I knew I was destined to be a historian a long time ago. I served two tours in Iraq with the Army, taught English in Italy and fell in love with history along the way. I graduated from Southern University with degrees in Art and History. Do I work in either of those fields? No. (maybe a little with the art though.) But I certainly haven’t earned a dime from my history degree. Is that the point? No. That isn’t why I study history. I don’t study history to argue with academics or write long papers that no one will ever read. I study history because I love it. I love the stories, I love the small corners of history that have been left undisturbed and unknown. I like reading about people, their ideas and times. It’s a way to remember them and give their lives meaning. History wasn’t meant for a few stuffy professors, it was meant for all of us. Anyone can enjoy history and with a little effort, learn from it. So, don’t take what I say too seriously. It’s for entertainment and with that, I hope you do enjoy it. Remember, always ask “so what?” Why is something important? Everything has meaning. (okay, maybe not Jersey Shore.) Find that meaning. Why did people do what they did? Keep asking questions and you’ll find that the answers often lead to bigger and more interesting questions.
I’m actually a James Bond villain in real life. The pay is good but the benefits are lousy.
minimumwagehistorian.wordpress.com 
Love the blog. The silk road is a favorite historical subject of mine. I love you’re verve. I also think the first sentence of the bio needs to be corrected: fell in love with…? Keep up the great blog!
I have enjoyed our conversations! I too, love “the peoples’ history”. It is sad that most schools try to teach dates, locations & facts. I for one love to explore the individual at the center of the historical event.
We have talked about this, the fluid human (living or dead) document.
Important lessons of life are found in the historical quest to follow the footsteps of historical travelers. Your works, even in the venue of historical entertainment brings insights to the topic.
Zack link to writer job, as found in Google Docs…. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.12&thid=13462cb85a77a649&mt=application/msword&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D1bfb50c37d%26view%3Datt%26th%3D13462cb85a77a649%26attid%3D0.12%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbQyPmuw2z6ZIR2aquqvel0gISLwBw
History enthusiasts of the world unite and enjoy Minimum Wage Historians articles.
I have a question, sir-
I am very interested in the Crusades and especially the Germans’ (or rather, the Holy Roman Empire) involvement in them. I want to know, when the HRE went back for the Third Crusade (at least until Frederick’s drowning), what did their uniforms look like? I mean, not all the HRE Crusaders did not wear the white with the black cross on it, those were just the Teutonic Knights, warrior monks just like the Templars and Hospitalliers. Did the HRE Crusaders wear the black eagle crest on their tunics? Or could they have sewn a black cross on a yellow background (obviously a Greek or Maltese cross; the Latin cross was most likely not used that early)?
Any help or insight is greatly appreciated.
-Tom (Lincoln Township, Brown County, SD)
PS- I see you’ve done 2 tours in Iraq? Righteous. Thank you for serving! I am currently in the Army Reserve as a firefighter.
That’s a tall order but I will see what I can do. My access to books is kinda restricted at the moment but I will begin the researching this immediately. But I will say that most early crusaders wore what they had with just a simple cross sewed on to them somewhere.
In your book about deadly females, which I recently read, there was no mention of Isabella of France. If you’ll recall, she married Edward II of England, went back to France when she became estranged from Edward II. There she took a lover and she and her lover went back to England where they successfully deposed Edward II, and she became the Regent of England for her son Edward II. I wonder why she wasn’t included. She seems more suitable for inclusion than some of the others
Actually, I wrote a post about her after I published that book! Yeah, she’s fantastic. If I do a part II, I’ll be sure to include her.
Curious. I looked in the index and didn’t see her. Ah well, I’ll be reading your new book whenever it comes out.
Oops, looking back, it seems I didn’t write about her. I know I did the research but something else must have come up. She’s now on my “to write” list!
Love this blog as well 🙂 BTW I also know that my MA in History is not going to bring me loads of money. But anyway, I love history too, that’s why I started my studes – if only my friends and family could understand this…
Regards
Mike (UK / Poland)
Hey, it’s Yosuke. Are you already in the U.S?
Posting a comment is the only way to contact you through this website?
Anyway, it’s a shame that you had to leave Japan that early.
Please keep in touch.
Zachary passed away. I’m sorry.
Hi I am using one of your pictures for my history day project and for my bibliography, my teacher wants the names of people who posted on the website so could you please give me your name and the article name THANKS 😀
No problem! use what you need!
A bond villain who is also a historian. Now THAT I want to see. Now all we have to do is figure out why the Lobbyist Industrial Complex wants to hunt you down with 007. Did you disturb the wrong prof? 😀
Contact me on FB. Jeff Golemon. I have a few things for you that might be of interest, especially if Capello was with you in Abu on the 2nd of April. he belonged to me on that convoy north.
Hi,
I am interested in using the illustration captioned, ‘These were battle hardened fighters that wouldn’t think twice of charging into the den of werewolves.’
This illustration shows Anglo Saxon warriors holding their axes and helmets, ready for fighting.
Could you let me know the cost if I were to use this as my book cover illustration.
Many thanks
Roy Stedall-Humphryes.