About Me

My name is Nick Burchett. I was born in 1966 and live in Kansas, where I balance a full-time career as an IT Business Systems Analyst with a lifelong passion for history, philosophy, and the long arc of human civilization. I am divorced, a father of three grown children, and someone who has spent decades studying how people, societies, and institutions rise, flourish, and eventually decline.

My path to historical study began early but was sharpened by experience. I served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1988, followed by service in the Army Reserves until 1994. Military life gave me a practical sense of how states function, how institutions rely on human behavior, and how fragile order can be. Years later, I earned my BA in History (cum laude, 2015) and joined the Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society, formalizing what had already been a lifelong habit of research and inquiry.

My academic and personal interests are broad:

• American Civil War history, especially Missouri and Kansas
• The Viking Age
• Medieval and Early Modern Europe
• Ancient civilizations
• Military history
• Political science
• Genealogy and cemetery research

I’ve spent countless hours reading, researching, writing, and walking through old cemeteries and archives, looking for the small threads that tie together human experience across centuries. I’ve written academic papers, online articles, blog posts, and short stories, and remain—above all else—a student of history and historiography.

The rise and fall of civilizations has become one of my deepest intellectual fascinations. It’s a topic with roots in myth, religion, philosophy, and science, and it appears everywhere: in chronicles, poems, letters, treatises, scripture, and the archaeological record. My introduction to the subject was Sir John Glubb’s The Fate of Empires, and from there I expanded into the works of Ophuls, Durant, Tainter, and other thinkers who attempted to map the life cycle of societies. Today, the world—especially here in the United States—seems to provide vivid, sometimes unsettling examples that echo their arguments.

Alas, Epicurus exists for one purpose: to gather, explore, and discuss the ideas, patterns, and theories surrounding the development and decline of civilizations.

This site is not here to sell ads, harvest emails, or promote any ideology. I’m not claiming intellectual authority or special insight—just a curious mind, a love of historical research, and a willingness to analyze the world with as much clarity and honesty as I can manage. Here you’ll find:

• Quotes and excerpts from historians and theorists
• Links to books, videos, and podcasts
• Commentary on key ideas
• Reflections, notes, and essays
• My own interpretations, opinions, and mistakes along the way

If you share an interest in the deep rhythms of history—or simply want to read along as someone works through the long conversation of civilization—then you’re welcome here.

I don’t know everything. I don’t pretend to. I’m simply trying to think clearly about a topic that has shaped the past and will certainly shape the future.

As a side note, for those curious, the site tile “Alas, Epicurus” is a combination of a couple things.

First, Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. His philosophy was fond of or adapted to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures; having luxurious tastes or habits, especially in eating and drinking. Epicureanism argued that pleasure was the chief good in life.

Now, while it seems the US in the stages of civilization decline, the two final stages (varies between various viewpoints) before collapse are defined as “Age of Affluence” and then “Age of Moral Decay”. Epicurus’ belief goes hand in hand with the affluent civilization we currently reside in.

Finally, pieced together with author Pat Frank’s post-apocalyptic book “Alas, Babylon” I decided on Alas, Epicurus as a title for a site dealing with the fall of civilizations.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you find something here worth thinking about.