Byzantine History
In graduate school I worked on a paper on Mt. Athos in connection with a seminar in Byzantine Greek. That means that however long ago it may have been, I had some familiarity with the subject: the Turkish-laced vocabulary and the colorful wealth, descriptions of the Hagia Sophia, Justinian, and his exotic wife. Unfortunately, I have forgotten just about everything. While I could understand the first chapter or so of a review copy of a book on social theory about the Byzantines, the rest of the book was lost on me. A few weeks ago, when I was trying to de

Eve and Daylight Savings Time
Anniversaries of Pompey's birth day and death day were a little over a month ago. Since then there has been a lackadaisical discussion of how likely it was that they would coincide and whether the death day was one day earlier than the birthday. The discussion has been on Twitter and

The Lost Throne
Despite his lies, despite his flaws, despite his harshest critics, Schliemann was a visionary. A genius of epic proportions. At the time of his death, do you know how many langua

Belisarius
One problem a reviewer has is finding a way to push aside the bile and just keep reading all the way to the end. If I have lots of time on my hands (can't remember the last time), I can do it, but it takes a long time to read a disappointing book because things like cleaning the toilet suddenly cease to be chores. If there isn't a dirty toilet, there are always surfaces to dust or a stray glass to wash. Normally, however, reviewing is just a small part of my work and I don't have inordinate time to waste finishing reading material that isn't worth recommending. There are ex