Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

I kept dipping into this book over a period of 3 years before finally finishing it. Unless you're already at least generally familiar with the entire period of decline, Gibbon is best read in conjunction with other material. He is frequently dense, and often vague, and to read him directly without preparation can be an exercise in frustration. The Decline And Fall is not a text book. It is Gibbon's great tale. He can be oblique, almost impenetrable at times, but if you are not fettered by having to decipher his references, or the effort of keeping up with the flood of his thoughts, he suddenly comes alive in the most magical way. You can't put him down. You discover that you're caught in the spell of a master of entertainment, comment, critique and dry wit.

Low's masterful abridgement concentrates on removing sections rather than condensing Gibbon's extraordinary prose. As a primer for full fat Gibbon, I don't believe it has been bettered.