That looks great! It’s on the kindle now…
Thanks!
I am now indeed well into Decline and Fall–if you can call 5-6% as of last I looked on the Kindle “well into.” Gibbon’s writing is enjoyable, if sometimes lacking in the sort of historical detail that I would enjoy–but I’ve read ancient histories directly before, and I know that they’re not always packed with anecdotes. My complaint, so far as I really have one, is with the ediiton itself–the editor took issue with Gibbon’s negative attitude towards Christianity, which leads to lengthy footnotes any time Gibbon takes a swipe at anything vaguely related. (A rather snide reference to the province of Judaea produced a footnote several kindle-screens long.) More generally, the kindle edition doesn’t handle footnotes well, and it’s rather difficult to tell what’s Gibbon’s and what’s various later commentators or the editor.
I’ve also picked up some fluff for my upcoming vacation–I can’t really imagine anything this meaty while packed into the cattle car for eight hours on the way to Prague. That’ll be time for Walter Moers’ The Alchemaster’s Apprentice, the Nero Wolfe mystery The League of Frightened Men, or if I’m feeling ambitious, Sterne’s Tristram Shandy (hey, it was free and I’ve been meaning to try it for a while!).