History

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

Tasty Waves
Surf expert Michael Scott Moore braves Patrick Moser’s “Surf and Rescue: George Freeth and the Birth of California Beach Culture.”
Michael Scott MooreSep 8, 2022
- History
- Nonfiction
“History Really Is a Human Story”: A Conversation with A. M. Homes
Yvonne Conza speaks with A. M. Homes about her new novel, “The Unfolding.”
Yvonne ConzaSep 6, 2022
The East Village Detective: On Bill Morrison’s Historical Poetics
Seth Fein considers Bill Morrison’s latest, “The Village Detective: A Song Cycle,” in the context of the filmmaker’s body of work.
Seth FeinAug 30, 2022
- Film
- History
Autocracy and Historical Accidents: On Katie Stallard’s “Dancing on Bones” and Joseph W. Esherick’s “Accidental Holy Land”
Ed Pulford considers Katie Stallard’s “Dancing on Bones” and Joseph W. Esherick’s “Accidental Holy Land.”
Ed PulfordAug 26, 2022
The Land Is a Body
Yangyang Cheng reviews Ruth Rogaski’s “Knowing Manchuria: Environments, the Senses, and Natural Knowledge on an Asian Borderland” and Victor Seow’s “Carbon Technocracy: Energy Regimes in Modern East Asia.”
Yangyang ChengAug 24, 2022
Herzog in the Jungle
Anne Goldman untangles the jungle of thoughts in Werner Herzog’s novel, “The Twilight World.”
Anne GoldmanAug 23, 2022
In Praise of the Arab Editor
Nile Green discovers Ahmed El Shamsy’s “Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition.”
Nile GreenAug 21, 2022
The “Peacewar” of Sanctions
Priya Satia approves of Nicholas Mulder’s “The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War.”
Priya SatiaAug 19, 2022
Liberating the Archives: Hugh Ryan’s “Women’s House of Detention”
Eric Newman interviews Hugh Ryan about the queer carceral history of his new book, “The Women’s House of Detention”
Eric NewmanAug 16, 2022
Remembering in Taipei and Forgetting in Fuzhou: On Zhuqing Li’s “Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden: Two Sisters Separated by China’s Civil War”
Tobie Meyer-Fong reviews Zhuqing Li’s “Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden: Two Sisters Separated by China’s Civil War.”
Tobie Meyer-FongAug 13, 2022
- Around the World
- History
Does Classics Have a Future? On Sarah Derbew’s “Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity”
Najee Olya reviews Sarah Derbew’s “Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity.”
Najee OlyaAug 8, 2022
- Cultural Studies
- History
Victim of His Own Celebrity: On Richard Schickel’s “The Famous Mr. Fairbanks”
Chris Yogerst reviews Richard Schickel’s “The Famous Mr. Fairbanks: A Story of Celebrity.”
Chris YogerstAug 7, 2022