Why Didn’t India Build Its Own Silicon Valley?
Dwaipayan Banerjee’s new book investigates India’s role in the history of 20th-century tech development, and what caused it always to seem a step behind the West.
History
"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history." — George Bernard Shaw
Bending the Arc of History
A new biography of Howard Zinn functions less as a detailed portrait of a man than as an inspirational manual for contemporary endurance.
Why Did the Roman Empire Last So Long?
Edward J. Watts’s history of the long Roman Empire is a traditional, top-down political narrative.
The Fate of China’s Muslims
Two recent books track the history of China’s Muslim minority during a period of suspicion and suppression.
The Animator’s New Groove
A personal history of animation’s reconquest of Hollywood.
How a Democratic Republic Dies
Katja Hoyer’s new book is a compelling study of a city on the brink of autocracy, recounted through the eyes and voices of its citizens.
All Humanity Now Stands on the Edge of the Abyss
Vasily Grossman’s fearless and compelling war journalism demonstrates his courage and integrity as a writer and a man.
The Declaration Alone Can’t Save Us
Danielle Allen’s rereleased reading of our founding document is surprisingly, and often maddeningly, ahistorical.
At the Very Least We Should Know Your Name
Empire, language, violence, and metamorphosis in a kaleidoscopic novel of the Apache Wars.
The Expert as Tourist
Beverly Gage takes a road trip through historic sites from 1776 to today, discovering optimism for our political future along the way.
Toys Without Frontiers
Despite Western media’s dismissal of them as mere propaganda, the Iranian LEGO videos have a long and complex genealogy.
Letter to the Editor Regarding June Jordan’s Letter on Palestine
Sarah Schulman responds to Marina Magloire’s ‘Moving Towards Life.’
