08-02-2009, 06:32 PM
I read that book recently as part of my research and found it to be no more than workman-like with much improvisation and imagining. In places it even reads more as a rough novel than an historical work - for comparison his book on Waterloo is superb but of course covers a battle which is well documented and layered with personal reflections and anecdotes. Adrianople, of course, remains elusive because of the paucity of the original source materials (Ammianus and Zosimus, principally). Personally, I've found MacdDowell's Osprey book, Peter Heather's writings, Peter Donnely's article here the most illuminating.
Francis Hagan
The Barcarii
The Barcarii