History

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

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
A Privileged Violence
On how monarchs through history have paved the way for today’s official corruption.
Sam RisakFeb 7, 2019
- History
- Politics
Granted: The Best
Bob Blaisdell pores over “The Annotated Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant” and “My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife.”
Bob BlaisdellFeb 7, 2019
Companion and Commodity: The Victorian Dog
Colin Dickey reviews two new books about the Victorian dog.
Colin DickeyFeb 4, 2019
- History
The Music of Jewish Life
Daniel Boyarin reviews Barry Scott Wimpfheimer's "The Talmud: A Biography," part of Princeton University Press's Lives of Great Religious Books series.
Daniel BoyarinFeb 1, 2019
- History
- Religion