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Mar 05, 2018diesellibrarian rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This book is a joy to read, for its erudition and for the pathos that runs through it like an underground river. This book is a also heartbreaking read, to the extent that the various narratives upon which the author embarks unfailingly illustrate how the greatest "triumphs" of humanity (our great empires and dynasties and weapons and cities and so on) are hubris and vanity, each shot though with the DNA of failure and decline. At any rate, the most eloquent requiem to the human race that I have yet encountered. Sobering but rewarding.