History

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

A Weighty Affair: On Ed Simon’s “Pandemonium”
David Bentley Hart reviews Ed Simon’s “Pandemonium: A Visual History of Demonology.”
David Bentley HartOct 16, 2022
When a Revolution Tells Children’s Stories
Mina Khanlarzadeh reflects on the children’s stories impacted by the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Mina KhanlarzadehOct 15, 2022
Musket on Your Shoulder and No Bread at Home: On Holly A. Pinheiro Jr.’s “The Families’ Civil War”
Erin L. Thompson considers Holly A. Pinheiro Jr.’s “The Families’ Civil War: Black Soldiers and the Fight for Racial Justice.”
Erin L. ThompsonOct 12, 2022
Robert Houston: “A Photographer Who Shot from the Heart”
Patrick A. Howell scans the legacy of the great African American photographer Robert Houston.
Patrick A. HowellOct 8, 2022
The Bargaining Chips Are … Chips: On Chris Miller’s “Chip War”
Historian of technology Patrick McCray describes Chris Miller’s “Chip War” as “an account of how chips became a strategically vital resource whose importance is overlooked at our peril.” Miller has placed his own chips on this point. His bet has largely paid off, according to McCray.
W. Patrick McCrayOct 4, 2022
Mussolini’s Kitchen: On Diana Garvin’s “Feeding Fascism”
Anne Wingenter feasts upon Diana Garvin’s history of 1930s Italian kitchens, Feeding Fascism.
Anne WingenterOct 3, 2022
- History
- Politics
Which Way the NAACP: On A. J. Baime’s “White Lies” and Tomiko Brown-Nagin’s “Civil Rights Queen”
Randal Jelks considers two books about underappreciated Civil Rights figures, A. J. Baime’s “White Lies: The Double Life of Walter F. White and America’s Darkest Secret” and Tomiko Brown-Nagin’s “ Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality.”
Randal Maurice JelksSep 29, 2022
Greed and Envy in the Armenian Genocide: A Conversation with Ümit Kurt
Aris Janigian speaks with Ümit Kurt about his book “The Armenians of Aintab: The Economics of Genocide in an Ottoman Province.”
Aris JanigianSep 28, 2022
- History
- Nonfiction
Dreaming About Julius Rosenberg, Again
David Evanier revisits interviews he conducted with those involved in the case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
David EvanierSep 23, 2022
The Muse as Creator: On Mark Braude’s “Kiki Man Ray”
Justin Tyler Clark reviews Mark Braude’s new biography “Kiki Man Ray: Art, Love, and Rivalry in 1920s Paris.”
Justin Tyler ClarkSep 20, 2022
The Girl and the Outlaw: Jordan Peele’s “Nope” and the End of the Alien
Paul Thompson explores the strangeness of the film industry in L.A. and its reckoning with racist histories and the natural world in Jordan Peele's "Nope."
Paul ThompsonSep 11, 2022
Making History End, Again
Andrew Koppelman is happy with “Liberalism and Its Discontents” by Francis Fukuyama.
Andrew KoppelmanSep 10, 2022