book review

The Historian Annette Gordon-Reed Gets Personal in ‘On Juneteenth’

"In 'On Juneteenth' Annette Gordon-Reed leads by example, revisiting her own experiences, questioning her own assumptions — and showing that historical understanding is a process, not an end point."

The Never-Ending War Between the White House and the Press

A review of Harold Holzer's new book "The President vs. The Press."

Review: The New John Lewis Biography is a Stirring Tribute that Still Sells Him Short

Readers who know little about Lewis will find an often moving story, but it will prove unsatisfying to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the movement.

The Role of Violence in the Abolitionist Movement (Review)

Mike Jirik reviews historian Kellie Carter Jackson’s new book, "Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence."

When Monuments Become the Narrative (review)

"Leopold’s Legacy" by Oliver Leu is the most timely of books. It details how Belgian monuments to empire sustain narratives that abdicate responsibility, divert blame, and ultimately deny Belgium’s role in the mutilation and murder of millions of people.

The Book of Smells

Historian Robert Muchembled’s new history is full of disgusting, delicious details about early modern France.

The Brilliant Astronomer Who Devised New Tactics to Fight Anti-Gay Bias

LGBTQ historian George Chauncey reviews Eric Cervini's biography of scientist Franklin Kameny, "The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America."

America’s Immigration Paradox

A review of Jia Lynn Yang's new work "One Mighty and Irresistible Tide," and Adam Goodman's "The Deportation Machine."

Rutger Bregman: The Dutch Historian who Rocked Davos and Unearthed the Real Lord of the Flies

The historian offers a hopeful view of human nature in his latest book, "Humankind." It couldn’t have come at a better time.

The (Yelling) Mothers of Us All

by Rachel Shteir

A review of Leandra Zarnow's biography of Bella Abzug, "Battling Bella: The Protest Politics of Bella Abzug."

A Review of Mike Davis and Jon Wiener's New Book "Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties"

L.A. has a rich history, and it deserves to be told.

What Were the Origins of the Holocaust?

A review of German historian Gotz Aly's new book "Europe Against the Jews: 1880-1945."

A Review of Andrew J. Bacevich's "American Conservatism: Reclaiming an Intellectual Tradition"

From Henry Adams to Joan Didion, Bacevich chronicles American conservative thinking throughout the 20th century.

Anne Boleyn Has Had a Bad Reputation for Nearly 500 Years. Hayley Nolan Wants to Change That

by Suyin Haynes

As the second wife of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn was one of the most powerful women in the world in the 16th century.

Two Histories of Financiers Profiting From Real Estate While Homeowners Go Belly Up

by Jennifer Szalai

“Homewreckers,” by Aaron Glantz and “Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership,” by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor show what happens when private speculators get buoyed by government largess while non-tycoons are largely left to fend for themselves.

Review of “The Political Thought of America’s Founding Feminists”

by Christine Talbot

“Lisa Pace Vetter’s book, The Political Thought of America’s Founding Feminists, examines the political theories of seven women who were central figures in American political thought, despite their exclusion from the contemporary canon."

Biographers Peter Longerich and Brendan Simms are Revisiting Hitler in a New Authoritarian Age

by Talya Zax

With nationalism and anti-Semitism on the rise around the world, Longerich’s “Hitler: A Biography” and Simms’s “Hitler: A Global Biography” look at the Nazi leader’s march to power. 

The Activist Historian Reviews How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

by Michael T. Barry Jr.

Ibram X. Kendi's much-anticipated second book, How to Be An Antiracist, hit shelves across the world last month.

Anne Gardiner Perkins's new book highlights life at Yale University for first female students

Yale alumna Anne Gardiner Perkins digs into challenges and triumphs of Yale University’s first female students.

Are we telling the right story of America?

Two historians explore the myths and truths that sustain a nation-state. THIS AMERICA: The Case for the Nation By Jill Lepore. Liveright. 150 pp. $16.95; THE HEARTLAND: An American History By Kristin L. Hoganson. Penguin. 399 pp. $30