Although I ordered this book with misgivings about someone building a portrait of Attila from the two dozen or so ancient sources even mentioning Attila, I was enormously pleased with the author's scholarship. The reader must remember that the Huns left no written accounts of their own, essentially no archaeological evidence, and everything written about them came strictly from their enemies. So accounts like Ammianus Marcellinus' (who never saw a Hun) describing them with flattened skulls, misshapen bodies, evil appearances, etc., etc., must be taken with very large grains of salt. Even their horses were supposedly ugly. The author strives mightly to present the probable truth, and is probably as successful as a researcher at this distance can be.
The litmus test for me came early with the author's treatment of cranial deformations to identify the Huns. Although this was a practice of certain steppe dwellers and has been associated with the Alans, whether of not the Huns practiced this is questionable. Amazingly (to me), the author addresses this issue, and in his end notes actually points out that if the process was to beautify, then high ranking Huns like Attila and his wives would have undergone this practice. But no eyewitness description of Attila mentions such a deformation! The author therefore mentions this practice as occurring among the Huns, but carefully retreats from using it as a means of identifying them. Frankly, this is scholarship at its best, and not just because the author agrees with me.
Although the author's careful use and non-use of certain sources might put off some readers, this work is probably as accurate as possible for a modern researcher. Only a couple of other writers have performed anywhere nearly as well, most notable Otto Maenchen-Helfen. The end notes must be read along with the text, and my only criticism of this work is that they should have been placed at the end of each chapter for the reader's convenience. In some places the author was forced to explain why he didn't use certain information a given ancient source, or how he came to certain conclusions based of several contradictory sources and convient end notes would have been helpful. The author is a modern-day detective analyzing the evidence, carefully qualifying his conclusions, and then writing a narrative that is understandable by all. For this he is to be greatly commended.
As an example of the author's analysis, please note that he finds that the Huns fared rather poorly in battle with the main Roman armies although they could and did destroy cities protected by static garrisons while the tactical Roman armies were otherwise occupied. The Goths did better, as at Adrianopole. This is certainly not what is ususally conveyed or understood by conventional wisdom, but is true nevertheless. As a result, it is hardly the case that Attila brought an end to the Western Roman Empire, but he did give it a shove toward its ultimate demise.
At the end of the book the author lists twenty-two ancient sources and their modern editions and translations. The reader is invited to check these sources as I did in several instances to test the author's thoroughness and accuracy. This work passed all tests for accuracy and analysis with flying colors, something almost incredible for a modern book.
I don't mean to gush over this book like a schoolgirl reading her first Gothic romance, but I can't praise this work too highly. I recommend it to all readers interested in the late Roman Empire, the rise of the Byzantine Empire, and the invasions of the Barbarians into Western Europe. It is wonderfully written, clear, and conveys a portrait of the times that is easily understandable.
It also should give American readers pause in considering a political option like buying off threatening powers (such as North Korea.) It didn't work with the Huns, and frankly I can't offer a single incidence in Western History where buying off one's enemies worked. Even the Danes ultimately wanted more than their "Danegelt" from England.
All in all, this is a very fine work, worthy of five stars plus.
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Top reviews from other countries
BobH
Attila through the Looking-Glass?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2012Revon
A brilliant book that offers a balanced, lively account of Attila's life
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2016