The nation that will insist upon drawing a broad line of distinction between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking by cowards.
-- Sir William Francis Butler
What caused the fall of Rome? Since Gibbon's day scholars have hotly debated the question and come up with answers ranging from blood poisoning to rampant immortality. In recent years, however, the most likely explanation has been neglected: was it not above all else a military collapse? Professor Ferrill believes it was, and put forth his case in this provocative book.