Historians in the News

Review: The Bomber Mafia

by Paul Ham

If Curtis LeMay's firebombing broke the will of the Japanese public, nobody remembered to tell the Japanese. Malcolm Gladwell's praise of LeMay suffers from overlooking the Japanese side of the bombing campaign.

UIC Prof. Richard S. Levy, One of the Foremost Experts on the History of Antisemitism, Dead at 81

In addition to many articles, translations and contributions to books, Mr. Levy edited the two-volume 2005 book “Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution.”

Marquette's Athan Theoharis Used Hoover's Secret Files to Document the FBI's Illegal Actions

"Theoharis' research proved or verified many episodes of FBI skullduggery, including multiple instances of Sen. Joseph McCarthy enlisting the FBI to seek sexual or political dirt on government officials and workers, even President Dwight D. Eisenhower himself."

AHA Issues Statement on Threats to Historical Integrity in Texas (July 2021)

"The American Historical Association views with alarm several provisions in Texas House Bill 3979 (An Act Relating to the Social Studies Curriculum in Public Schools), recently signed into law by Governor Abbott."

How An Anti-Vice Crusader Sabotaged The Early Birth Control Movement

Author Amy Sohn discusses her new book on the life and work of anti-vice crusader Anthony Comstock, who's work resulted in the restriction of contraception for a century. 

Prof. David Courtwright Recounts History of Opioid Epidemics in Trial against Makers, Distributors

A historian of past drug epidemics and narcotics regulation is an expert witness for New York State in a case against opioid manufacturers, who relaxed the regulatory standards put up in response to opioid addiction in the 19th century. 

The Supreme Court Justice Who Made History By Voting No on Racial Segregation

Peter Canellos's new book examines John Marshall Harlan, whose blistering dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson was on the losing side in 1896 but became a foundational text for civil rights and equal protection activism. 

Before Downtown L.A.'s High Rises, Bunker Hill Was Simply Home

"Today, the Victorian mansions of Bunker Hill are often remembered nostalgically, but the community was also a vibrant, walkable neighborhood in the middle of a bustling downtown."

Unpacking The 100-Year History Of The Chinese Communist Party

As the Chinese Communist Party turns 100 this month, NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with historian Andy B. Liu about the mark it's made on the country.

AAIHS Book Club: Jean Casimir's "The Haitians" (Convenes Online in August)

The African American Intellectual History Society will convene an online book club discussing Jean Casimir's "The Haitians: A Decolonial History" with events beginning in August. 

The New York Post Would Like You to Get Mad about a Yale Course Comparing Incarceration in the US and Stalinist USSR

Timothy Snyder and Jason Stanley plan to team-teach a course examining the comparative history of mass imprisonment in the two empires. 

The Predictable Backlash to Critical Race Theory: Jon Weiner Interviews Kimberlé Crenshaw

"This is about a contemporary agenda controlling narratives of the past in order to limit what has been unfolding in this country for the past year."

History Is a Story that Satisfies Power: A Conversation with Joshua Cohen (Author of "The Netanyahus")

Joshua Cohen's novel fictionalizes the American academic career of Benzion Netanyahu, whose American raised sons became huge figures in Israeli military and political history.

Manual Advises how to Stop Removal of Confederate Statues: Don’t Mention Race

"The document is attributed to the highest level of SCV leadership at that time and buttresses its defense of monuments with a detailed account of the civil war which falsely denies the centrality of slavery in the conflict."

What The Haitian Revolution Tells Us About The U.S. Movement For Racial Equality

Historian Marlene Daut on the significance of the Haitian Revolution for America's unfinished struggle for racial equality. 

The Battle for 1776

How will the re-emergence of history as a culture war battle front impact the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence? Annette Gordon-Reed, Jane Kamensky, Michael Hattem, Kevin Gover, Philip Mead, Robert Parkinson and Alan Taylor are among the historians commenting.

The ACLU on Fighting Critical Race Theory Bans: ‘It’s About Our Country Reckoning with Racism’

Historian Adam Laats give background to an interview with ACLU Staff Attorney Emerson Sykes about the climate of backlash and censorship around teaching the history of racism in America, comparing it to the 1920s uproar over the teaching of evolution. 

Looking for Nat Turner

Christopher Tomlins' new book takes seriously the apocalyptic Christianity of Nat Turner, viewing it not as a metaphor for liberation but a key part of how Turner understood freedom. 

The Resurrection of Bass Reeves: Was the Real "Lone Ranger" Black?

Only recently has popular culture revived interest in Bass Reeves, one of the first Black men to serve as a US Marshal, and the scourge of Texas fugitives. 

How Atlanta’s Public Housing Created Space for Black Women to Organize

City Planning Professor Akira Drake Rodriguez discusses her research on women's tenant organizing in public housing in Atlanta, which became more important as the city withdrew support for its low income housing program.