17600. THE FALL OF ROME AND THE END OF CIVILIZATION BY BRYAN WARD-PERKINS. This paper provides a critical review and analysis of Ward-Perkins’s history on the fall of the Roman Empire. Summarizes the central thesis and main arguments of this book which rejects revisionist claims and defends the traditional view (established since Gibbons) that Rome definitively fell to Germanic invaders. Finds Ward-Perkins’s book notable for its emphasis on the use of archaeological evidence and the use of a “material” (or economic) method versus examining the influence of religion, ideology, social class, etc. Concludes that the most important value of the book is found in how it presents a cohesive argument against the revisionist point of view. KEYWORDS: roman empire fall reasons revisionist history material evidence. Written 2005. MLA Style. 12 pages, 23 footnotes, 1 bibliographic source. 2,693 words.