History

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

The Keys to Paradise: On Children, Martyrdom, and War
An Iranian American’s reflections on Flight 752.
Amir SoltaniFeb 2, 2020
Libraries and Authoritarianism 1940, 2020
Jeremy Braddock on Archibald MacLeish and the campaign to make libraries a bulwark against fascists.
Jeremy BraddockJan 28, 2020
- History
- Politics
Writing Together
Briallen Hopper appreciates "The Mutual Admiration Society," a new book from Mo Moulton.
Briallen HopperJan 27, 2020
Historicizing the Self-Evident: An Interview with Lorraine Daston
Jack Gross interviews historian of science Lorraine Daston about her early work on rules, which has become newly salient in the age of algorithms.
Jack GrossJan 25, 2020
- History
- Science & Technology
Small Culture, Big Mistakes
Philip Ó Ceallaigh reviews a well-researched and compelling study of intellectual life in 1930s Romania.
Philip Ó CeallaighJan 24, 2020
Selling a Charismatic Technology
Historian of technology Patrick McCray reviews Morgan Ames’s new book on the MIT Media Lab’s One Laptop per Child program.
W. Patrick McCrayJan 23, 2020
The Old in the New: Introducing “How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish”
Ilan Stavans and Josh Lambert introduce their new anthology, “How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish.”
Ilan Stavans, Josh LambertJan 21, 2020
A Century of Fighting for Civil Liberties
Stephen Rohde reviews "Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases."
Stephen RohdeJan 19, 2020
Unconsciousness Raising: On Franny Nudelman’s “Fighting Sleep”
Sleep is not just a factor in wartime; it’s also a method of protesting war.
Benjamin ReissJan 16, 2020
- History
- Politics
Utopian Experiments: On Katherine Franke’s “Repair: Redeeming the Promise of Abolition”
Sabrina Alli reviews Katherine Franke's new book, "Repair: Redeeming the Promise of Abolition."
Sabrina AlliJan 15, 2020
Into the Archives: On “Letters from Hollywood”
Chris Yogerst reviews a revealing collection of letters from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Chris YogerstJan 2, 2020
- Film
- History
One Nation, Not Under God
Stephen Rohde reviews "The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American" by Andrew L. Seidel.
Stephen RohdeDec 29, 2019