Attila: The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome [Paperback]

A stunning biography of history's most infamous warlord, Attila the Hun

For a crucial twenty years in the early fifth century, Attila held the fate of the Roman Empire and the future of all Europe in his hands. He created the greatest of barbarian forces, and his empire briefly rivaled Rome's. In numerous raids and three major campaigns against the Roman Empire, he earned himself an instant and undying reputation for savagery. But there was more to him than mere barbarism. Attila was capricious, arrogant, brutal, and brilliant enough to win the loyalty of millions. In the end, his ambitions ran away with him. He did not live long enough to found a lasting empirebut long enough to jolt Rome toward its final fall.
In this riveting biography, masterful storyteller John Man draws on his extensive travels through Attila's heartland and his experience with the nomadic traditions of Central Asia to reveal the man behind the myth.

John Man is a historian and travel writer with a special interest in Mongolia. His bookGobi: Tracking the Desertwas the first book on the subject in English since the 1920s. He is also the author ofAtlas of the Year 1000,Alpha Beta,The Gutenberg Revolution,Genghis Khan, The Terracotta Army,andThe Great Wall,among others.

Entertaining and lucid account of a phenomenal militarist unable to resist a crumbling empire's vast, unprotected wealth. Kirkus Reviews

Full of military adventures and political maneuverings, Man's lively narrative provides a glimpse of a leader whose name has become synonymous with ruthlessness. Publishers Weekly

Man's book is a highly readable account of a bellicose steppe people and their leader who, long after they departed from the West, continue to haunt the European imagination. Library Journal

One could not wish for a better storyteller or analyst than John Man. . . . HisAttilais superb, as comlÖ