History

"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history." — George Bernard Shaw

A Historian Forgotten: On Andrew Diemer’s “Vigilance”
Bennett Parten reviews Andrew Diemer’s “Vigilance: The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad.”
Bennett PartenMay 7, 2023
- History
The Best of All Possible Wars: Warfare, Worldmaking, and the Creative Imagination
Anders Engberg-Pedersen asks what happens when the military imagines war as an art.
Anders Engberg-PedersenMay 6, 2023
- History
Window to the Mind: On Brinsley Samaroo and Eric Williams’s “The Blackest Thing in Slavery Was Not the Black Man”
Devin Leigh evaluates the final work of Caribbean historian Eric Williams, “The Blackest Thing in Slavery Was Not the Black Man: The Last Testament of Eric Williams.”
Devin LeighMay 1, 2023
- History
The Author Machine
Matthew Blackwell excavates the analog roots of the digital humanities.
Matthew BlackwellApr 29, 2023
- History
A Crowd of Incompetents: On Peter Burke’s “Ignorance”
Peter B. Kaufman reviews Peter Burke’s “Ignorance: A Global History.”
Peter B. KaufmanApr 28, 2023
- History
Reports from a Cold Crater: On Charlotte A. Lerg’s “The Diary of Lt. Melvin J. Lasky”
Tobias Boes reviews Charlotte A. Lerg’s “The Diary of Lt. Melvin J. Lasky: Into Germany at the End of World War II.”
Tobias BoesApr 6, 2023
- History
Staying the Course: On Reed Brody’s “To Catch a Dictator”
Doug Merlino reviews “To Catch a Dictator: The Pursuit and Trial of Hissène Habré” by Reed Brody.
Doug MerlinoApr 2, 2023
- History
Play Me Some Mountain Music: On Emily Hilliard’s “Making Our Future”
Tom Zoellner reviews Emily Hilliard’s “Making Our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia.”
Tom ZoellnerMar 20, 2023
- History
Staring into a Total Eclipse: On Adam Hochschild’s “American Midnight”
Robert Slayton examines Adam Hochschild’s “American Midnight.”
Robert SlaytonMar 16, 2023
- History
Skeletons in the Dungeon: Conspiracy Theory, Nationalism, and the French Revolution
Nicole Bauer explores how the French Revolution made conspiracy theory central to modern political discourse.
Nicole BauerMar 9, 2023
- History
Ingesting Mercury and the Noble Lie: On Anthony Barbieri-Low’s “The Many Lives of the First Emperor of China” and Shadi Bartsch’s “Plato Goes to China”
Leigh Jenco reviews Anthony Barbieri-Low’s “The Many Lives of the First Emperor of China” and Shadi Bartsch’s “Plato Goes to China: The Greek Classics and Chinese Nationalism.”
Leigh JencoMar 6, 2023
- History
Structures of Belonging and Nonbelonging: On Kirsten Silva Gruesz’s “Cotton Mather’s Spanish Lessons”
Joseph Rezek contemplates “Cotton Mather’s Spanish Lessons: A Story of Language, Race, and Belonging in the Early Americas” by Kirsten Silva Gruesz.
Joseph RezekFeb 1, 2023
- History