[Maynerd]

I didn’t notice much of an anti Christian bias. Which is amusing since my antenna is rather hypersensitive on that issue.

The author’s thesis, namely, megatrends of demographics and disease led to the fall of the classical era despite good political and military leadership was legitimate. He reinforces Mark Steyn’s theory that demographics is destiny. China for example has withstood numerous foreign invaders and foreign rulers. All of which are eventually overthrown or absorbed by the massive Han gene pool.

Justinian was a wise and effective ruler but classical Rome was doomed despite him.

[Antoninus]

I didn’t notice much of an anti Christian bias. Which is amusing since my antenna is rather hypersensitive on that issue.

You have to know what to look for. I read the academic literature in Byzantine studies with some regularity and I can smell the bias a mile away. In Justinian's Flea it was particularly evident in the author's totally out-of-context condemnation of the Crusades, his blaming of the burning of the Library at Alexandria on Christians without a reference (even going to far as to say that to blame it on Muslims is "libel"), and his assumption that Pope Silverius was actually in collusion with the Goths to turn Rome over to them.

The author’s thesis, namely, megatrends of demographics and disease led to the fall of the classical era despite good political and military leadership was legitimate.

Good leadership that does not address demographic decline is not good leadership. I liken what happened to the late Romans with what is currently happening to the Europeans. They have a strong "imperial" power protecting them from their traditional enemies, so they've gotten fat, lazy, and degenerate. And when the imperial power itself becomes degenerate and overextended, the subject countries are left nearly defenseless--a barbaric invader can just walk in and take things from them with barely any resistance.