d. to its collapse in the west in the fifth century and in the east in the fifteenth century, is widely considered the greatest work of history ever written. This abridgment retains the full scope of the original, but in a compass equivalent to a long novel.

Casual readers now have access to the full sweep of Gibbon's narrative, while instructors and students have a volume that can be read in a single term. From the Trade Paperback edition.