Struggling Through Simms
Brendan Simms’ history of Europe is overly deterministic.
Review
How to Keep an Empire for a Thousand Years
Not through force, but by persuasion.
Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis
Jared Diamond’s latest book is clearly written for a lay audience.
The End of the Working Class and What Comes Next
The working class was a creation of the industrial era. The challenge is finding valuable contributions for it descendants to make.
Party Asymmetry in the Age of Trump
Democrats and Republicans are not mirror images. Will this asymmetry last under Donald Trump?
Michael Pye’s History of the North Sea Disappoints
The author fails to come up with a theory for everything that happened around the North Sea.
The Inescapable Cold War: Deutschland 83
The German television series is a reminder of the impact the Cold War had on ordinary people’s lives.
Old-Fashioned Detective Work in The Day of the Jackal
Unlike many later detective and spy films, The Day of the Jackal treats its viewers as adults.
Iron Kingdom: Prussia’s Success Foreshadowed Its Demise
In unifying the German lands, Prussia set the stage for its own demise.
Reagan’s Rebellion and the End of the Cold War
Both the American right and the European left fail to appreciate Ronald Reagan’s significance.
How Culture and Geography Divided the United States
The cultural heritage of America’s settlers and the nation’s diverse geography shaped its political divides.
Baker Shows Contemplative Bush During Iraq War
America’s former president was hardly the cowboy of popular imagination.
American Strategy Could Use “A Modest Acceptance of Fate”
Robert D. Kaplan recommends policymakers become more expert at reading the map.
Crossed Swords? Rethinking the “Clash” of Christians and Muslims
The history of Christians and Muslims is more muddled than Samuel Huntington would have it.
Brzezinski’s Strategic Vision Rather Short on Vision
The former national security advisor disappoints with his latest book.