Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun

Book Description

Classic insight for modern times.The world's foremost producer of personal development and motivational audio programs now offers a completely unique approach to learning leadership skills.Most programs on leadership present the successes of contemporary men and women as role models for study. While valuable lessons can be learned from their examples, few models or success stories reveal the true essence of their leadership abilities or can anticipate the special circumstances, conditions, or situations that you deal with as a manager.In the runaway bestseller Leadership Secrets Of Attila The Hun, author Wess Roberts draws from the imaginary thoughts of one of history's most effective and least beloved leaders, Attila the Hun, to discover leadership principles you can apply to your own situation. In a uniquely creative and entertaining approach to a most serious task, "Attila" reveals his principles for successful morale building, decision making, delegating and negotiating, and gives advice on overcoming setbacks and achieving goals.

Customer Reviews:

Leadership Techniques by Wes Roberts?.......2007-09-22

I've personally met Wes while hosting a student speaker forum at the University of Utah. At the time, Wes was working for American Express and I remember today...over 20 years later how narcisistic and vulgar he presented himself. At the time these values were "popular" and it was a time when huge take-overs and ruthless tactics were the norm. We were treated to works like "Barbarian at the Gates" and "Wallstreet" where greed and making money at the expense of everthing honorable was the montra and the norm. When you read this book you should do so with the thought that these are leadership techniques of the past and do not adapt these techniques into your own life. As a historical piece to look at how greed and self-interest were out of control in America, it's perfect.

You Can Learn A Lot From A Hun.......2007-08-22

While this book is over 20 years old, it is a classic read for business professionals who seek more knowledge and different points of views from business books.

Leadership skills and ways to improve them are always a "hot topic". This book takes lessons from a great warrior and interprets them into stories that relate to the modern day corporate executive.

If you have made it this far in reading my review, take the next step and buy the book!

thom

EXCELLENT LEADERSHIP BOOK.......2007-06-12

This book offers a no frills and unorthodox view on leadership practices. I recommend this book to any one that is tired of the chop shop run of th emill leadership book. Quick read.

Should be required reading for new managers.......2007-05-30

I realize this book has been around for some time, but I still refer to it out every so often to pull out a pearl of wisdom. Sometimmes when we are speaking on a regular basis to leaders of various skill levels from seasoned veterans to green rookies, we need to reach back into one of these 'classics'for a fresh idea.

Leadership.......2007-01-25

Great reading and should not be treated lightly, a virtual handbook for the boss and should be taught in high school!

Average customer rating:

Excellent Epic
Just get past the first 150 pages...
Dietrich is a great writer, but not a novelist
The Huns vs. the Romans; excellent historical fiction
Attila and the Battle of Nations

The Scourge of God
William Dietrich
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 006073499X
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Epic.......2007-08-23

Ancient history comes vividly to life in this novel of a dying Rome and its great battle against the forces of Attila the Hun. Most interestingly, Dietrich took real historical events and wove them into a colorful tale with very few fictional characters.

Jonas Alabanda is a young scribe living in Constantinople, the eastern seat of the Roman Empire, when he is given the opportunity of a lifetime to join an envoy to Attila the Hun's court as a chronicler and interpreter. Unbeknownst to Jonas and most members of the Roman party, treachery is afoot. Underestimating the loyalty of the Huns to their king, one of the Romans approaches a Hun soldier with an offer of gold if he will assassinate Attila. The Hun tells Attila of the Roman plot, however, and Attila murders part of their party, sends others home in disgrace, and keeps Jonas as a hostage.

Also hostage in Attila's camp is a young Roman woman named Ilana, taken after the siege of Axiopolis. Along with a dwarf who befriends them, Jonas and Ilana form an alliance and make plans to escape back into the Roman Empire with a relic sacred to the Huns. When their plans go awry, Jonas must still get back to the Romans and tell them what he knows of the Huns. Rome must gather its allies and prepare to fight the battle to end all battles, believed by many at the time to be the Apocalypse.

I am not an avid reader of respected historical fiction, but I like to read a little bit of everything, and in my opinion, this was a darned good book. The fifth century came brilliantly alive, giving a picture of everyday life 16 centuries ago in a way that made me feel as if I was there. The harshness of life, both with the barbarians and "civilized" Romans, was quite evident in almost every scene, yet it was easy to relate to the timelessly human characters. I'm lucky I discovered Dietrich when he was writing modern thrillers, and bought this book on the strength of his name. It was well worth reading, and I look forward to experiencing his other historicals, as well.

Just get past the first 150 pages..........2007-05-04

So this book was recommended to me by a little old lady in a small independent book store. I bought it because she was really nice and the store needed the business. So the book starts off really slow. It took about 154 pages until something interesting happened. Granted the author needed to set up the storyline, but it would have been nice to have some action happen during the set up. After the story got going it did get better and I enjoyed it. If you can get past the first 150 pages then I think you'll enjoy this book, especially if you like history. If you follow Roman history then you'll really love this book.

Dietrich is a great writer, but not a novelist.......2007-03-04

I have read Dietrich before, and without knowing it. I read "Ice Reich" many years ago, and when I read "Scourge of God," I kept thinking "this book reminds me a lot of "Ice Reich!" I was not surprised when I realized both books were written by the same author. His writing style is recognizable, even after so many years in between these two books. Nice prose, excellent story line, but same ordinary characters. Jonas and Ilana are the archetypal couple who overcome unsurmountable difficulties.

Attila the Hun is a demanding topic. There's no doubt in my mind about Mr Dietrich's considerable research on this particular subject. He's right when he says that no country wants the honor to become the birthplace of these mysterious people, and to be honest, I enjoyed the "Epilogue" more than the story itself.

This was also a story of "coming of age." A young man, educated but not too brilliant, rich but not too prosperous and finally, smart but not too clever, meets a girl under tragic circumstances, and in rescuing her he learns to be a man.

Not a bad book for youngsters, there's a lot of action to keep them entertained, but for an alternative reading on Attila I recommend "Attila's Treasure" (fiction) by Stephan Grundy.

The Huns vs. the Romans; excellent historical fiction.......2007-01-25

As with his other books, William Dietrich gives his readers an excellent blend of historical fact and adventure, this time centering on the invasion and last great battles of Attila the Hun, attacking a crumbling Roman empire.

Set in the years around 450AD, the historical characters of Attila, the Roman General Aetius and a host of others are intertwined with believable fictional protaganists:
- Jonas Alabanda, a young Roman from Constantinople, enlisted in the ill fated diplomatic mission to Attila that harbors a plot to assasinate the Hun leader;
- Ilana, a Roman woman whose city is ravaged by the Huns, her father and fiance killed, and she taken as a slave;
- Skilla, a Hun fighter and future warlord, fighting for Attila and against Jonas for Ilana's favor.

Jonas journey leads him from the comforts of Constantinople (the Roman capital in the east) into Attila's camp, a different world where battle and survival rule. While appearing simply barbaric at first, Jonas comes to realize that the Hun way of life could replace the Roman civilization if Attila's march is unchecked. Forced into slavery after the uncovering of the assination plot, Jonas is forced to fight Skilla for Ilana. He later escapes, losing Ilana in the process, but finds himself thrust headlong into the ultimate Battle of Nations, as Jonas helps the Roman General Aetius diplomatically assemble the armies of Roman and the western barbarians to meet Attila's barbarian horde, with Ilana in tow. They meet in the Battle of Nations, to decide the fate of Western Civilization.

As with Mr. Dietrich's other novels, the blend of historical fact with adventure and fictional characters makes for a well-paced read. The descriptions of the battles, the contrast of life in Constantinople vs. life with the Huns and other barbarians, and the imagined descriptions of great and minor historical characters are all well written. Sometimes a backward looking historical perspective intrudes on the main character, but the information provided helps put the fictional story into factual context.

Highly recommended, as are Bill's other novels I have read (Napolean's Pyramids and Getting Back).

Attila and the Battle of Nations.......2006-09-08

The Roman Empire is on it's last leg by 5th Century AD. It's greatest threat is the barbaric Huns, led by savage Atilla. Eastern Rome sends a envoy out to meet him and set up a peace, but secretly plans to murder Atilla. The plan is found out and envoy's scribe, Jonas, is kept prisoner. He meets and falls in love with another Roman prisoner, and the two, aided by a smart dwarf and his wife, escape and try to help the Roman Army plan a defense against the envadeing hord. The last few pages detail the Battle of Nations, and are some of the most exiting action/war scenes ever written. I really enjoyed this historical adventure. I believe it is more accurate to the events and attitiudes of the cultures involved than to actual detail. The author's afterward tells us that he made it as realistic as possible, but also admits to taking liberties; like The Sword of Mars. If your a fan of Roman history, and want some idea about the last days of Roman Empire, check this book out.

Average customer rating:

A Compelling Read

Attila the Hun
John Man
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0553816586
Release Date: 2006-04-17

Book Description

The name Attila the Hun has become a byword for barbarism, savagery and violence. His is a truly household name, but what do we really know about the man himself, his position in history and the world in which he lived? This riveting biography reveals the man behind the myth.

In the years 434-454AD the fate of Europe hung upon the actions of one man, Attila, king of the Huns. The decaying Roman Empire still stood astride the Western World from its twin capitals of Rome and Constantinople, but it was threatened by a new force, the much-feared Babarian horde. It was Attila who united the Barbarian tribes into a single, amazingly effective army and launched two violent attacks against the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire, attacks which earned him his reputation for mindless devastation, and brought an end to Rome’s pre-eminence in Europe.

Attila was coarse, capricious, arrogant, ruthless and brilliant. An illiterate and predatory tribal chief, he had no interest in administration, but was a wily politician who, from his base in the grasslands of Hungary, used secretaries and ambassadors to bring him intelligence on his enemies. He was a leader whose unique qualities made him supreme among tribal leaders, but whose weaknesses ensured the collapse of his empire after his death.

Customer Reviews:

A Compelling Read.......2006-10-13

Is it me, or are modern days authors making historical books that much more readable. Most of the historical books I have read recently are far removed from the dusty old volumes that lay mouldering in the bookcase or on the shelves of the library. Mainly, I believe because the contents inside the book are as dry and dusty as the outside and of little value to anyone other than a scholar.

This book is written with a light touch, making it refreshingly readable without straying from the facts. If more books were written in this way, history would become a rare treat, rather than something that is there mainly for the academic.

Although most schoolboys know the name Attila, a man who was known for his barbarism, and some may even be able to tell you that he was instrumental in holding the fate of the Roman Empire in his hands. Very little else is known about the man himself and the warriors he led.

In the early 5th century AD Attila and his warriors earned an undying reputation for savagery, the like of which had never been seen. His empire briefly rivalled that of Rome, reaching from the Rhine to the Black Sea, the Baltic to the Balkans.
This book is a compelling read about the man, known throughout history as a barbarian, who was arrogant and ruthless, but on the other side of the coin a man with a brilliant mind and the charisma to win the loyalty of millions. I enjoyed it tremendously.

The Enemies of Rome: From Hannibal to Attila the Hun

Average customer rating:

an outstanding book
Excellent military history, could be better cultural history
It does very well what it is supposed to do

The Enemies of Rome: From Hannibal to Attila the Hun
Philip Matyszak
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 050025124X

Book Description

A groundbreaking assessment of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, told from the point of view of the peoples vanquished by Rome.

Until recently, it was assumed that Rome carried the torch of civilization into the barbarian darkness, bringing law, architecture, and literature to conquered peoples. The alternative view now suggests that many of Rome's enemies—the Celts, Hebrews, and Phoenicians, for example—were developing civilizations in their own right before obliteration at the Roman sword. Indeed, as Philip Matyszak argues, had Rome not crushed rivals so completely, the drop into the Dark Ages might not have occurred; at Rome's collapse, no other powerful civilizations remained to absorb the impact.

This book looks at the growth and eventual demise of Rome from the viewpoint of those vanquished by Rome. They varied from the highly cultivated Greeks and Egyptians to wild and rebellious Britons and Germans, to the Asiatic empires of the Persians and Parthians. Their leaders were driven by ambition, vindictive hatred, fear, political calculation, or naked greed. Some fought to preserve their heritage, some for personal survival, and others from a warrior's love of battle. Defying the might of Rome was a dangerous business, and few of the men and women described here died in their beds. Some, like Vercingetorix and Jugurtha, were captured, exhibited in triumph, and then, while their conquerors sat down to a festive dinner, killed in the dungeons below. Rather than face such an end, some of Rome's greatest adversaries, including Hannibal, Boudicca, and Cleopatra, killed themselves.

Here is the reality behind legends such as Spartacus the gladiator, and the stories of Shapur the conqueror and Mithridates the connoisseur of poisons. Some enemies of Rome were noble heroes, others were murdering villains, but each has a unique and fascinating story. 80 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

an outstanding book.......2007-03-06

This book tells the stories of seventeen of Rome's most redoubtable enemies. In engaging and informative prose, Philip Matyszak gives us a glimpse into the Mediterranean world from 264 BC to AD 476. But this is not a book of names and dates. It is the highly readable narrative of fascinating people and great civilizations. The text is supplemented by maps, translations from ancient historians such as Tacitus and Cassius Dio, representative line drawings, and photos. I read The Enemies of Rome with a sense of pleasure rather than a sense of obligation.

I would have liked to see more material on Fritigern and the battle of Adrianople, which was mentioned only briefly in the chapter on Alaric the Visigoth. However, this is only a small lack in an otherwise outstanding book.

Excellent military history, could be better cultural history .......2006-01-16

_The Enemies of Rome_ by Philip Matyszak has as a stated premise the idea that Rome did too good a job of becoming the dominant power in the Mediterranean region. It was not enough that Rome became at the time the major civilization in Europe; it became essentially the only civilization in Europe. Had Rome not crushed the rival powers in the region so completely the Dark Ages might not have ever occurred. When Roman civilization first began to flourish and spread, there were other lively, competing, and different civilizations; the Seleucid Empire in the East, the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt, both legacies of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the urban civilizations of the Hebrews, the Phoenicians, and the Carthaginians, and the rapidly developing and urbanizing Celtic peoples of western Europe (particularly Gaul). Though Rome absorbed much from the peoples it conquered (particularly from the Greek peoples of Greece and Asia Minor), it also created a "monoculture," as the peoples of the Mediterranean faced the choice of "Roman civilization or no civilization," and without a Europe of diverse cultures and civilizations Rome became "sterile, sick, and ossified." When Rome finally fell to the Goths, Franks, and Vandals, there was no civilization to take its place.

Matyszak divided his narrative into four parts, each proceeded by a prologue, outlining the general state of Rome in that period and giving a broad overview of the enemies it faced, followed by individual chapters, each devoted to a particular opponent, focusing primarily upon one individual leader, as most of the threats from other cultures to Rome centered around one leader and generally when that leader was vanquished the threat from that culture (if not the culture itself) ended. There was also an epilogue.

Part one dealt with the birth of the Roman superpower, beginning in the 260s B.C. and extending till about 100 B.C. During this period Rome faced the greatest threat to its early existence, that posed by Hannibal, and its first enemies outside the Italian peninsula; in addition to fighting Hannibal and the Carthaginians in their homeland Rome had to contend with the Macedonian king Philip V, who proved a threat to Rome while it was fighting Hannibal, the great Lusitanian leader Viriathus, and the Numidian king Jugurtha, a leader who was not only a great general but cunningly exploited the growing arrogance and corruption within Roman society.

In part two Matyszak examined what he called the "slow death of the Roman Republic," a period marked by treason, plots, and civil war (the reader gets a good deal of Roman history in this book). In addition to the Social War, a civil war, Rome clashed with enemies abroad, notably the King of Pontus, Mithridates (Pontus being a region in eastern Asian Minor), a situation made worse by the protracted civil war (Mithridates prevailed in some battles because Roman forces began to fight one another) and due to epic mismanagement and corruption on the part of the Romans (a chronic problem in Roman history). During this time Rome faced the revolt lead by Spartacus, which was well covered, the fight against the Parthian king Orodes II (Parthia being an empire in the lands of Persia and modern Iraq), and the struggle that involved the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra. Also in this time was Caesar's war against the Gauls, lead by Vercingetorix, which the author particularly condemned as having been fought only for internal Roman political reasons and resulted in the death and dispossession of millions of people, one of the "greatest catastrophes of the ancient world," a "holocaust" unmatched until the later Spanish conquistadors actions in the Americas in the 16th century.

Part three focused on the Pax Romana, Rome at its height from Augustus' triumph at Actium in 31 BC through the reign of Emperor Trajan (ending in 117 AD). Rome reached its greatest physical extent at this time, coming into conflict with the Germans under Arminius (a rare retreat for Rome), the revolt by the queen of the Iceni in Britain, Boudicca, the rebellion of the Jews, and the war against the Dacians, lead by king Decebalus (Dacia roughly corresponds to modern Romania and part of Hungary).

The final chapter dealt with the end of the Empire, beginning with the ascension of the "thoroughly bad emperor" Commodus in AD 180, a time during which Rome came to blows with the great Persian king Shapur I, the queen of Palmyra, Zenobia (Palmyra was based in Syria and at one time included parts of Asia Minor and Egypt), the Gothic leader Alaric, and the infamous Attila the Hun.

High points for me about the book were the many excellent contemporary illustrations of Rome's enemies, many of which were surviving examples of artwork from that culture; two sets of plates showed statues, busts, coins, paintings, and reliefs depicting the leaders and soldiers of other cultures as well as some famous Romans that were prominent in the book, such as Sulla, Julius Caesar, and Titus. Within each chapter were black and white illustrations, generally depicting a typical warrior from the culture being discussed in that chapter. There were many excellent, gripping, and adventurous battle accounts as well as some nice descriptions of Roman and other culture's weapons, armor, mounts, and fighting tactics. There were also helpful maps in each chapter as well.

The only complaints I have about the book are that there was no real exploration of how each culture might have survived and what sort of civilization might have developed, particularly in the case of new ones like the urbanizing Celts of Gaul, had they lived on past the end of the Roman Empire. Also the author did not really explore Byzantine civilization to any great extent. I found his book useful and very interesting and liked his general premise; I just wish he had emphasized the cultural and developmental possibilities of the civilizations Rome destroyed or absorbed, perhaps at the expense of some of the detailed and otherwise excellent battle descriptions.

It does very well what it is supposed to do .......2005-10-28

The book is quite good for its intended audience, that is for the person interested in history, but is not a professional historian. The prose is light, the pacing is good, and one can read through it with ease. It is also quite interesting, all the major enemies are covered and enemies are analyzed on all regions.

The author has the thesis that the overwhelming success that the romans enjoyed for a time, destroyed all the cultures that could have taken its place when it fell and could have avoided the dark ages. I am not sure about the validity of such an idea, but it is at least interesting, and it should be remarked that the author does not push this idea throughout all the book, but if one looks for it one can see where the author might be correct.

If you like history, and you like to read about the romans, I recommend this book.

Average customer rating:

Entertaining history and leadership skills
Create an atmosphere of trust, competency and reward ...
Eye-opening and informative.
Readable entertaining insight into big biz hierarchies.

Victory Secrets of Attila the Hun
Wess Roberts
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Entertaining history and leadership skills.......2002-05-13

This great little book is history with a purpose - by far the best sort of history - and it teaches leadership using an original technique. Set in the fifth century AD, in the time of the decline of the mighty Roman empire, the author gives us an apposite slice of life and then has one of history's great leaders comment upon it. Attila, the formidable king of the Hun confederacy, teaches leadership round the campfire to his chieftains. It is certainly an easy way to learn history - I read it twice - light, well written and well-researched. The lessons are entertaining and say a lot in a few lines. Some of it is very insightful, I went through the book with a pencil to note the best points. Occasionally it is a little repetitious and lapses in the logic, but I enjoyed it and learnt a lot.

Create an atmosphere of trust, competency and reward ..........2001-11-30

Most people today think of Attila the Hun as an evil, ruthless barbarian, but this is a shallow and ill-informed take on his life and many successful campaigns.

Attila had a great love for his people, and maintained only modest comforts for himself. He used his war chest to empower his tribe and his people. Attila does not discriminate based on age, sex or race, but forms his judgements based on merit, success and the individual's potential.

Vain and beligerant pseudo-warrior management types will be disappointed to learn that Attila's victories were borne on the back of competence, even-handedness, reasonable reward and mutual respect. Anyone looking for simple parlor tricks and manipulative techniques to fool or bully co-workers and subordinates into submission will be dissapointed here. This book is about improving the self and becoming a better person in order to lead victoriously, not creating a facade to hide the miserable and incompetent soul.

"Victory Secrets of Attila the Hun" helps to reveal the context of the ruler's life and its parallels in the modern world through history, parable, and fantasy. It is a thoroughly enjoyable read for principle-based managers concerned for the health, welfare, growth and prosperity of their company, and the lives of those around them.

Eye-opening and informative........1998-10-13

Gave me insight to my "Atilla" at work and help to understand him. I love the book and hope to get more of Wess' books.

Readable entertaining insight into big biz hierarchies........1998-10-07

Esteemed executive, Wess Roberts, weaves an involving teaching tool of equal parts history, fantasy and illustrative instruction. This unique "how to" on building and leading a big business hierarchy from the middle, and the top, is also a true to history, interpretive extraction of the Hun empire revived and empowered by one man, Attila the Hun. Attila's own success is not only an analogous base for the lessons at hand but also their validation. An easy, concise read for top and middle managers on the go; an overlooked gem in a pile of rubblous hype.

Attila: The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome

Average customer rating:

pictures? what pictures?
History of the Huns
Attila the scourge of God..
More about the Huns and their times than Attila
No Great Revelations, Just Solid Biography

Attila: The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome
John Man
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Huns (Peoples of Europe)
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The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians

ASIN: 0312349394
Release Date: 2006-07-11

Book Description

Attila the Hun is a household name---a byword for mindless barbarism. But to most of us the man himself, his world, and his significance are all unknown. In this stunning historical narrative, John Man reveals the real Attila.

For a crucial twenty years in the early fifth century, Attila held the fate of the Roman Empire and the future of all Europe in his hands. The decaying imperium, dominating the West from its twin capitals of Rome and Constantinople, was threatened by barbarian tribes from the East. It was Attila who created the greatest of barbarian forces. His empire briefly rivaled Rome’s, reaching from the Rhine to the Black Sea, the Baltic to the Balkans. In numerous raids and three major campaigns against the Roman Empire, he earned himself an instant and undying reputation for savagery.

But there was more to him than mere barbarism. Attila’s power derived from his astonishing character. He was capricious, arrogant, and brutal---but also brilliant enough to win the loyalty of millions. Huns thought him semi divine, Goths and other barbarians adored him, educated Westerners were proud to serve him. Attila was also a canny politician. From his base in the Hungarian grasslands, he sent Latin and Greek secretaries to blackmail the Roman Empire. Like other despots, before and since, he relied on foreign financial backing and knew how to play upon the weaknesses of his friends and enemies. With this unique blend of qualities, Attila very nearly dictated Europe’s future.

In the end, his ambitions ran away with him. An insane demand for the hand of a Roman princess and assaults too deep into France and Italy led to sudden death in the arms of a new wife. He did not live long enough to found a lasting empire--- but enough to jolt Rome toward its final fall.

In this riveting biography, John Man draws on his extensive travels through Attila’s heartland and his experience with the nomadic traditions of Central Asia to reveal the man behind the myth.

Customer Reviews:

pictures? what pictures?.......2007-07-02

As someone said, a solid biography.Quite good on the aftermath of the Huns. But did anyone notice that this book has a list of illustrations but no actual illustrations?

History of the Huns.......2007-05-08

In this volume, Man explores both the biography of Attila- 'the scourge of G-D', who carved out a massive Hunnish Empire strching from the Caspian Sea to the Rhine, with it's headquarters in what is today's Hungary.
At the same time. he threatened the very foundations of the Roman Empire.

The book traces the origins of the Huns, from the area around what is today Mongolia, and their migration across Siberia and modern Russia into Europe.
Man attempts to sort myth and legend from fact, and also deals with the differing imagery of Attila, from bloodthirsty monster, in Western Europe, to a national hero in Hungary.
He covers much of the literature and myhtology of Attila, and explains why the Germans during the First World War, were reffered to by the British as 'Huns'.
The peoples of Hungary and Bulgaria claim descent from the Huns, but the author does not deal in real depth with the question of Hunnic descent.

Man explains the decline of the Roman Empire, and explores the wars and interactions of the Huns with the Roman Empire, and such peoples as the Franks, Burgundians, Allemani, Alans, Visigoths and Ostrogoths.

Attila the scourge of God.........2007-04-25

Attila the scourge of western civilization and icon for the barbarians is given a thoroughly enjoyable story as written by John Man. What we are told is palatable compared to the outragous legends and Christian dogma written about Attila. Attila did not have the vision of Ghengis Kahn and left his vast empire with no clear mandate after his sudden death. This books gives fascinating details on the probale origin of the Huns, the going ons of the Roman Empire at the time and the eventual decline of both the Huns and the Roman Empire. Also I found the explicit details on how the Huns fought to be fascinating.

More about the Huns and their times than Attila.......2007-01-24

With little information available, Man gives as informative a book as might be expected. Maybe 1/3 of it is about Attila, including what is known of his family, his headquarters, his entertainments and of course his battles.

While the history of Huns and the rise and fall of Attila are the themes of the book, the author presents this period of the Roman Empire in a very readable way. Last year I had read the Peter Heather book on Rome and the barbarians, and for description of Rome in this period, these two books complement each other nicely.

Rome, overly large and waning in ability to defend itself, hires Huns, pays ransom $ to Huns, bribes Huns and fights Huns. There are diplomats, an assassination attempt, competition and integration of other peoples and tribes and turning points. There are marriages, hostages and proposals. There scorched earth seizures and battles.

Man has interesting friends who share his passion for Hun history. The run museums from Mongolia to Hungary, dig up artifacts and study mounted bow hunting. He introduces us to them in diversionary parts of the narrative.

The best part for me, aside from the description of the Hun compound, was the summation at the end. Unlike Ghengis Khan, Attila had no long term vision and built no adminstrative structure. Nothing much really followed him. Man has some interesting phrases for experssing the ephemeral nature of it all. Attila created a bunch of "speed bumps" in the building of Europe and that his life was "a perfect balance of pluses and minuses, signifying nothing."

A chapter called "Aftermath" citing the numerous poems, paintings and songs that celebrate his image, however misinformed, has the best epiteph of all. Due to these cultural creations from the middle ages to Kipling and Wagner, his name resounds as an "archetype of a certain sort of power." Its really apt... "a certain sort of power."

No Great Revelations, Just Solid Biography.......2006-11-27

In this biography of the infamous Hun leader, little time is given to conjecture or speculative history. Just a solid, simple, traditional, and well-written biogrpahy is here. The author is an experienced communicator making the flow very pleasant. The history student interested more in the military aspects such as battle descriptions will wish for more maps of the individual battles and perhaps more detailed descriptions. But, for general history coverage and an enjoyable biographical sketch of a rather inigmatic character, this one would be hard to beat. A solid biography and great addition to the ancient history libary.

Average customer rating:

An amazing piece of historical fiction!
a superlative novel about attila the hun

The Darkness and the Dawn
Thomas B. Costain
Manufacturer: Doubleday Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0385054548

Customer Reviews:

An amazing piece of historical fiction!.......2006-06-13

Costain has a real talent for putting a little bit of everything into his books... The Darkness and the Dawn is a prime example of this. It has daring escapes, battles, romance, horse races, and a court scene. This book also has a tyrant, an emperor, a princess, and a royal family. It's a book that should be counted among the classics...even though the author is far above them.
I encourage you to give this, and other Costain books a try. I think you'll be very surprised.

a superlative novel about attila the hun.......2000-06-15

the magic of this book does not depend on the plot but on the crisp dialogue , the tense succession of episodes , the kaleidoscopic change of scenes ! costain at his best - setting his scene with high competence and keeps his plot at the bubbling point to the end...

The Night Attila Died: Solving the Murder of Attila the Hun

Average customer rating:

Short, sweet and oh, so interesting
Murder Mystery Solved? Highly Probable ...
A Noble Miss
Case Not Made
Not proved

The Night Attila Died: Solving the Murder of Attila the Hun
Michael A. Babcock
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B000EPFVEQ

Book Description

Before Saddam, before Hitler, before Napoleon...

...there was Attila, the reviled leader of the Huns who cut a bloody swath of death across fifth-century Europe. Yet, for all his barbarian savagery, it took a mere nosebleed to end his life. At least that's how history has recorded it-a curious footnote to a legacy rife with violence.

But history happens to be wrong.

Michael Babcock, a noted philologist and recognized authority on the life and legend of Attila, makes a stunning revelation: "The Scourge of God" died as he lived...

Attila was murdered.

Using careful analysis of textual and historical evidence, Babcock lays out his argument like a skilled trial lawyer. He puts the reader in the jury box as he presents the evidence pointing to an assassination plot and subsequent cover-up, orchestrated by Attila's chief rival, Marcian, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Customer Reviews:

Short, sweet and oh, so interesting.......2007-07-01

Other reviewers give you the whole book. I prefer to read it myself. And, this book provided new information (at least for me), an intelligent and logical progression of actions and reactions, and an interesting murder plot. I was particularly intrigued by how the author teased out his conclusions from fragments of the past and the use of language.
A worthwhile book which should appeal to a wide variety of readers.

Murder Mystery Solved? Highly Probable ..........2007-02-03

Dr. Michael Babcock makes a compelling case that Attila the Hun did not die of natural causes - a nosebleed - but instead was murdered. Given the lifestyle Attila led, the liklihood of murder is a much higher probability in any case, than natural causes ... Like a modern detective the author examines the key players who had something to gain by Attila's death. He discovers the clues obtained from historical documents, some of which were altered in an attempt to mislead anyone who was looking for evidence, but just enough detail is left that points to an assasination plot which succeeded.

The author suspected something was amiss in the generally accepted explanations for Attila's death when he was a student of philology (the study of reconstructing the past from words, taking into consideratin culture, history, phonetics and graphics). The author read the detailed account of Attila's death initially in the book "Gothic History" by Jordanes which included a tightly constructed explanation filled with precise details ... however the account was written a hundred years after Attila's death. It was written based on a historical document left by Priscus, a Fifth Century historian and diplomat. Priscus had attended Attila's court in 449 A.D. and a detailed description of this event survived in his autobiography. Unfortunately, Priscus's account of Attila's death did not survive, the only thing which remained was the second hand version written by Jordanes ...

The most fascinating information contained within this book is how the politics of the past are revealed. At the time, the Roman Empire was separated into East and West: Marcinion was Emperor in the East and Valintinian III ruled as Emperor of Rome. Rome was losing some of its provinces as new nations in Europe were born from their ashes. Each of the two Empires had reasons to see Attila dead ... The book captures the imagination of the reader taking one back to ancient times. The reader's eyes are openedas to how different factions influenced and swayed each Empire and how power was wielded behind the scenes by those who could manipulate events to their own advantage. Whether or not the author is correct can not be factually proven but he provides enough information to make a great case for his side. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

A Noble Miss.......2006-10-31

I waited with much anticipation for Babcock's book because I love historical mysteries. Sadly I have to say that I was disappointed in his effort. I definately feel that it could have benefitted from firmer editing. Babcock has a tendency to go off on tangents that make following his narrative more challenging than it should be. For example he spends a great deal of time arguing that one should take any historic account with a grain of salt because people back then were just as prone, as folks are now, to skew their accounts to a particular point of view. I have no argument with this and Babcock is right to make it, but he keeps bringing up this thought again and again to the point where I wanted to shout, "Okay, Okay, I get it!" As for his contention that Attila was murdered Babcock makes a good circumstantial case as to why this was done and who may have been behind it, but doesn't offer much in the way of particulars. For me this was a bit of a let down.

I must say in the book's favor that Babcock's enthusiasm for his subject matter is quite infectious. It's obvious that he cares about this subject and whatever else one can say about the book it is not boring. He more than succeeded in getting me interested in late Roman history, something that I did not know a great deal about.

So if you read the book just be ready to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Case Not Made.......2006-02-01

First off, I'll disagree with this author and say that philology is in most ways an art, not a concrete science. His suggestion that by somehow reading into the subtext of existing and later documentary evidence regarding Attila's demise we can prove a 1,600-year-old act of murder is at best too optimistic and at worst absurdity itself, since from the start, rumor, hearsay and misinformation have been prevalent regarding the end of the great Hunnish king. I felt this book deserved four stars instead of the three I nearly gave it because Michael Babcock was obviously well-versed on his subject matter's life and the period in which he existed, but I cannot see clear to rating this book higher simply because it fails to achieve the lofty goal its author set for himself and promised in the title. Had this been a straightforward biography of Attila, I'd have been more impressed, since the life and times of this figure were indeed nicely-covered. Babcock also delves into the psychological effect the Hunnish invasions had on the populace of Europe, and I was impressed when at the start of chapter seven there was a discussion the discovery in modern times of a number of children's skeletons in and around Lugnano, Italy, dating to the time of Attila. Though victims of a malaria outbreak, it is the fact that these young people of a supposedly Christian era were interred via burial practices that harkened back to customs of pagan Rome that proves telling. Babcock and others feel that so terrifying to the Italians was the concept that Attila was coming, that they abandoned for a time the Christianity of their age in favor of a return to the earlier religion of a more glorious Rome. Fascinating stuff! Attila may very well have been murdered, since the means and motive were there, but I do not feel Babcock proved that a murder took place, and I don't think that after so long a time it is likely a smoking gun will ever come to light. The "Exhibits" Babcock uses to conclude the book were the most unimpressive pieces to his story. Instead of presenting conclusive evidence, Babcock tosses in everything but the proverbial kitchen sink, and offers nothing but circumstantial evidence that we already knew about. While a good read and a sound investigation of the age of Attila the Hun, this book does not prove he was murdered, only re-hashes the long-speculated fact that he might have been.

Not proved.......2006-01-25

Here is the tale of Attila's death in the year 453 as told by Edward Gibbon in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire": "Before the king of the Huns evacuated Italy, he threatened to return more dreadful, and more implacable, if his bride, the princess Honoria, were not delivered to his ambassadors within the term stipulated by the treaty. Yet, in the mean while, Attila relieved his tender anxiety by adding a beautiful maid, whose name was Ildico, to the list of his innumerable wives. Their marriage was celebrated with barbaric pomp and festivity, at his wooden palace beyond the Danube; and the monarch, oppressed with wine and sleep, retired at a late hour from the banquet to the nuptial bed. His attendants continued to respect his pleasures or his repose the greater part of the ensuing day, till the unusual silence alarmed their fears and suspicions; and, after attempting to awaken Attila by loud and repeated cries, they at length broke into the royal apartment. They found the trembling bride sitting by the bedside, hiding her face with her veil, and lamenting her own danger, as well as the death of the king, who had expired during the night. An artery had suddenly burst: and as Attila lay in a supine posture, he was suffocated by a torrent of blood, which, instead of finding a passage through the nostrils, regurgitated into the lungs and stomach. His body was solemnly exposed in the midst of the plain under a silken pavilion and the chosen squadrons of the Huns, wheeling round in measured evolutions, chanted a funeral song to the memory of a hero, glorious in his life, invincible in his death, the father of his people, the scourge of his enemies, and the terror of the world."

Gibbon was paraphrasing a surviving fragment written by a Sixth Century Byzantine historian named Jordanes, who got his information from an earlier Sixth Century post-imperial Roman historian named Cassiodorus (whose works are now entirely lost), who almost certainly was following a now-lost portion of the work of the Fifth Century historian Priscus, a resident of Constantinople who had actually met Attila and had narrowly escaped being crucified by him.

Michael A. Babcock, the author of this book, thinks it's all a pack of lies and he sets out to prove it. This is a formidable task, for there are no other original sources about the death of Attila. Oh, a few religious writers removed by more than a century in time and half a continent in distance made brief, offhand comments to the effect that Attila had indeed died--no details provided. And some Germanic poets remembered a mighty king, Etzel or maybe Atli, who had come to an unpleasant end in his great hall.

Undismayed by a total lack of anything solid upon which to build, Babcock begins by speaking warmly of an early Twentieth Century scholar, a philologist who "viewed the past as a palimpsest that can only be read once the layers are painstakingly scraped away." Despite the surely depressing fact that the scholar had "concluded that the 'official' historical record was indeed correct," Babcock soldiers on, saying, "Through the same methodology I have reached a very different conclusion: the official account of Attila's death is an elaborate cover story. How can a 'science' yield such different answers? ... We've entered into one of those murky areas, like psychology, where 'expert testimony' must be relied on." Babcock, of course, is the expert and his is the testimony.

Murky areas indeed.

Babcock's version of the "true story" is this: Following the death of the utterly useless Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II, the elderly but vigorous soldier-emperor Marcian took command at Constantinople. Theodosius had bumbled an attempt to assassinate Attila--a scheme in which poor unwitting Priscus had been offered up as a sacrificial pawn. The competent Marcian tried again, successfully this time and ordered Priscus, now his court historian, to cover up the murder by attributing the death of Attila to his own bad habits--and the hand of God, of course. Or maybe it was Aetius, the last really competent soldier in the history of the Western Empire, who put the hit on Attila. And maybe Aetius cozied up to Marcian, who then told Priscus to tidy up a cover story.

And this is the domus that Jack built.

Babcock reached his alternative truth by a process of what he called slow and careful reading. His reading applies to texts in late imperial Latin, post-classical Greek, medieval German and Old Icelandic. It is, however, his reading of a text in English that throws up serious doubts about his abilities in general. Let us return to Edward Gibbon and his statement that while waiting for Princess Honoria,* "Attila relieved his tender anxiety by adding a beautiful maid, whose name was Ildico, to the list of his innumerable wives." Babcock goes on at some length about a failed love affair in the life of Edward Gibbon to explain why the Englishman chose the words "tender anxiety." The separation of two lovers, you see, had struck a personal chord, and Babcock's philological science had dredged up a fragment of autobiography in "The Decline and Fall." To that discovery, I can only say horse...ahem...puckey! If a philologist of Babcock's supposed expert standing can't recognize a perfectly obvious piece of irony in his own living language, how can we possibly accept his judgements about dead ones?

Babcock also suffers from a common sort of linguistic shift often found in books about Area 51, UFOs, and the true authorship of Shakespeare's plays: every "may" and "might" transforms itself into a "must." Here is an example of that shift. Priscus was in Egypt on a diplomatic mission to Alexandria when Attila died. Babcock writes: "Then one day an ordinary ship from Constantinople arrived in the harbor.... In a scene that was reenacted dozens of times across the Empire, the crew disembarked and the news spilled out onto the dock and into the streets. Attila is dead. [Italicized in the original.] Priscus must have rushed down to the dock when he heard the news." It might have happened just that way, but there is not a single shred of evidence to support this neat little picture of the seaborne spread of the news or of Priscus rushing anywhere at all.

This is a book that is convincing to the author and to true believers. I am not among their number. I am giving it three stars because the author presents the gross facts of Fifth Century Roman history in a generally reliable and sometimes entertaining manner. As to his conclusions, while it's conceivable he might be right, he certainly hasn't convinced me.
_____________________

*Honoria was the sister of the Western emperor, Valentinian II, a monarch who--incredibly!--managed to be even less effective than Theodosius II. It seems that Honoria had offered herself in marriage to Attila, whom even Valentinian could recognize as a very dangerous sort of brother-in-law. Honoria disappears from the fragmented historical record of the time. She is not present in the list of booty carried off by the Vandals when they sacked Rome a few years later. There are hints that Valentinian locked her up in a tower or maybe executed her for treason or maybe both.

Average customer rating:

A classic
Another good book from Thompson
a good book
Not a Review
A great history for beginers

The Huns (Peoples of Europe)
E. A. Thompson
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture

ASIN: 0631214437

Book Description

This is a history of the Huns in Europe from their first attacks on the Goths north of the Black Sea to the collapse of their central European empire after the death of the legendary Attila. In the only connected narrative account of the rise and fall of the Huns in English, Professor Thompson reconstructs their campaigns in detail from disparate and often fragmentary sources. In the process, there emerges a clear picture of their dramatic successes, and failures, against the non-Roman peoples of central and eastern Europe, and of their many invasions of the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire.This dramatic narrative is punctuated by analytical chapters which chart the transformations wrought in Hunnic society by contact with the more developed world of the Roman Mediterranean. In these chapters, the author sets himself the task of explaining the sudden rise and equally sudden fall of the Huns in the fourth and fifth centuries. He finds his answer in the impact of Roman wealth upon the original social structures of the Huns.The Huns includes an Afterword by Peter Heather, Lecturer in Early Medieval History at University College London, which sets Professor Thompson's book in the broad context of recent studies on the Huns.

Customer Reviews:

A classic.......2007-01-13

A solid scholarly work, now updated by Peter Heather. Nomadic peoples are often a difficult subject, lacking the same amount of archaeological and written evidence that urban civilizations have but Thompson does a good job of sifting through the evidence. Some modern authors, as well as some older ones, use this lack of evidence as encouragement to pursue wild speculation--but Thompson stick closely to what little evidence there is at hand.

Another good book from Thompson.......2007-01-08

This is a good book, but doesn't adequately address the point that many Chinese and Western scholars have brought up in recent years--that evidence suggests that they were a multi-ethnic tribal confederation with just a Turkish speaking elite. Also, they may not be the same people that the Chinese sources refer to as the Hsiung-nu, as many scholars have assumed. The first reviewer is wrong because the "Huns" have not been properly matched with a tribe in Asian records--therefore when using Chinese sources you cannot be sure that you are talking about the same group. Likely they were Turkish or Mongolian mounted warriors who picked up Samartians, Germans and Alans along the way to the Roman Empire.

a good book.......2006-05-28

As a person interested in the history of Turkish people, I really liked this detailed account of Huns - aincient Turkish people. In the fifth century this brave people managed to built a vast empire and received an annual triute from the Roman Empire. It is true that Attila's empire collapsed briefly after his death but the Huns and their empire were the sings of things to come e.g. Seljuks and Osmalni (Ottoman) Turks.

Not a Review.......2006-03-03

I'm sure this is a fine book. On this page, I read a review (now deleted, apparently) that mentioned the book by Otto J. Maenchen Helfen titled "the World of the Huns", now sadly out of print. I ordered my copy from amazon marketplace, and found it probably the ultimate book on this subject ever. Any hunophile will find Helfen's book absolutely essential as he was the world's greatest living authority on the huns bar none. He never finished the book for fear of new discoveries outdating it, so upon his death, his colleagues put it together out of his notes and drafts. I apologize for this not really being a review of Professor Thompson's book, but I thought it necessary for people looking for info on the huns to know about Helfen's work also. If you can find a copy, snap it up. Chapters deal with agriculture, lassos, trade, cauldrons, amulets, turkic names, coins, relations with Goths, and many, many other things, that is just a drop in the bucket.

A great history for beginers.......2003-05-26

I read this book when i was 13 and it is still in my opinion the best book on attila and the huns out there.

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