Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline

(Paperback)

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Based on the hit podcast with over 100 million downloads,Fall of Civilizationsbrilliantly explores how a range of ancient societies rose to power and sophistication, and how they tipped over into collapse.

Across the centuries, we journey from the great empires of Mesopotamia to those of Khmer and Vijayanagara in Asia and Songhai in West Africa; from Byzantium to the Maya, Inca and Aztec empires of the Americas; from Roman Britain to Rapa Nui. With meticulous research, breathtaking insight and dazzling, empathic storytelling, historian and novelist Paul Cooper evokes the majesty and jeopardy of these civilizations, and asks what it might have felt like for a person alive at the time as they witnessed the end of their world.

Reviews

'Eminently readable... one can almost hear the spoken word as one reads. Yet Cooper has built his narrative out of close reading of the original sources... the authors strength is his ability to evoke the physical setting of the great cities that lay at the heart of empires'David Abulafia,Spectator

'An instructive, engaging and compelling epic which reveals the fragility of human existence: magnificent triumphs and lamentable tragedies, the civilized and the barbarian. A timely tour de force of historical storytelling'Ron Ramdin,author ofThe Making of the Black Working Class in Britain

'Cooper is a phenomenon...[and] a gifted collector of historical jigsaw pieces... [he] addresses a new public in new ways, through a mastery of anecdotage and accessible storytelling'Max Hastings,Sunday Times

'Paul Cooper's histories of fallen civilizations are brilliantly written:clear, compelling, and ultimately chilling as we are forced to accept the lost genius of ancient cultures and the inevitable ruination of our own.Full of fascinating detail and nuanced findings,you need to read this book'Cal Flyn, journalist and author ofIslands of Abandonment

Cooper draws parallels between fears for our own future and the colossal wrecks of fallen empires so that we may marvel at them and, perhaps, learn from themTim Leach, author ofThe Hollow Throne

PRAISE FOR THE PODCAST

'Excellent'Guardian

'A treasure trove of myths and terror Atmospheric as hell Immersive'The Times

'Paul Cooper has a historian's cool for what we know and what we don't... but a novelist's eye for vivid details'Seattle Times

Author Bio

Paul Cooper is a podcaster, historian and the author of two acclaimed historical novels, River of Ink and All Our Broken Idols. He gained his PhD from the University of East Anglia, and has taught there and at Warwick. He writes, produces and hosts the Fall of Civilizations podcast, which has charted in the top ten British podcasts, and since its launch in 2018 has garnered over 100 million downloads and over 1 million YouTube subscribers. You can learn more about the author on www.paulmmcooper.com