Terry Jones' Barbarians: An Alternative Roman History Paperback – November 1, 2007

Nothing really new or surprising, but a much-needed overall view of the egregious falsehoods perpetrated by Roman and Early Church "historians." But, if you have read the original works of the classical writers, not just the secondary sources, Pax Romana, enforced by the Legions, can be seen for what it was: a ruthless, evil, destructive force, that was just as likely to kill and brutally torture non-combatants, including women and babies, as fight bravely. The "Pax" was, in reality, brutal oppression, a pretext for Rome's rapacious governors to tax and steal what they could from the annexed territories. Their commanders, with some few exceptions, such as Ventidius, were conscienceless killers, with about the same capacity for empathy as Hitler or Stalin. If "The Great," was attached to your name, it is a sure sign that you were a butcher. Pompey Magnus, Constantine the Great, Charlemagne. All for the glory of the Roman Empire and its stepchild the Holy Roman Empire.The book has much to offer. Mr. Ereira mentions the Marian reforms that ultimately turned citizen soldiers into the professional killers called "Marius' Mules," and the tremendous advantage gained by combining the professionally-trained and led legions with engineering corps. The hypocrisy of the "Pax Romana," Constantine's profound political insight to reorganize and preserve the Roman Empire by utilizing the Church's organizational apparatus. The bloody internecine fighting of the early Church that surpasses even the ferocity of the sectarian warfare of today's Islam. The intolerance, the ruthlessness, the willingness to lie, the absence of mercy and empathy, of the early Church is mind-numbing.But, weren't the Jews also the "other," that is, don't they fit the Roman concept of Barbarians? Why are they exempted? Where are Pompey's, Vespasian's and Titus's exploits in Judea mentioned? Their failed efforts to extirpate a people, just as Rome did to the Dacians and many others. Where is a discussion of how those rampages forever affected Middle Eastern history? I'm not sure why, but it certainly would have extended the book.

Terry Jones gleefully sets a torch to the Romans' reputation as the great civilizers of the ancient world. Just start with the rich irony of the spectacle of the gladiatorial games - Rome's national pasttime, being an orgy of murder and death, replayed over and over for centuries. The right of this society to call others "barbarians" is laughable, but the problem is, they were victorious for so long that they managed to wipe the record clean of exactly who their opponents were, what those societies and civilizations were like, what they achieved. And the Romans had this wonderful habit of taking all the innovations, technology, and cultural refinements from other peoples and act as if the Romans had invented it all. I mean, what can we really find out about the Huns, the Celts, the Goths and Vandals? There are some clues out there and it's eye-opening, with a lot of Roman perpetuated myths exploded. And the very great question: did the Dark Ages come about because Rome fell - or because Rome eventually consumed, destroyed, and rotted out everything along with it's own empire?Jones may not be an accredited historian exactly, but he sure has a talent for sniffing out the BS and absurdities that still somehow survive in the Roman's all too successful attempts to paint themselves as the good guys.

Although the authors are not historians, their facts were checked prior to a TV series hosted by Terry Jones, of Monty Python. This is no comedy act, though. Jones and Eriera make an important point, suggested by current research, that the "barbarians" in Roman literature were often less warlike, cultivated better EQ and had cooler cultures than the Romans. It's a "popular history", meaning no footnotes or ponderous arguments about tiny points; but it's accurate and presents its thesis convincingly. Jones writes in a pint-at-the-pub style, so this is not only accurate but big fun to read.The book came on time, in good shape.

This is a book that might be read as the "opinion column" in a newspaper. Just enough facts to make it interesting (some did not necessarily check out) but basically like sitting around with a great glass of wine listening to one guy explain his personal theories about history.......for hours. He might be 100% correct although everything I have read in my life says that perhaps, he is not. Nonetheless, I lost interest about half way through and gave up. I might go back to it again someday but in the meantime, if you are looking for war strategies and how the Celtic Tribes decidedly kicked the Roman's butt at times and HOW they did it, this is not the book for you. I was hoping for more of a narrative as to WHAT happened. Not "why", in this author's opinion, it DID happen. My fault perhaps. The book is clever and at times amusing and well written. I simply expected something a bit different when I bought it.

not done yet, but it is absolutely fascinating. I'm learning about cultures and people I didn't know existed and it is blowing my mind! The authors seemingly have made sense of a time in history that was chaotic, and destroyed popular myths in the process. In fact, before reading this book, I find I really knew nothing about the Roman Empire and the Roman church. Exquisite writing with occasional subtle bits of humor. My brain hurts and I'm not done reading it. I cannot imagine how these two authors sorted through all the resources (duly cited) and made sense of it. I ordered a hard copy to reread after the Kindle edition so that I can make notes and capture some of the info. Really, this book is not for the reader of light non-fiction. Am totally loving it.