History

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

6 Hörlgasse
Sharing spectral moments in Vienna and Los Angeles with Freud, Thomas Mann, and Marjorie Perloff.
Anthony RendonDec 5, 2020
Almost Home
The rebel flag, monuments to the Lost Cause, and beyond: the artifacts of white supremacy are part of the landscape of Atlanta.
Pete CandlerDec 3, 2020
Another Holy Land
Michael Scott Moore reviews D. J. Waldie's new book, "Becoming Los Angeles: Myth, Memory, and a Sense of Place."
Michael Scott MooreDec 3, 2020
- History
- Memoir & Essay
Horton! Thou Should Be Living in This Hour: On Matt Sandler’s “The Black Romantic Revolution: Abolitionist Poets at the End of Slavery”
Derik Smith reviews Matt Sandler’s latest work, “The Black Romantic Revolution.”
Derik SmithDec 1, 2020
The Beheading of Rhodes in Cape Town
Nadia Davids reflects on the sawed-away bust of Cecil Rhodes in light of confrontations with memorials both in Cape Town and across the world.
Nadia DavidsDec 1, 2020
Peak Brain: The Metaphors of Neuroscience
Henry Cowles describes how our technologies anchor our metaphors, which in turn anchor how we think about the brain — and ourselves.
Henry M. CowlesNov 30, 2020
- History
- Science & Technology
Free Yet Flawed: On Sherry L. Smith’s “Bohemians West”
Elaine Elinson reviews “Bohemians West: Free Love, Family and Radicals in Twentieth Century America,” the new dual biography by Sherry L. Smith.
Elaine ElinsonNov 28, 2020
Henry Wallace and the Road Not Taken
The Democrats’ turn away from New Deal economic radicalism toward corporate soft power began in 1944 with the dumping of an influential vice president.
Sammy FeldblumNov 27, 2020
- History
- Politics
What Should I Do with Such a Man?: On “Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture”
A new biography does the seemingly impossible: it casts new light on the much-studied founding father of Haiti.
Adolf AlzupharNov 26, 2020
Abolition from Below: On the Underground Railroad to México
María Esther Hammack reviews “South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War” by Alice L. Baumgartner.
María Esther HammackNov 24, 2020
The Undying Half-Life of Yiddish
Two books explore the indelible imprint of Yiddish on modern politics and popular culture.
Marc CaplanNov 23, 2020
Reading Mike Davis in Toronto: Police Violence and the Global City
David Helps on the city where “City of Quartz” was written.
David HelpsNov 22, 2020
- History
- Politics