Monday, August 09, 2010

My Birthday Party with Miltiades.

Today is my birthday, and although I spent most of the day recovering from a cold, I still think it's been a pretty cool start to this birthday year. On Friday I went out with my co-workers for an early b-day party, Saturday I got my hair done and then yesterday I went out with my family to one of my favorite SF restaurants before we headed to the bookstore. What books did I get for my birthday? History books, of course!

The first book is Richard A. Billows' Marathon: How One Battle Changed Western Civilization, and the other is Lost to The West by Lars Brown Worth. I'll hold off on my review of Marathon for now, but I will say that I'm really enjoying Lost to The West. I've never paid much attention to the Byzantine Empire, but it's actually quite an interesting subject. Lars Brownworth is a solid writer, and takes pains to make the convoluted history of the empire easy to understand. So if you've always wondered about the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, pick this book up. It's great!

Oh, and don't worry, Themistocles fans. I'll have another piece of my story up for you to read soon! :)