History

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

Warriors Without Guns: Yet One Way More to Think About the Civil War
In "Uncivil Warriors," Peter Charles Hoffer looks at how lawyers contributed to the coming conflict, shaped the issues, and helped prosecute the war.
Paul FinkelmanJan 30, 2019
Dark Knights and Sunny Disquisitions: On David Kipen’s “Dear Los Angeles: The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018”
Anthony Mostrom pores over “Dear Los Angeles: The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018” by David Kipen.
Anthony MostromJan 29, 2019
- History
- Nonfiction
Paper Cities and Media Wars: On Lucia Allais’s “Designs of Destruction: The Making of Monuments in the Twentieth Century”
Enrique Ramirez takes a look at Lucia Allais's "Designs of Destruction: The Making of Monuments in the Twentieth Century."
Enrique RamirezJan 23, 2019
Who Owns Human Rights?
Abena Ampofoa Asare takes a hard look at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through the lens of critical race theory.
Abena Ampofoa AsareJan 20, 2019
From City of Blight to City of Light
Robert Zaretsky looks at the illuminating “City of Light: The Making of Modern Paris” by Rupert Christiansen.
Robert ZaretskyJan 17, 2019
- Around the World
- History
Axis or Allies? World War II and Latin America
Mary Jo McConahay’s “The Tango War” has the heft of comprehensive history and the drama of a spy novel.
Elaine ElinsonJan 15, 2019
When Looks Can Kill: On Antoine Bousquet’s “The Eye of War: Military Perception from the Telescope to the Drone”
The gaze of warfare is the most penetrating known to humanity.
Anna FeuerJan 14, 2019
The Walls Speak: Excavating the Chinese Immigration Experience at Angel Island
Teow Lim Goh uncovers the ongoing effort by scholars and poets to preserve the Chinese immigrant experience at Angel Island through its lost poetry.
Teow Lim GohJan 13, 2019
- Cultural Studies
- History
A War Far from Over
Lydia Shoup reviews Andrew Delbanco's "The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War."
Lydia ShoupJan 12, 2019
- History
- Politics
The Vanishing Indians of “These Truths”
A popular history of the United States has a notable omission.
Christine DeLuciaJan 10, 2019
- History
- Politics
A Tale of Conflict and Disagreement
David Biale studies “The Chosen Wars: How Judaism Became an American Religion” by Steven R. Weisman.
David BialeJan 7, 2019
Restoring a Wartime Master: On Irene Guenther’s “Postcards from the Trenches”
Ann Murray looks at “Postcards from the Trenches: A German Soldier’s Testimony of the Great War” by Irene Guenther.
Ann MurrayJan 5, 2019