is completely correct in all its assertions, but that this gives an alternative option to how the world was in those distant days. I have never considered the point of view of a Celt having his life turned upside down by some very violent chaps in togas. I did not realise that the Dacians were very happy in their peaceful world with its manufactured religion that gave them the basis for political stability and a hugely wealthy economy.
The explanation of the demise of the Roman Emoire into two parts, sometimes three or four, was useful and revealing. It actually makes you realise that the Romans were the same as all the other empires that came and went in those tumultuous ancient times, except that the Roman story survives.
The emergence of Christianity, particularly Roman Catholicism (the Arians never stood a chance!) is, in my opinion, probably the real reason that the history of Rome has endured as such a bright star. The Church selected certain customs and elements of the culture and preserved a selective history.
This book is a very welcome view from the recieving end of the Legions.
Perhaps the key point to this book is not whether it is completely correct in all its assertions, but that this gives an alternative option to how the world was in those distant days. I have never considered the point of view of a Celt having his life turned upside down by some very violent chaps in togas. I did not realise that the Dacians were very happy in their peaceful world with its manufactured religion that gave them the basis for political stability and a hugely wealthy economy.
The explanation of the demise of the Roman Emoire into two parts, sometimes three or four, was useful and revealing. It actually makes you realise that the Romans were the same as all the other empires that came and went in those tumultuous ancient times, except that the Roman story survives.
The emergence of Christianity, particularly Roman Catholicism (the Arians never stood a chance!) is, in my opinion, probably the real reason that the history of Rome has endured as such a bright star. The Church selected certain customs and elements of the culture and preserved a selective history.
This book is a very welcome view from the recieving end of the Legions.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An excellent & entertaining read
Written to accompany the BBC TV series of the same name "Barbarians" reminds the reader that there are two sides to every story. Read more
Published 6 months ago by G. Rollo
Fascinating
I really enjoyed this book and found it very informative. It's a subject that I'm very interested in and feel it provides a nice balance to what is normally known about the romans. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Fishstick
An interesting but annoying read
The author(s) have a point to make about the Romans not being the greatest civilization ever to dominate the western world, but being a "made for television" story, they appear to... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Gareth Simon
a good read!
Having read the first few pages, I had to stop myself reading the book all the way through as it is a present!!! Read more
Published 18 months ago by cream bun
barbarians
This book was written to accompany the BBC series of the same name.
The author adopts the alternative view that the Romans were the barbarians and the usual culprits,the... Read more
The author adopts the alternative view that the Romans were the barbarians and the usual culprits,the... Read more
Published on 26 May 2010 by G. I. Forbes
magnificient
This is one of those attitude changing books.
Like Ghandhius said when asked what he thought about Roman civilization-"Sounds like a good idea. Read more
Like Ghandhius said when asked what he thought about Roman civilization-"Sounds like a good idea. Read more
Published on 3 May 2010 by John J. Plant
Best history book I ever read
This book is really really great and should be read by anyone interested in Ancient History- although it's about proving that so-called barbarions were much more clever, efficient,... Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2010 by Jo Bunt
Peacefully burning, looting, and killing
I watched the anti-Roman TV series and was intrigued, so I bought the book. And as is usual in these situations, I learned so much more than a mere television series can tell. Read more
Published on 15 July 2009 by Nicholas Casley
Do jump off your high horse terry..
As the other reviewers have said, this series does give some really interesting insights in the civilisations of the so called 'babarians', many of them were advanced and... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2008 by Medieval Lady
What the Romans didn't do for us
Contrary to the absurd statement of one reviewer here, the reason why the barbarians "did not leave so much of a mark as the Romans" had nothing do with them being "better"... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2008 by DavidB
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