Roundup

Ottomans saved Hungarian PM Orban’s Ancestors; now he says Islam never part of Europe

by Juan Cole

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban not only continued to defend his anti-immigrant bigotry but went on to say that Islam has never been part of Europe.

Black, white and red: Atlantic history points to new understanding of Columbus' context

by Steve Haycox

Beginning in the 1960s, a new sub-discipline in history arose called Atlantic studies. The focus?  The crops of sugar, coffee, chocolate and tobacco and the slave labor needed to grow them.

Roundup Top 10!

This week's broad sampling of opinion pieces found on the Internet, as selected by the editors of HNN.

Story of the Week: The white man in that photo

by Riccardo Gazzaniga

This is a story about the famous photo from the 1968 Olympics of two star athletes raising their hands in the black salute. 

Pop Culture Roundup: This Week

This week ... Steve Jobs, Dan Rather, Superman and more!

How the GOP circus act compromises American Democracy

by Christopher Parker

Boehner and McCarthy knew this reactionary faction of the GOP was gunning for them. Boehner simply quit before he could be fired; McCarthy quit while he was ahead. The two leaders were targeted because they were willing to cut deals with Democrats.

The real reason Hillary Clinton won the debate: optimism

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Where Bernie Sanders was sour and dour, Clinton projected a sense of confidence in America's future. And when it comes to electing people for the White House, American prefer sunnier dispositions to darker ones.

What the Fight for the Speakership Is Actually About

by John Lawrence

Republicans are split on how to balance broad participation against the efficient functioning of the institution.

How We Became the “Jailhouse Nation”: Historians Discuss Mass Incarceration in the US

by Dane Kennedy

The statistics on the subject are staggering: the United States currently incarcerates 2.3 million people, a larger proportion of our population than any other nation on earth.

Slow Burn: Bernie Sanders Ignites a Populist Movement

by Rick Perlstein

Conservatives drawn to a socialist senator -- in Texas!

Are liberals to blame for the carceral state?

by Mike Konczal

That’s what Naomi Murakawa claims in The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America.

Henry Kissinger: Good or Evil?

10 historians assess the controversial statesman’s legacy.

Playing Patience While Syria Burns

by Niall Ferguson

The bigger flaw in "strategic patience" is one identified long ago by Henry Kissinger. In 1963 Kissinger summed up what he called the "terrible dilemma" confronting any strategic decision-maker.

On Building Armies (and Watching Them Fail)

by Andrew J. Bacevich

Why Washington Can’t “Stand Up” Foreign Militaries

What are we to make of Ray Locker's new account of Nixon's downfall?

by James Robenalt

"[H]istories built on dubious conjecture and innuendo undermine that hard-fought lesson of Watergate."

Henry Kissinger, dangerous fraud: Why he’s as responsible for Iraq and the Middle East as Vietnam

by Corey Robin

He was a mad man, not a realist. He paved the way for disaster after disaster. We still think about him all wrong.

A call to change the way the UK commemorates black history month

by David Olusoga

It’s time to ditch the heroes.

Why the next education secretary will be good for diversity in schools

by Jonathan Zimmerman

This month, President Obama tapped John B. King Jr. to replace Arne Duncan, who focused less on integrating the races than on closing the “achievement gap” between them.

Christopher Columbus, The Knights of Columbus, and American Indians

by Heather Cox Richardson

The irony of Columbus Day.

In Vietnam War US deliberately bombed hospitals

by Greg Grandin

It was policy to “look for hospitals as targets.”