The long transition from the mature Roman Empire to medieval Europe is something that has long intrigued me. "Before France and Germany" is an excellent guide to this evolution. It traces the internal and external changes that influenced life, war, health, and the economy.

For anyone interested in this time in European history, this book is an exceptional starting place. Highly recommended. ( )

Geary manages to present the decline of Rome, migrations and emerging Merovingian and Carolingian powers in just 200-odd pages. So, there's a lot of content, and paragraphs need to be digested in unhurried manner. For a layman, this very interesting phase in history is largely unmapped, as it lacks major historical figures that school books tend to cherish.

Geary suggests that Rome was not really conquered by barbarians. The Gallo-Roman aristocracy sustained Roman culture all the way to the medieval times. The warrior elite of Franks merged into this aristocracy. Of course, over the centuries what is considered Roman evolves. ( )