Roundup

Where David Brion Davis fits in the historiography of slavery

by Drew Gilpin Faust

Since the middle of the twentieth century, our understanding of the American past has been revolutionized, in no small part because of our altered conceptions of the place of race in the nation’s history.

Japan's shocking embrace of textbook "reforms"

by Koide Reiko

Abe Shinzo's long campaign against textbooks that tell the truth about Japan's history.

What Really Killed William Henry Harrison?

by JANE McHUGH and PHILIP A. MACKOWIAK

A new look at the evidence through the lens of modern epidemiology makes it far more likely that the real killer lurked elsewhere — in a fetid marsh not far from the White House.

These are the 6 books about the Middle East everybody should read

by Martin Kramer

Events have propelled a few books into the limelight, and these six, for better or worse, had an impact, influenced perceptions, and may have changed history.

Paul Ryan Debate Needs Context, Not Self-Help Bromides

by Peniel E. Joseph

Our ongoing dialogue about race in America—most recently sparked by Rep. Paul Ryan’s comments—requires us to better understand African-American history.

Iran-contra prosecutor left a major legacy despite claims he'd been outmaneuvered

Lawrence Walsh's final defeat came at the hands of Reagan's successor in the White House, George H. W. Bush, who granted surprise pardons to six prior and would-be Iran-Contra defendants on Christmas eve 1992.

What is academic history for?

by Paula A. Michaels

Not only are academic historians clearly far more engaged with the public than they appear at a first, blinkered glance, but there seems to be ample room for and value in a wide range of intellectual activity.

US History Books that Won in Vietnam

by Wonkette

With typical clarity of purpose, our 8th-grade textbook, America: Land I Love, explains exactly why America had to fight in Vietnam.

The Psychology of Hate: How We Deny Human Beings Their Humanity

by Nicholas Epley

Like closing your eyes and then concluding that nothing exists, failing to engage your ability to reason about the mind of another person not only leads to indifference about others, it can also lead to the sense that others are relatively mindless. 

An Errol Morris film engages Rumsfeld through his memos

by FRED KAPLAN

“The Unknown Known,” which opens on Friday, is structured much like “The Fog of War.” For 96 minutes Mr. Rumsfeld looks into the camera, answering, or finessing, questions about Iraq, his work for several presidents, the nature of truth and more.

Dignity Is a Constitutional Principle

by Bruce Ackerman

As we search for guidance on the great constitutional issues of our own time, the place to begin is with the words of Humphrey as he explained why Americans could no longer “justify what we have done to debase humanity.”

35 years after the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty

by Martin Kramer

March 26 marks the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, most famously evoked by the three-way handshake on the White House lawn that changed the Middle East.

War Across the Borders

by Jonathan Spyer

It has become a commonplace to claim that the unrest in the Arab world is challenging the state borders laid down in the Arab world following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918.

Why Vladimir Putin Will Keep Playing Jewish Card in Ukraine Crisis

by David E. Fishman

Keeping the West off balance is an end unto itself for Vladimir Putin.

Putin’s Phantom Pogroms

by Amelia M. Glaser

Russia is playing games with Jewish collective memory.

Roosevelt Museum Revitalized

by Alexander Heffner

America – and Obama – Must Be Ready to Act Alone

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Understanding Modern Violence Through the Lens of the Reign of Terror

by Jack Censer

One of the most stimulating books I have read in some time is Sophie Wahnich’s In Defense of the Terror: Liberty or Death in the French Revolution (published in 2003, but in English 2012). But it’s not the writing (which is murky) or its purpose (with which I generally disagree) but its viewpoint on Terrorism that can be instructive.In fact, this little book is an apologetic for the Terrorists in the French Revolution. And its value is that in associating herself so clearly with her subject, she does see them much as they saw themselves. In short, Wahnich argues that the Terrorists were motivated by the “dread” that they felt after the assassination of Marat. They then had acted to protect the purity and integrity of the “sacred” revolution that they had made to affirm the political equality of all. More originally, Wahnich also claims that the mechanism of the Terror led to more incarcerations than executions and that its organizational existence at least put limits on popular “enthusiasm.” In sum, the Terrorists were justified and their leadership contained excesses.

A New Group of Scholars Joins "Revolutionary Moments"

by Jack Censer

Our colleagues in the related blog The French Revolution Network have made a call for new contributions: see http://revolution.hypotheses.org/comparative-revolutions This strong group of scholars will no doubt have much of interest for our collectivity.

From the Bloody Nursery of Revolution, Democracy

by Guillaume Mazeau

More than two years after the hope that accompanied the so-called “Arab Spring,” the Occidental experts, politicians and public opinions are now chocked by the return of political violence in Egypt, perpetuated by the military. What is striking about these reactions is the difficulty to understand why so many Egyptian former dissidents, liberals and even leftists, who fought against Mubarak and his military dictatorship, now clearly support General Al-Sisi’s coup and even justify the recent massacres of Muslim Brothers. Is it possible to explain such a dramatic shift without blaming these sincere men and women, who claim to struggle for democracy but, at the same time, approve the use of political violence?