History

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

Riot/Rebellion: The Legacy of 1992
Steph Cha interviews Gary Phillips, Jervey Tervalon, and Nina Revoyr about the legacy of the 1992 Los Angeles “Riots.”
Steph ChaApr 28, 2017
- History
- Politics
The Plot Thickens: James Shapiro’s “The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606”
Michael Paller reviews James Shapiro's latest book.
Michael PallerApr 25, 2017
- History
- Literary Criticism
The Other F-Word: On History, Memory, and Experiments in Armenian-Turkish Conciliation
Mischa Geracoulis recounts her experience discussing the Armenian Genocide with a Turkish acquaintance, and her journey to forgiveness.
Mischa GeracoulisApr 24, 2017
- History
- Nonfiction
The Slide Rule and the Crowbar: Henry David Thoreau in the Anthropocene
Daegan Miller reviews Robert M. Thorson’s “The Boatman: Henry David Thoreau’s River Years.”
Daegan MillerApr 23, 2017
The Two-Bodied King of “Richard II” and Its Trumpian Delusion
Donald Trump will fail as president not because he understands reality TV but because he doesn’t understand how to act, argues a Cornell history professor.
Rachel WeilApr 23, 2017
- History
- Politics
Forging Nature: On “The Rhinoceros and the Megatherium”
Colin Dickey reviews Juan Pimentel’s “The Rhinoceros and the Megatherium: An Essay in Natural History.”
Colin DickeyApr 2, 2017
- History
- Science & Technology
Totalitarianism, At Home and Abroad: Vaughn Rasberry’s “Race and the Totalitarian Century”
Andrew Lanham reviews Vaughn Rasberry’s “Race and the Totalitarian Century.”
Andrew LanhamMar 26, 2017
- History
- Literary Criticism
The Astounding Achievement, Maybe, of the Man Who Definitely Wasn’t Fibonacci
Dan Friedman reckons with “Finding Fibonacci” by Keith Devlin.
Dan FriedmanMar 21, 2017
Hitler Feared for Magnetism
Anthony Mostrom reviews three new books about Adolf Hitler’s rise to power.
Anthony MostromMar 20, 2017
- Biography & Autobiography
- History
The Church of the Churchless
Phil Zuckerman on Leigh Eric Schmidt's "Village Atheists."
Phil ZuckermanMar 19, 2017
- History
- Religion
Make Spain Great Again! The Transhistorical Ties Between Donald Trump and Christopher Columbus
Tzvetan Todorov, who died last month, had a prophetic vision of Donald Trump in his 1984 retelling of the conquest of the Americas.
Karen Elizabeth ParkMar 14, 2017
- History
- Politics
Uncomfortable Friends: Revising the American Jesuits
Catherine O'Donnell on John T. McGreevy's "American Jesuits and the World."
Catherine O’DonnellMar 12, 2017
- History
- Religion