History

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

The Way They Move
Jean Comandon's 1909 "Spirochaeta Pallida (Agent de la Syphilis)" brought together the history of science and technology, sex and entertainment.
Sonia Shechet EpsteinDec 25, 2019
The Vital Relation: What Vivian Gornick Got Right About the History of American Communism
Lana Dee Povitz considers Vivian Gornick and her relation to midcentury American communism.
Lana Dee PovitzDec 24, 2019
- History
- Politics
Histories of Violence: Slavery in America
Brad Evans speaks with Ana Lucia Araujo, author of “Reparations for Slavery and the Slave Trade.” A conversation in the “Histories of Violence” series.
Brad EvansDec 23, 2019
- Histories of Violence
- History
Still Burning: Remembering the James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. Debate
Bill V. Mullen reads "The Fire Is upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley, Jr. and the Debate Over Race in America" by Nicholas Buccola.
Bill V. MullenDec 21, 2019
- History
- Politics
After the Fall: Revisiting 1989 in a New Age of Walls
Matthew Longo considers the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall and the sociopolitical implications of it — both now and then.
Matthew LongoDec 10, 2019
Stirring the Ashes: A Conversation with Harry Harootunian
A historian turns to the horror in his family’s own past.
Halis YildirimDec 7, 2019
Cigarette Stories
Andrew Benedict-Nelson considers "The Cigarette: A Political History" by Sarah Milov.
Andrew Benedict-NelsonDec 6, 2019
The Art of Conjecturing: On Karen Olsson’s “The Weil Conjectures”
Michael J. Barany reviews Karen Olsson’s “The Weil Conjectures,” a hybrid elegy and memoir about the power of conjecturing — in math, life, and writing.
Michael J. BaranyDec 3, 2019
Melancholy Recollections: On Sarah Abrevaya Stein’s “Family Papers”
Sarah Abrevaya Stein’s “Family Papers” is a rigorously researched chronicle of a Sephardic clan.
Elaine MargolinNov 28, 2019
An Ardent Call to Arms: On Harriet A. Washington’s “A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind”
Eisa Nefertari Ulen reviews Harriet A. Washington's new book, "A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind."
Eisa Nefertari UlenNov 26, 2019
- History
- Nonfiction
Vasily Grossman: Myths and Counter-Myths
Robert Chandler and Yury Bit-Yunan demythologize the life of Vasily Grossman.
Robert Chandler, Yury Bit-YunanNov 13, 2019
- Around the World
- History
Horror and Moral Splendor: On Douglas Smith’s “The Russian Job: The Forgotten Story of How America Saved the Soviet Union from Ruin”
Richard Lourie takes on “The Russian Job: The Forgotten Story of How America Saved the Soviet Union from Ruin” by Douglas Smith.
Richard LourieNov 8, 2019