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Peter S. Wells is professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota

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Obres de Peter S. Wells

Obres associades

Roman Imperialism: Readings and Sources (2003) — Col·laborador — 36 exemplars
Roman Europe: 1000 BC - AD 400 (Short Oxford History of Europe) (2008) — Col·laborador — 23 exemplars
The Barbarians of Ancient Europe: Realities and Interactions (2011) — Col·laborador — 7 exemplars
The Earlier Iron Age in Britain and the Near Continent (2006) — Col·laborador — 7 exemplars
Eurasia at the dawn of history : urbanization and social change (2016) — Col·laborador — 4 exemplars

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The author's premise is that the dark ages weren't all that dark. He presents some tepid (e.g. somebody had a fancy sword in London in the 6th century), but occasionally interesting evidence, and he might be right, but I was underwhelmed.
 
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markm2315 | Hi ha 11 ressenyes més | Jul 1, 2023 |
In Barbarians to Angels, Wells discusses his basic thesis that the “Dark Ages” weren’t quite so dark. That the barbarians “invading” the Roman Empire, adapted, integrated and modified the Roman government institutions, but also retained a great deal of their own complex culture and institutions after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Wells decides to focus his attention on the examination of archaeological materials to construct a picture of barbarian society in northern Europe.

In my opinion, Wells’ argument may well be correct, but he doesn’t convey this adequately (in this book) due to poor argumentation and the questionable interpretation and use of evidence. The author continually states that the Dark Ages were a time of brilliant cultural activity, but fails to show this. He keeps going back to the archaeological evidence and ignores any other type of evidence. While Wells describes the archaeological features in detail, he fails to place these objects in a wider context or compare them with similar findings in the rest of Europe. Wells’ also tends to focus on sites on the edge of the Roman Empire or even beyond its borders. There is rarely any discussion of sites within what once was the Western Roman Empire. There is also a lack of information of how his findings compare to what was happening in the area before the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The author does present some interesting information about the evidence for trade and culture and wealth that refutes the common misconception of savage barbarians plundering cities, ravished populations and empty landscapes. But he doesn’t provide enough information to compare economic complexity during the Roman period and the post-Roman period. For example, Wells demonstrates that Dark Age Europeans were capable of creating sophisticated goods and distributing them, but the why, how, and its relation to the earlier Roman period is not explained.

In general, this book is rather basic and bland and may well be intended as an introduction to the early Middle Ages or as a limited survey to the subject. The writing style is easy to read with many photographs and maps, however, the argument is weak and unsatisfactory.
… (més)
 
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ElentarriLT | Hi ha 11 ressenyes més | Mar 24, 2020 |
THE BATTLE THAT STOPPED ROME by Peter S. Wells.
Mr. Wells is “professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota and the author of the award-winning THE BARBARIANS SPEAK.”

According to accounts by two great chroniclers of Rome, Tacitus and Cassius Dio, in A.D. 9 a chieftain named Arminius led a massive army of Germanic warriors - ‘barbarians’ - in the annihilation of some twenty thousand Roman soldiers.
The battle truly changed the course of European and world history.

The readability of this book is superb. The index is very helpful. Indeed, all the access points are helpful and easy to follow.
I liked the mention of Museums, Roman Remains and Archaeological Parks in Appendix 3. Most have web sites where one can access their collections. I was especially interested in the Westfalisches Romermuseum Haltern in Haltern, Germany.
Information in the book included the history of The Battle and its aftermath; The Romans and their history; Augustus; Arminius; Military organization and history of the Romans and the Germanic tribes; Germanic tribes and settlements. (For me, history comes alive when written in such a superb narrative style.)
THE BATTLE THAT STOPPED ROME consists of a Preface; 12 chapters; a list of illustrations; a list of maps; important dates; appendices - 1,2 and 3; sources and suggestions for further reading; acknowledgements; illustration credits and an index.
Professor Wells muses on a very important point in the last chapter, ‘The Meaning of the Battle’.
We must be very careful in our assessments of the past - There is a text-based understanding of the past and an archaeological-based understanding of the past. I like the quote given by novelist Tim O’Brien - “In any war story, but especially a true one, it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen.”
I truly enjoyed reading this book and learning about this very important battle; Roman History of the period; the Germanic tribes - with a lot of geography thrown in!
I would highly recommend this book.
… (més)
 
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diana.hauser | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Feb 25, 2019 |
I loved this book, it had just the right balance of academic and narrative for me. I was intrigued by the notion of what could have been if the Romans had crossed the Elbe. If they had, we may very well have had a completely different European history. It is a fascinating notion.I fully recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Roman and European history.
 
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KatiaMDavis | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Dec 19, 2017 |

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Obres
11
També de
5
Membres
1,047
Popularitat
#24,610
Valoració
½ 3.6
Ressenyes
22
ISBN
35
Llengües
4
Preferit
2

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