Late Roman Empire and the Early Middle Ages

One of my favorite periods in history. This summer I spent a lot of time reading up on the "Fall of Rome." A well respected scholar, Chris Wickham, has come out now with Framing the Early Middle Ages. It should be on everybody's to-read list except for the price: US$175! As you might guess with a price like that it is from Oxford University Press. It may take awhile before I can get a copy to read, but I will as soon as possible. In the meantime, another scholar I know virtually, Steve Muhlberger of Nipissing University in Canada, has written a brief review of it. Check it out.

In the meantime I should get started on Bryan Ward-Perkins The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization (right after I finish Ilium, The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History, Haroun al-Rachid, several books on Cervantes and - well, Hell won't have frozen, but there will be frost warnings in Hades before I get to it)