Behind Enemy Lines With Violette Szabo
She was young, married and a mother. But after her husband died in battle against the Nazis, she became a secret agent for the British
December 06, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Making the Rounds With Santa Claus Smith
For six years, an elderly tramp toured the U.S., paying those who helped him with checks for sums of up to $900,000
December 05, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
The Man Who Busted the ‘Banksters’
Deceitful loans, self-dealing, unseemly tax avoidance—Ferdinand Pecora exposed it all after the financial collapse of 1929 and helped create a more transparent system
November 29, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
The Monocled World War II Interrogator
Robin "Tin Eye" Stephens became known for "breaking" captured German spies without laying a hand on them
November 23, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
The Mystery of the Five Wounds
The first case of stigmata—the appearance of marks or actual wounds like those Christ received during the Crucifixion—was recorded in 1224. Hundreds of cases have followed. But this phenomenon has not been fully explained.
November 18, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
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
The Skinny on the Fatty Arbuckle Trial
When the million-dollar movie comedian faced a manslaughter charge, the jury was indeed scandalized—at how his reputation had been trashed
November 08, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Sabotage in New York Harbor
The explosion on Black Tom Island packed the force of an earthquake. It took investigators years to determine that operatives working for Germany were to blame
November 01, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Remembering Henry Johnson, the Soldier Called “Black Death”
Henry Johnson suffered 21 wounds and rescued a fellow soldier while repelling an enemy raid in the Argonne Forest in 1918 but died 11 years later a forgotten man
October 25, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
The Battle of Broken Hill
While Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire were fighting World War I, two Afghans opened up a second front in an Australian outback mining town 12,000 miles away
October 20, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Anger and Anarchy on Wall Street
In the early 20th century, resentment at the concentration of wealth took a violent turn
October 04, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Willem de Kooning Still Dazzles
A new major retrospective recounts the artist's seven-decade career and never-ending experimentation
October 2011 |
By Mark Stevens
Long Live the King
A single gunshot rang out in the king of Siam's bedroom in June 1946, ending one reign and beginning another. Uncertainty over how it happened has persisted ever since
September 28, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
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
What Paul Robeson Said
After the singer and activist spoke at a Soviet-sponsored peace conference, he was reviled in the United States. But was the most widely reported version of his remarks accurate?
September 13, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
The Cowboy in Country Music
In his new book, music historian Don Cusic recounts the enduring icons of western music and their indelible mark on pop culture
September 08, 2011 |
By Katy June-Friesen
Gene Tunney's Gloves Enter the Ring
Fans still argue about who really won the 1927 "long count" fight between Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey
September 2011 |
By Owen Edwards
Charles Conlon: The Unheralded Baseball Photographer
Stalwarts of early 20th-century sports pages, Conlon’s photos of the national pastime have their second chance at the plate
September 01, 2011 |
By David Davis
A New Look at the Men of Baseball’s Past
Charles Conlon’s classic photographs of baseball players from the early 20th century offer a glimpse into a familiar sport at an otherworldly time
September 01, 2011 |
By David Davis
The Knife in Ty Cobb’s Back
Did the baseball great really confess to murder on his deathbed?
August 30, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
