History

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

Moving on Up — and Out: On L. Benjamin Rolsky’s “The Rise and Fall of the Religious Left”
John Compton reviews L. Benjamin Rolsky's recently published book, "The Rise and Fall of the Religious Left."
John ComptonNov 22, 2020
“History Has Many Cunning Passages”: On Jonathan Kaufman’s “The Last Kings of Shanghai”
Qiu Xiaolong reviews “The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China” by Jonathan Kaufman.
Qiu XiaolongNov 20, 2020
The Jesus of History and the Gods of Natural Theology
Brad East considers "History and Eschatology: Jesus and the Promise of Natural Theology," the recently published book by N. T. Wright.
Brad EastNov 19, 2020
- History
- Religion
Wagging the Dog, Avant-Garde Style: How the Russian Non-Parliamentary Opposition Influenced Putin’s Kremlin
Andrei Rogatchevski delves into “It Will Be Fun and Terrifying: Nationalism and Protest in Post-Soviet Russia,” by Fabrizio Fenghi.
Andrei RogatchevskiNov 18, 2020
After the Factory Closes: On Kerri Arsenault’s “Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains”
A set of linked essays about Maine’s dying factory landscape leaves a distinct impression.
Alex HansonNov 17, 2020
- History
- Memoir & Essay
The Machete as Metaphor: On Roberto Lovato’s “Unforgetting”
A new memoir cuts through the density of buried trauma in El Salvador.
Gabriel San RománNov 16, 2020
The Plot and the Argument: Philosophy as a Narrative Affair
The compelling story of four German-language thinkers in the aftermath of World War I.
Costica BradatanNov 15, 2020
Travels in a Vanished City: On Timon Screech’s “Tokyo Before Tokyo” and Amy Stanley’s “Stranger in the Shogun’s City”
Paul Kreitman reviews Timon Screech’s “Tokyo Before Tokyo” and Amy Stanley’s “Stranger in the Shogun’s City.”
Paul KreitmanNov 11, 2020
Foggy Notions
W. Patrick McCray on “Rational Fog” by historian M. Susan Lindee. It addresses how “scientific knowledge and military applications meet, maraud, and maim.”
W. Patrick McCrayNov 9, 2020
The Poet and the Dictionary
The reality of a dictionary never lives up to its promises. It fails language. It also fails poets looking for pure language.
Chelsie MalyszekNov 7, 2020
Getting into Good Medical Trouble
Historian of Medicine Richard Mizelle shows us why John Lewis’s call for getting into “good trouble” needs to be applied to the medical profession.
Richard M. Mizelle Jr.Nov 6, 2020
Mountain Music, Women’s Music, and the Roots of Our Obsession with Roots
A pioneer folklorist found some British origins of Appalachian music, but missed so much else.
Gregory P. DownsNov 5, 2020