Research thoughts:
For those looking for SSDI information [Social Security Death Information] try http://go.fold3.com/ssdi/. This service used to be on Rootsweb but was shoved off for 'security' reasons. Other free sites that offer the database include familysearch.org.

My current 'can't put it down' reading is The Courthouses of Early Virginia. Starting with international research, Carl R Lounsbury, discusses the relationship of pre-1600 court information with the development of the court system in colonial Virginia. History, architecture, vignettes of cases and court protocol is included with diagrams over time of blueprints of expansions and photographs starting from the Civil War. For my personal interest: the history of court systems over time of each individual county!