Decline and Fall

Edward Gibbon really succeeded in writing for the ages. The prose, while sounding a bit flowery to us Twenty-first century types, is still lucid and easily understood. Much less difficult than Madison, Hamilton and John Jay's "Federalist Papers." Gibbon was a dandy, a Bon Vivant, a "gentleman" and an elitist, of course. But this is still highly fascinating, and a joy to read. http://books.google.com/books?id=yvlYUpqe-JMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+decline+and+fall+of+the+roman+empire&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bsNAUdLDHNKy0AGerYHgDA&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=the%20decline%20and%20fall%20of%20the%20roman%20empire&f=false