Historians/History

The Nixon Quartet

by Tom Shachtman

When president-elect Richard M. Nixon chose Harvard professor Henry A. Kissinger as his national security adviser, he had no idea that he was also bringing into his circle, for better or worse, Kissinger’s mentor Fritz A. G

“He Knew How to Die”: John Brown on the Gallows, December 2, 1859

by David W. Blight

One hundred fifty years ago this week, John Brown, the radical abolitionist, walked out of the Charlestown, Virginia jail to a wagon containing his simple wood

Were Early Islamic Historians the First to Embrace Post-Modernism?

by Lesley Hazleton

    I love early Islamic historians. They're much more fun to read than modern ones.  Long before the self-congratulatory concept of mode

What's Modern About the Early Modern Period?

by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

Names are rarely convincingly descriptive. Ugly women are called Bella or Linda, and ugly men Beau.  I know a Nigel who is tall and fair, a

When Was Taft President? Reflections on a One-Term Presidency

by Lewis Gould

     “When exactly did Taft serve as president?” asked a friend who had heard that I had done a book on the twenty-seventh chief executive. After previ

What We Can Learn from a New History of Early Christianity

by Charles Freeman

When reading the mainstream church histories, I often come across the argument that an event, say the physical resurrection of Christ, certainly happened beca

Our Turkish-American Thanksgiving Bird

by Larry E. Tise

Just a year ago—on the occasion of our last great American Turkey Day—I sent forth a brief essay arguing that we call our Thanksgiving bird a turkey precisely because it came from Turkey.  That big-breasted creature we all ponder and pray over every November is not a descendant of wild turkeys encountered by the first English settlers in North America.  It is rather the well-fed and intentionally bosomed up offspring of famili

A Morgenthau Legacy

by Arnold Reisman

A new exhibit opened at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. It is titled: The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service and will run through December 2010. The Morgenthaus are a unique American family both wealthy and powerful and among them three Morgenthau generations, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., Henry Morgenthau, Jr., and Robert M. Morgenthau, have contributed greatly to America’s history. While all three men were well connected politically, both Henry Morgenthau Sr. and Henry

The Idea of Communism: An Interview with Tariq Ali

by Aaron Leonard

Seagull Books has just published the latest in its “What Was Communism” series. The new title, “The Idea of Communism” is written by journalist, author and filmmaker Tariq Ali. This short book was written on t

False Atrocity Tales from the War in Vietnam

by Gary Kulik

In 1968, Terry Whitmore, a Marine who had been wounded by North Vietnamese mortar fire at Con Thien and was recuperating in Japan, boarded a plane that took him to a press conference in Moscow and then on to Sto

It's Oh So Easy to Forget the Pioneers in Women's Rights

by Sally G. McMillen

In light of the recently released Shriver Report (“A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything”) which examines the status of American women today,

Thanksgiving Mythology Began with the First Thanksgiving

by William Loren Katz

Thanksgiving Day remains the most treasured holiday in the United States. Work comes to a halt, families gather, eat turkey, and count their blessings. A pres

Encounters with the History of South Africa

by Dominique Lapierre

During three years of trips to South Africa to research my latest book, A Rainbow in the Night, I discovered a country and a people very much attached to its past. The rock of Robben Island, at the extreme tip of the continent, has

Why 1808 Marked a Pivotal Moment in US History

by Lacy Ford          

            The year 1808 is often overlooked when historians and commentators discuss key moments in American history.  Why was 1808 a pivotal year in American history?  Its significance has little to do wit

The Civil Rights-Black Power Nexus in African American History

by Kwasi Konadu

When I was a graduate student at Cornell University, I became fascinated but equally frustrated by the Civil Rights-Black Power movement nexus in North American historiography. 

20 Years Later: The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Legacy of Erich Honecker

by Jonathan Tremblay

November 9th 2009 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and effectively the end of the Cold war and the reunification of Germany. As historians, bloggers and the mainstream media reconsider all aspects of this highly historical event, one of them

The Role of Turkish Diplomats in Saving Turkish Jews in France: 1940-1944

by Arnold Reisman

During World War II, Turkish diplomats saved Turkish Jews living in France (many were French citizens others were holding Turkish passports) from c

Reflections on Cambridge

by Alan MacFarlane

    Cambridge University is one of the oldest and greatest educational and research institutions in the world. Founded by teachers from Oxford University, who had fled the wrath of the townsmen of Oxford after a murder, or so it is believed, it celebrates its 800th

Why It's Time to Write Wives into the Story of the Civil War

by Carol Berkin

Perhaps no subject captures the imagination of Americans as much as the Civil War. Every year, thousands of families make their pilgrimage to the battlefields on

History Handed George W. Bush Greatness on a Platter, but He Kicked It Aside

by John Edward Philips

Three times in history the United States of America has been attacked early in a president’s term of office.  In such a situation the president may find greatness thrust upon him, or at the very least he (and so far it has always been a he) may achieve greatness.  None are really born great.  Some American presidents cannot handle greatness.  Such was George W. Bush.  Only now that his presidency is finally over is it fair to judge his overall performance