History

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

A Plea for Isabella
Lucas Barron explores the contradictions inherent in “Columbus’ Last Appeal to Queen Isabella” and its removal from the California State Capitol.
Lucas BarronAug 23, 2020
To Ascend into Secrets: Speaking the Pandemic
Ian Dreiblatt traces “the surprising, powerful change that can be driven by a crisis of human proximities.”
Ian DreiblattAug 22, 2020
Commerce and Politics at Sea
An accessible yet sophisticated introduction to the history of maritime trade in the Arabian Peninsula.
Linda Roland DanilAug 22, 2020
The Institutional Gaze of the School
Griselda Pollock looks at "School Photos in Liquid Time," a new book by Marianne Hirsch and Leo Spitzer.
Griselda PollockAug 21, 2020
What We Know About Hurricanes: On Eric Jay Dolin’s “A Furious Sky”
The astonishing spectacle of hurricanes shows us how much we know and don’t know about the natural world.
Lyn MillnerAug 20, 2020
Wyatt Earp Does Not Rest in Peace
A pair of new books about US Marshal Wyatt Earp are now out. Only one of them shoots straight.
Allen BarraAug 19, 2020
- Biography & Autobiography
- History
Upending the Travelogue: A Conversation with Sophy Roberts
Sophy Roberts goes on an untraditional quest.
Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosseAug 18, 2020
Beats and All
Loren Glass reviews "The Beats: A Literary History," a new book by Steven Belletto.
Loren GlassAug 17, 2020
Like Flies to Honey: On Eric H. Cline’s “Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon”
Lydia Pyne reviews Eric H. Cline’s recent book, "Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon
Lydia PyneAug 16, 2020
- History
- Science & Technology
Double Lives: On Louise Brooks’s “Thirteen Women in Films”
Maya Cantu puts actress Louise Brooks’s unpublished manuscript “Thirteen Women in Films” in conversation with the recent documentary “Silent and Forgotten.”
Maya CantuAug 15, 2020
Suicide Missions
Historian Michael D. Gordin reviews several books in order to tackle the problem of deferred solutions — the fact that we seem rigged to defer suffering.
Michael D. GordinAug 12, 2020
The World as a Problem Never Fully Solved
The improvised life (and afterlife) of the British art rock group Henry Cow.
Stathis GourgourisAug 9, 2020