The Seven-Day Book Cover Challenge, Day Five: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

But first, a joke.

At a major league baseball game, the batter hit a line drive right that caught the second-base umpire right behind the ear. He staggered a bit, but shook it off, and play continued. But as time went on, he began to act a little loopy. He wandered around the field, and eventually started walking in little circles just behind third base, finishing in a beautiful death spiral. He lay there on the ground until a medical crew ran out and hauled him off on a stretcher.

One of the TV commentators turned to the other and said, "We have just witnessed the Decline and Fall of the Roamin' Umpire."

Now to the serious stuff.

The 19th-Century historian Edward Gibbon changed the way history books are written. He also changed the way, and the reasons why, history books are read.

It took me seven years to finish this six-volume masterpiece, a few pages at a time. When I finally closed the last volume, I understood more about the entirety of western civilization than I ever had before.