The approach to history that tries to memorize names and dates and numbers has the tendency to rob people of sympathy that might help you understand backgrounds, attitudes, and motivations way better than memorizing numbers. It would seem like time periods, cultures, inventions, and geography would make up too many differences. But people are people. Although there are differences between you and a German from the thirties or a Roman auxiliary soldier, there are also so many things you have in common just because of the fact that you’re human.

So that’s what this is. I have a few stories that I think would be better told with an approach that considers the human side of history.