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History of the Goths First Edition

by Herwig Wolfram (Author), Thomas J. Dunlap (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 35 ratings
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Incorporating exciting new material that has come to light since the last German edition of 1980, Herwig Wolfram places Gothic history within its proper context of late Roman society and institutions. He demonstrates that the barbarian world of the Goths was both a creation of and an essential element of the late Roman Empire.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0520069838
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0520069831
  3. Edition
    First Edition
  4. Publisher
    University of California Press
  5. Publication date
    February 13, 1990
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.2 x 9.25 inches
  8. Print length
    580 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Wolfram's study is indispensable."--B. S. Bachrach, "Choice

About the Author

Herwig Wolfram is Professor of History at the University of Vienna and Director of the Austrian Institute for Historical Research.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; First Edition (February 13, 1990)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 580 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520069838
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520069831
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.9 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.2 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
35 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

doc peterson
5.0 out of 5 stars a definitive history of a mysterious group
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2014
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Wolfram's _A HIstory of the Goths_ is a scholarly treatise, and is written for an academic audience, and therefore may not be to everyone's tastes. That said, it is detailed, exhaustively cited, incisive and with a suprizingly easy to read narrative.

As a group, the Goths are a difficult group to pin down - while much as been written about them by others, there are few extant primary sources by the Goths themselves, matters further compounded by their arrival in historical accounts as the Roman empire was disintegrating leaving historians using whatever non-written tools they have at their disposal: archeological finds, lingustics, and anthropological infrences. In spite of this, Wolfram does a tremendous job of drawing from these resources to create a cohesive history.

For the non-academic interested in this ellusive group I recommend [[ASIN:0631165363 The Goths] - this would also be a more accessable introduction to these people. For a more detailed and in-depth history, however, this is the book I recommend.
7 people found this helpful
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C. H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile Reading
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2012
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Herwig Wolfram's History of the Goths is very worth reading due to the fact that there is so much information in it. I have compared this book to Peter Heather's book on the Goths and found each book fairly easy to read if start at the beginning. I like the lineage charts included in Wolfram's book and as well the vast notes and references used. Wolfram has a very good knowledge of his subject, the Goths through the final days. I suggest watching the History Channel's videos called "Barbarians" first, to give you an overview. There's one episode called, "The Goths".
I am normally not attracted to violence, but I needed to read this book on the Goth's history to write my own series of historical fiction based on many sources. This is one of the best resources, with commentary on how accurate ancient writers were in their accounts of the Goths. Ermentrude's Knot .
3 people found this helpful
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EW Rafalske
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2015
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Great story about a long lost people. Great reference guide as well.
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Paul
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2016
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FANTASTIC
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Kenneth G
4.0 out of 5 stars Densley written & only part of the story
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2017
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Very densely written & slow going to read, perhaps because of the translation. Packed with a great deal of information, names, places, etc. One problem was a plethora of geographical names. No idea where the places were & no explanation to location or map to shed light. Also, though supposed to be a history of the Goths, the book stops with the downfall of the Ostrogoths & nothing is told of the history of the Visigoths in Spain. That was a major disappointment for me.
4 people found this helpful
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Ian M. Slater
5.0 out of 5 stars Ian Myles Slater on: A Close Look at a Problem
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2003
Understanding the Goths and their role in history used to be simple. On the one hand, you could go along with Alexander Pope in his "Essay on Criticism," and declare of the fall of Rome, "A second deluge learning thus o'errun, / And the monks finished what the Goths begun" (which is particularly pointed, given that Pope himself was a Catholic).

On the other hand, you could praise them. The reasons for favoring the Goths were somewhat diverse. For example, the Victorian socialist and poet (and designer and fantasy novelist, etc.) William Morris portrayed them as wonderful examples of folk-solidarity against the corruption and imperialism of Rome.

In Germany, at the same time, historians announced that they were convinced that the Goths demonstrated how the Germanic Race brought Freedom back into the world -- just like the Kaiser! (Leading Nietzsche to ask the difference between such a Conviction and an ordinary Lie. He also expressed relief that the ancient Germans, whose inferior blood had helped destroy the Roman Empire through intermarriage, were NOT ancestors of the modern Germans.)

In America, broad-minded scholars, brought up on the doctrine of Anglo-Saxon Liberty (and the Norman Yoke), rushed to recognize the continental Goths as honorary Anglo-Saxons, extending a privileged status to at least some Europeans.

All of these views (including Nietzsche's) depended on the assumption that the name Goth (and its variants) in ancient and early medieval texts always meant the same thing, and that the Ostrogoths and Visigoths were simply branches of the same original tribe -- "tribe" too being a term taken for granted (along with translating *gens* as *race*). This made things simple for archeologists; dig up something of about the right age in a place where "Goths" were supposed to have been living, and you know it was "Gothic." Find something similar someplace else, and you had discovered Goths.

Herwig Wolfram, reviewing another century of scholarship, shows that there are problems with every one of these assumptions (including Pope's). Even leaving aside the problem of the whole idea of a "tribe" as a recognizable entity (whether social or biological), ancient sources on the Goths and their divisions are not easy to understand. Entirely different population groups sometimes seem to have acquired the label, only to shed it again. Efforts to find a principle of continuity in royal dynasties follow the propaganda of self-promoted kings. And, of course, a whole body of writing from the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth is interwoven with theories of racial superiority.

None of this makes for easy reading, or straightforward narrative. Instead, we get the clearing away of misconceptions, and an effort to evaluate competing modern theories. This is a really valuable book for anyone seriously interested in the problems associated with the later Roman Empire and the emergence of Barbarian Kingdoms in Italy and Spain. If you want a simple story, you will have to take your chances elsewhere.
26 people found this helpful
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Fred Camfield
5.0 out of 5 stars A good overview
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2012
For people studying European history, this is a good overview of the Goths, with particular emphasis on their expansion into Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries. If you are tracking back your ancient European origins, this becomes a necessary part of it. The book provides an overview of the people and events, and includes some genealogy charts, an extensive set of notes, a bibliography and an index. There are also a few maps illustrating the Goths expansion into Europe. Those of us with European origins have Goth ancestors way back when. They were barbarians who at some point became civilized Christians. Along the way they fought battles, sacked Rome, etc. They pretty much finished off the Roman Empire, and distracted the Romans while the the Saxons invaded what is now England (see  The Saxon Chronicle A.D. 1 to A.D. 1154 )
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Top reviews from other countries

STAVROS
5.0 out of 5 stars DELIVERY ON TIME , ITEM AS DESCRIBED. THANKS
Reviewed in Germany on November 16, 2021
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DELIVERY ON TIME , ITEM AS DESCRIBED. THANKS
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E. Sumptus
5.0 out of 5 stars An odd book - arrived on time.. :)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2018
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An odd book, discredited by many, still well worth a read.
Shipper: The book arrived well packaged, as described, and on time.
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Aleix fabregat
5.0 out of 5 stars A very complete goths history book ( the best one) , and with a impressive bibliography
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2013
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Recomended to history fans, comprehensive and complete history book, opens also the links to other history books related to this period
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