Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline – based on the hit podcast Hardcover – 25 April 2024

This book is a wonderful complement to the superlative Fall of Civilizations podcast. It's nicely printed and bound, and contains a good selection of images to accompany the text.

I learnt a lot of new stuff about people and places I’d just about heard of

Many interesting theories, though quite graphic descriptions

Having listened to most of the podcast series, the book is a perfect compliment to it. Great to see the artwork etc, would recommend.

Well researched, well told, a empathetic, respectful, easy-to-read look into the past. In combination with Paul's more than excellent podcast/youtube videos, this book is everything a person interested in the fall of civilizations can ever dream of!

I used to be an avid reader but in the past few years I have struggled to finish a book. This wonderful tome however drew me in on the first page and didn't let go until I finished it the same day. The chapters can be read individually but are still cohesive overall. A great read and well worth purchasing.

Despite my headline this is an interesting book especially about the Sumerians and Assyrians. That said this world history relates much fighting and killing just as is happening in the 21st century in Ukraine - yes, depressing and dispiriting.Then we have a chapter called Songhai, another record of fighting and killing but with the addition of slavery. Like many modern-day historians this author focuses on the Atlantic Slave Trade. The British involvement in this appalling trade is well documented. Too often though, as in this book, little is said about the measures taken by Britain and its Navy to end this trade.Further, while concentrating on the Atlantic Slave Trade next to nothing is written about the Arab (Islamic) Trans Saharan Slave Trade which began in the 7th century and continued right through to the 20th century and in all likelihood continues today. Modern-day historians should urgently refer to the works written by the Senegalese author Tidiane N’Diaye. In his book “Le Génocide voilé” (The Hidden Genocide) he describes the horrors of the Trans Saharan slave trade which to my mind are many times worse in cruelty and duration than the often described Atlantic slave trade.It would be right and proper if BOTH slave trades were given equal attention by historians.

The book is competently written and when taken on its own merits, is a strong example of narrative history. But when you consider it alongside the FoC podcast it’s mostly a repetition of the script. In many cases, word for word. While the experience of reading and images are nice, it doesn’t really add anything to the podcast and I didn’t really learn anything new. Still, I’m glad to support the author since I got a lot of value from the free podcast.