Haussig has written the definitive volume on Byzantine culture and scoiety. The book is set up as a series of sociiological slices from the different eras of Byzantine history, and traces the evolution of particular aspects of Byzantine culture. The book's barrage of goregeous photographs and illustrations are a great complement to Haussig's splendid writing. In addition to being one of the greatest works on Byzantine history this book contains one of the best summaries of how and why the Western Empire disintegrated while the Eastern Empire survived. This book can't help but be both useful and entertaining.