Escape from Rome

The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity

Walter Scheidel

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English

Princeton University Pres
27 June 2021

History; General & world history; Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Social & cultural history; Economic history

Series: The Princeton Economic History of the Western World

""One of the Financial Times' Best Books of 2019: Economics""

""One of the Evening Standard's Best Books of 2019""

""Finalist for the PROSE Award in Archaeology and Ancient History, Association of American Publishers""

The fall of the Roman Empire has long been considered one of the greatest disasters in history. But in this groundbreaking book, Walter Scheidel argues that Rome's dramatic collapse was actually the best thing that ever happened, clearing the path for Europe's economic rise and the creation of the modern age.

Ranging across the entire premodern world, Escape from Rome offers new answers to some of the biggest questions in history: Why did the Roman Empire appear? Why did nothing like it ever return to Europe? And, above all, why did Europeans come to dominate the world? In an absorbing narrative that begins with ancient Rome but stretches far beyond it, from Byzantium to China and from Genghis Khan to Napoleon, Scheidel shows how the demise of Rome and the enduring failure of empire-building on European soil launched an economic transformation that changed the continent and ultimately the world.

'An outstanding, epic history of the fall of the Roman Empire and rise of the European West.' - Simon Sebag Montefiore, Evening Standard

'A remarkable book.' - Peter Brown, New York Review of Books

'Scheidel marshals his facts with verve and force.' - Robert Colvile, The Times

'Makes a bracing case...

What did the Romans do for us? Scheidel does not give the usual answers.' - Peter Stothard, Financial Times

'Escape from Rome deserves to be taken very seriously...

This is a fiercely intelligent, closely argued book.' - Peter Thonemann, Times Literary Supplement

By: Walter Scheidel
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 133mm,
ISBN: 9780691216737
ISBN 10: 0691216738
Series: The Princeton Economic History of the Western World
Pages: 704
Publication Date: 27 June 2021
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Walter Scheidel is the Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Classics and History, and a Kennedy-Grossman Fellow in Human Biology at Stanford University. His many books include The Great Leveler (Princeton). Twitter @WalterScheidel

Reviews for Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity

""Finalist for the PROSE Award in Archaeology and Ancient History, Association of American Publishers"" ""One of the Evening Standard's Best Books of 2019"" ""One of the Financial Times' Best Books of 2019: Economics""