Review: The Roman Empire: from Severus to Constantine
February 22, 2008
"Lucid" is how I would describe Southern's work, employing the same adjective the publisher used in the back cover promotion. David Potter's Roman Empire at Bay was an informative study of the same time period, but so packed with academic postmodern jargon that is was distracting. Southern definitely writes for the general reader, not an academic audience. The University of London graduate was educated in history and archaeology, but is quite adept at conveying the information presented by the evidence in a deftly simply manner. Such is the clarity that I believe a promising high school student could easily devour this work...
Read "Ursus'" full review of The Roman Empire: from Severus to Constantine by Pat Southern.
The Hun - Scourge of God
February 12, 2008
Review by forum member "Caldrail"
"The Scourges of Gods Fury" - So named by Bishop Isidore of Seville in the 7th century, the Huns gained a fearsome reputation as merciless invaders that survives in popular culture to this day. They are described as "Repulsively ugly, their hideous faces scarred by gashes made in their youth to destroy the roots of the beard, the Huns spread terror where-ever they went". This sort of thing is typical of modern opinion. After all they're often credited with the fall of the Roman Empire. Were they such fierce destroyers of civilisation? The fact is, and this is underlined by the author, the Huns left no written record about themselves. All we know is what has been passed down from Greek and Latin sources. Even then, so much has been lost. Entire histories that dealt with the Huns have disappeared forever....
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The Hun, Scourge of God by Nic Fields and Christa Hook
