The Candor and Lies of Nazi Officer Albert Speer
The minister of armaments was happy to tell his captors about the war machine he had built. But it was a different story when he was asked about the Holocaust
January 08, 2013 |
By Gilbert King
Antigua’s Disputed Slave Conspiracy of 1736
Does the evidence against these 44 slaves really stack up?
January 02, 2013 |
By Mike Dash
Mr. Lincoln Goes to Hollywood
Steven Spielberg, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Tony Kushner talk about what it takes to wrestle an epic presidency into a feature film
November 2012 |
By Roy Blount Jr.
The Demonization of Empress Wu
"She killed her sister, butchered her elder brothers, murdered the ruler, poisoned her mother," the chronicles say. But is the empress unfairly maligned?
August 10, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The Woman Who Took on the Tycoon
John D. Rockefeller Sr. epitomized Gilded Age capitalism. Ida Tarbell was one of the few willing to hold him accountable.
July 05, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Run Out of Town on an Ass
According to legend, Queen Victoria, informed of an early president's angry insult to her ambassador, struck Bolivia off the map. But is it true?
June 04, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Edward Curtis’ Epic Project to Photograph Native Americans
His 20-volume masterwork was hailed as "the most ambitious enterprise in publishing since the production of the King James Bible"—and he paid dearly for his ambition
March 21, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
The Mysterious Mr. Zedzed: The Wickedest Man in the World
Sir Basil Zaharoff was the archetypal "merchant of death"—an arms salesman who made a career out of selling to both sides in a conflict and stood accused of starting World War I for his personal profit.
February 16, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Nice Things to Say About Attila the Hun
He was the barbarians' barbarian who called himself "the Scourge of God." But how did the terrible Attila command such loyalty—and why, in death, was he so mourned?
February 03, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The Other Vitruvian Man
Was Leonardo da Vinci's famous anatomical chart actually a collaborative effort?
February 2012 |
By Toby Lester
Revisiting The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Recently reissued, William L. Shirer's seminal 1960 history of Nazi Germany is still important reading
February 2012 |
By Ron Rosenbaum
The Story of the WWI Christmas Truce
It has become one of the great legends of World War I. But what really happened when British and German troops emerged from their trenches that Christmas Day?
December 23, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Emperor Wang Mang: China’s First Socialist?
In A.D. 9, the Chinese emperor nationalized his state's land and redistributed it to the peasantry. That revolutionary act cost him his throne and his life—and even now his motives remain unclear
December 09, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Henry Morton Stanley's Unbreakable Will
The explorer of Dr. Livingstone-fame provides a classic character study of how willpower works
December 2011 |
By Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney
History Heroes: Marc Bloch
The scholar created a whole new way of looking at history, but found time to fight in two World Wars–latterly, aged 60, as a leader of the French Resistance
November 10, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
William Shakespeare, Gangster
Could the gentle Bard have been a thug? A scholar's discovery in the British Archives adds a different stroke to the portrait of one of the most admired but least-known men in English letters
November 07, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Gavrilo Princip’s Sandwich
Was it really a lunch-hour coincidence that led to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914—and, by extension, to the great global catastrophes of the 20th century?
September 15, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Founding Fathers, Great Gardeners
In her new book, Andrea Wulf argues that the founding fathers' love of gardening shaped their vision of America
August 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
Bettany Hughes on Socrates
The biographer and author of a new book discusses what new there is to learn about the ancient Greek philosopher
April 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
Revisiting Samuel Eliot Morison's Landmark History
The famous historian's eyewitness accounts of the Navy during World War II—now being reissued—won't be surpassed
February 2011 |
By James D. Hornfischer
