Attila as Told to his Scribes (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

Attila the Hun has charm--at least that's how he sees himself, in this first person autobiography! As a young man he's a lover, but he's also consumed by ambition. His narrative is interspersed with commentary by one of three scribes; they follow each other, beginning in 443 CE. Attila kills the first with one angry slash of his sword; the second idolizes him and graduates to warrior; the last one hates him. Attila's charm continues right up until the end, documented by his third scribe, who conspires--with Attila's last bride--to assassinate him. Was he the one who hid the manuscript?Attila is no savage; he knows the Roman world: his uncle, King of the Huns, sends him as royal hostage to the Emperor's court at Ravenna. The King exchanges him for Aetius, a Roman general's son, who later became the last great Roman general, largely because of Attila. Ironically, Attila claims to have learned about torture and diplomacy from his forced Roman interlude. He's a cosmopolitan who hates cities. He is happiest on the open steppe, on his horse, his army behind him. His was the greatest army in Europe built through grit, ruthlessness, luck--and charm. To his enemies he is truly the Scourge of God. To his friends, his loyal followers, and to the people who helped him along the way, he is grandly generous. Power corrupts: this story shows how a charming, talented youth becomes a monomaniacal tyrant in his prime.But he is so compelling, Turks and Hungarians still name their sons after him.Maybe that's why someone saved that old, dusty manuscript.