History

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

Round Numbers in Latin American History: 1992 and 2021
“He was a skilled sailor, but his ideological compass was thoroughly medieval.” Lois Parkinson Zamora on Christopher Columbus and Hernán Cortés.
Lois Parkinson ZamoraMar 24, 2019
- Around the World
- History
Currents of Revolution: On Julius S. Scott’s “The Common Wind”
Malkah Bressler reviews Julius S. Scott's "The Common Wind," a classic of 18th-century Caribbean scholarship, now published 30 years after being written.
Malkah BresslerMar 21, 2019
- Around the World
- History
On the Vice of Storytelling: An Interview with Aaron Shulman
Aaron Shulman tells a real-life family saga of modern Spain.
Lauren HamlinMar 20, 2019
Russianness Under Foreign Skies: On Edyta M. Bojanowska’s “A World of Empires: The Russian Voyage of the Frigate Pallada”
Yelena Furman navigates “A World of Empires: The Russian Voyage of the Frigate Pallada,” by Edyta M. Bojanowska.
Yelena FurmanMar 10, 2019
A Deeper South
A road trip through the Old South reveals uncomfortable family truths.
Pete CandlerMar 10, 2019
The Hundred Years’ War Over Free Speech
"The Free Speech Century" is a rich buffet of intellectual delicacies, which need not be gorged in one sitting but can be enjoyably sampled at leisure.
Stephen RohdeMar 8, 2019
Why Would You Want to Be German?
A new anthology of essays by new Jewish migrants to Germany teems with an odd feeling: patriotism.
Franz BaumannMar 7, 2019
Holocaust Remembrance: Primo Levi’s Work
In confronting Primo Levi's writing, in allowing ourselves to be drawn into the horror, we face not the evil that Levi faced, but rather ourselves.
Ashley RindsbergMar 6, 2019
Attached to the Party of Humanity: On Robert Zaretsky’s “Catherine & Diderot”
Douglas Smith explores “Catherine & Diderot,” a “scintillating, sophisticated, and nuanced” book by Robert Zaretsky.
Douglas SmithMar 1, 2019
- History
- Philosophy & Religion
The Philosophy of Creative Writing
Joseph Darda explores the confluence of new humanist philosophy and the rise of the creative writing MFA.
Joseph DardaFeb 25, 2019
Winthrop’s “City” Was Exceptional, not Exceptionalist
What John Winthrop’s Puritans can teach us about civic culture and moral authority.
Jim SleeperFeb 19, 2019
- History
- Politics
What They Meant: On Helena Rosenblatt’s “The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century”
Christine Dunn Henderson uncovers “The Lost History of Liberalism” by Helena Rosenblatt.
Christine Dunn HendersonFeb 14, 2019
- History
- Politics