A History of the Byzantine State and Society (ISBN 0804724210)

Good political history:
This book is only for those who really like Byzantine history and it's best for those who like old-fashioned, narrative, history. That may be a small target audience, but if you fit, you'll probably love it like I did. Treadgold's strength is the lives of the most important people in the empire, especially the emperors. Although there are separate chapters on economic and social trends, often important religious and social developments are woven into chronologies based on the emperors' lives. Treadgold also emphasizes the significance of events within the empire over external ones. For instance, in discussing the decline of the empire in the latter half of the eleventh century, he details at (very interesting) length the personal weaknesses of the emporers, but hardly mentions the strengths of the Turks. That's not necessarily a criticism; he may simply think that other historians over-emphasize the importance of external factors on the history of the empire. But he doesn't always alert you when he's propounding unconventional views. He sees the battle of Manzikert as being much less significant than do many other Byzantine and military historians. I have no idea who is right, but Treadgold doesn't mention the conventional understanding of the battle at all; he simply asserts that most of the Byzantine army survived and goes on.

As Good as It's Going to Get:
Eight hundred odd pages to cover a thousand plus years of history is a major undertaking. The author weaves a remarkablly interesting and almost always coherent narative moving along at an generally brisk pace. Treadgold makes the most of what is available in the sources. It is very easy to wish for a more finely rendered and detailed social or intellectual history. However, within the limits available both as to print space and primary sources, Treadgold does a remarkable job of laying out the history of this vast, varied and long lived empire. The military, political, and theological matters of importance which were the prime motive forces in the history of Byzantium are well explicated. Economics, demographics, and epidemiology all make interrelated appearances to the extent that the underlying source material is available. Treadgold handles his material with a deft touch and extracts keen insights and interesteing factoids throughout the book. This book is an excellent introduction to the history of the Byzantine Empire for one who is reasonablly well read in the general history of the period. Are other interpretations of equal validity available in specific instances regarding Byzantine history? Yes, they are. But that is to quibble over the details. This is the definitive general work on the topic for the moment and the forseeable future. We should enjoy it for what it is, and we owe the author a debt of gratitude for a lot of hard work well done.

Scholarly and Entertaining:
Treadgold's survey bridges a gap between the enjoyable yet sometimes sloppy work by Norwich and the considerably drier history of Ostrogorsky. He avoids Norwich's foible of sensationalizing Byzantine history, yet manages to tell an intriguing story nonetheless. Highly recommended.

Really only for the diehard Byzantium Enthusiast:
Detailed, precise, complete, and thick. That is how I describe "A History of the Byzantine State and Society." It is really a book only for the diehard Byzantine enthusiast. If you just want an introduction, there are other, smaller books by Treadgold which give a similiar overview but introduce you slowly. This work begins (really) with the ascention of Diocletion to the throne and ends with the destruction of the Empire of Trebizond in 1461. Everything is at least mentioned in some detail, though not always in great detail. It is, by far, more so a political history and without noticing it, gives religion far less a part in it than he really should have considering that Byzantium is probably in at least the top 5 most religious societies in history. It is definitely more organized then William Manchesters trilogy on Byzantium but not as easy to read. The writing style is 'Fact-After-Fact' and he does an increadibly poor job of explaining the "Monophysite" controversy in the immediate aftermath of Chalcedon in 451 yet doesn't cover the controversy with Nestorius and Ephesus in 431 nearly enough. Whatever you do when you read this, do't try to memorize ever fact that comes up since you will be overwhelmed completely.

A great disappointment:
I apologize for the low ranking, but it stems from several factors. I had been anticipating this book; I had heard that Treadgold would replace previous authors as the master of the "general survey". What I got was essentially a badly organized textbook. I can see how this would be very valuable as a reference work or academic text, but it was not a readable history. The topics were jumbled, the emphasis on economic and political minutiea at the expense of culture and narrative was unfortunate, and the chapters did not flow. I would give it three stars for the obvious hard work and reference value except for Treadgold's attitude. He slams virtually every previous Byzantine scholar (Gibbons, Norwich, Ostrogorsky) as useless, petty, or inaccurate. Even if some of these guys are out of date, they blazed the trail for future work and he should give them respect as fellow scholars instead of insulting them and their life's work. This joyless bitterness may be what makes the prose so little fun to read. For the book-lover who wants a readable history with narrative and style as well as accuracy, this is a dud. Call me low-brow, but I like to be able to enjoy my books.