I've spent the past few days thinking about what 'late antiquity' actually means after using it without thinking for the last two years. This is because I am now planning the introduction for my PhD dissertation and now have to justify my approach to the topic (I've basically written 1000 words explaining the use of 'late antiquity' in my title). Happily, having spent so much time hanging around here I already have some experience at that and it was very helpful to read my AskHistorians comments when I'm trying formulate a more 'academic' argument for continuity in this period. There is also a wealth of material online and I particularly enjoyed this set of essays on the challenges facing late-antique scholars. Other academic papers can also be found here and there, as well as on academia.edu, so even when I'm just working at my desk I can access a pretty impressive range of resources. The wonders of doing research in a digital age!

For lighter reading, I just finished Robert Harris' Dictator, the conclusion to his historical fiction trilogy on Cicero's life. It was a pretty wild ride and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did find parts of it rather rushed, though I guess since it covers 15 years (as opposed to 5 in the previous book) during the critical period at the end of the Roman republic, it is to be expected. There is also a lot of extracts from Cicero’s letters, which adds to the atmosphere, but at the same time I feel that some of the more lengthy quotations could be shortened, if only to give Harris more space for his portrayal of the political intrigues at this time. Harris is just fantastic at building up suspense and writing about the finer aspects of politics, so I do wish there was much more on that instead. Still, it was a very enjoyable book and I really recommend his trilogy to anyone interested in Roman history. His other books, particularly Fatherland, which is set in a world where the Nazis won World War II, are also worth reading!

I've always known that Corporal Walker (who is of no special import outside my own work) died under tragic circumstances in 1890, while the fieldwork of the Geodetic Survey of South Africa was underway. Now I have the details, thanks to a cache of field diaries from the original survey that I managed to dig out. He was actually in the field, and somehow managed to hang himself in his tent. ("How do you hang yourself in a tent?" the librarian asked. "Inventively, I'd say," was my dismaying immediate answer. Too soon?)

For records from an era where death struck more capriciously, records of scientific activities don't talk about these things much. The deaths of survey team members have shown up more than once, and in all instances (except Walker's) I hadn't even known. They erase the dead person and send their effects away, and just keep rolling forward, unless that death comes as the result of enemies. It's a reminder of the very different manners in which such things could be handled in the documentary record--which may not at all reflect how people really felt about them. I still can't find the data on the death of the survey leader's son (a soldier around age 21), who was not on the survey, but it's an event which I suspect had a hugely chilling effect on his enthusiasm for spending his time out in the field.

I'm looking for a specific book on the Canadian role in WW1/WW2. I remember the title as "Maple leaf at War" and I thought it was mentioned here someday. However, I'm unable to find a book by that title. Any thoughts on which it could be?

And while I'm at it, any suggestions for a book on the Belgium front during WW1? The reading list on /r/AH does provide 1 on the second battle of Ypres, but not more comprehensive (or additional) book.

I finished A History of the Ancient Near East: ca 3000-323 BC by Marc van der Mieroop recently. I thought it was great and would recommend it to anyone looking for a book on the Ancient Near East. Now I've moved onto some fiction for a little while.

Can anyone recommend a book on the history of Florida? It's not something I've seen on here much, but some relatives moved there for retirement recently and I was thinking it might make for a nice present.

Decided after reading up on Nullification I wanted to get more grounding in the era. At first I thought I'd pick up Wilentz' Rise of American Democracy and Howe's What Hath God Wrought and read them in parallel, sort of against one another. Then I realized that would probably be very frustrating to swap back and forth, so I opted for just reading WHGW straight out. Actually bought it twice because a local store had a last-generation Kindle Paperwhite on clearance and if you haven't seen WHGW, it's one of those books that you could seriously injure a child or house pet with.

At first I thought it was just the novelty of the format, but WHGH is so good that I've burned through 570 pages in three days. I've never read history this quickly, especially not long surveys. The only bits I find hard going are when Howe gets into specific denominational religious history, but that's down to my prejudices. I take his point, at least so far as I've read, that the constellation of evangelical associations for social reform had meaningful democratizing power and deserves credit for it, but I'd like to hear a bit more about the exceptions to their program as well. I'm just barely into the 1840s, so I imagine that, Ursuline convent aside, it's largely still to come.

I'm reading Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849 by William O.S. Gilly. There are a few things that strike me as odd... for one, it seems from the book that a shipwreck that was handled well by the Captain and crew could result in a recommendation (or recommendations)for promotion during the court martial, and quite often resulted in a promotion. The fact that a court martial was convened for almost every shipwreck is an eye-opener as well.

Another thing I noticed is that it seems that the typical trope of "women and children first" was actually more than just a romantic notion. It seems as if, on at least one occasion, this trope was enforced by the threat of immediate execution for anyone who broke this rule, and quite often it was honored without a threat. In the case of immediate execution, a particular captain threatened to shoot offenders on-site.

I have recently become fascinated by stories of shipwrecks, and after having read the usual Crusoe, Treasure Island etc, I then found the works of Harry Collingwood, and fell in love with his work. I'm reading Dick Leslie's Luck concurrently.

I just got into this community this week. I'm a pretty hardcore scientist (student, neuroscience & math double major with computer science minor) and have always had a soft spot for history. Where do i start. One of my best friends is huge into ancient rome so i have started listening to Mike Duncan's History of Rome, and various readings/lectures from across the globe.

My main question is, as someone interested not just in one period of history, but more the saga of the human race... is rome the right place to start?