Roundup

A German-Jewish Zionist Explains Why Anti-Semitism Is All the Same

by Maxim Biller

Faced with specific pressures in Europe, a writer asks, ‘Would I think and write in a different way if there were no Israel?’

What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

by Beverly Gage

Would the F.B.I.’s smear campaign against Martin Luther King Jr. work today?

‘Re-enacting the Vietnam War’

by Mike Attie and Meghan O’Hara

Most remarkable perhaps is how this unusual hobby brings combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan together with civilians and veterans of Vietnam.

What we can learn from Vietnam War veterans about heroin addictions

by James Clear

95% of Vietnam veterans who used heroin got off it when they returned home. What was their secret?

The Story of How The New Republic Invented Modern Liberalism

by Franklin Foer

The magazine was born wearing an idealistic face. The editors would help craft a new notion of American government, one that now goes by a very familiar name: liberalism

Iraq and the Battle of the Potomac

by Peter Van Buren

Four Months into Iraq War 3.0, the Cracks Are Showing -- on the Battlefield and at the Pentagon

Big Data and the Underground Railroad

by Alvaro M. Bedoya

Industry and government say “collect everything.” History suggests this is a bad idea.

Was Vincent Van Gogh Murdered?

by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith

If Van Gogh didn’t shoot himself, who did shoot him?

Even George Washington couldn't get along with the Senate

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Tension between the chief executive and the upper body of Congress is baked into our national DNA.

When will US admit Boots on Ground in Iraq (3000 Troops)?

by Juan Cole

That these troops will be sent with Iraqi soldiers to al-Anbar Province belies the administration’s repeated denial that it will put boots on the ground.

Roundup Top 10!

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

The Strange Cold War History of the Soviet Engines in the Antares Rocket

by Elias Groll

Where did these engines come from? And how did they end up on an American rocket?

Didn’t Everybody Love Reagan?

by Lloyd Green

"Reagan led America along a path it was willing to try and to take."

The Forgotten History of Mace, Designed by a 29-Year-Old and Reinvented as a Police Weapon

by Daniel A. Gross

When riots shook America, mace became a tool of crowd control instead of private protection.

Whack-a-mole: A lesson in the unexpected consequences of ‘cleaning up’ politics

by Richard White

It is cynical to think that money is all that matters in American politics. But it is daft to think that money does not matter.

Myth of the "English Speaking Peoples" a.k.a the UK-USA "Special Relationship"

by Nu’man Abd al-Wahid

There is nothing naturally inevitable about the current alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Historical Lessons for a President Forced to Deal With a Hostile Congress

by Michael Beschloss

Modern presidential history suggests at least three plans of action for a president faced with an opposition House and Senate.

The Origins of the Shroud of Turin

by Charles Freeman

When the scope of this research is considered, it is obvious that many areas of its history and the iconography of its images have not been fully explored.

How One Soviet Submarine Commander Averted World War III

by Jennifer Ginsburg

For the torpedo to be launched, the submarine’s top three commanders had to agree, and one refused.

Tracing the origins of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement

by Ho-fung Hung

Recent opinion polls show that Hong Kong identity has been surging while Chinese identity has been fading among Hong Kong residents, particularly among youth.