Links to Recent Articles of Interest
By Adam Hochschild, New York Review of Books, May 25 issue
Combines a critical introduction to Hillsdale College's 3,268-page right-wing “1776 Curriculum” with a review of the documentary series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones for the 1619 Project. The author is known for his best-selling history books, most recently American Midnight: The Great War [World War I], a Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis (Mariner Books, 2022).
By Steve Babson, History News Network, posted May 14
Contrasts the actual Populists of the 1890s with contemporary right-wingers to whom the “populist” label is incessantly applied. The author is a labor educator with a history PhD from Wayne State University and author of Forgotten Populists: When Farmers Turned Left to Save Democracy (Mission Point Press, 2023).
By Timothy Snyder, New York Times, posted May 9
“The Soviet Union lost its war in Afghanistan. America lost in Vietnam and in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Israel failed to win in Lebanon. Nuclear powers lose wars with some regularity.”
Makes a number of arguments against taking Putin's threats of nuclear weapons seriously. The author teaches Eastern European history at Yale University.
By Jeremy Kuzmarov, CovertAction Magazine, posted May 8
Expands on an April 5 webinar hosted by Massachusetts Peace Action and the War Industries Resistance Network, featuring longtime military researcher Michaekl Klare. Universities, the article says,”desperate for cash in an era of neo-liberal budget cutbacks—are eager for the revenue that the military can provide.” The author is a historian who is the editor of CovertAction Magazine..
By John Feffer, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted May 3
Summary of a complex 20-page analysis published in English and German for the Rosa Luxembourg Stiftung. (The full report can be downloaded here.) The author is the director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies.
By David K. Johnson, Washington Post, posted April 27
On the background and impact of the 1953 executive order that led to the firing of thousands of federal employees solely for homosexuality. The author teaches history at the University of South Florida. Among his books is The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government (U. of Chicago Press, 2004).
By Dan Royles, The Baffler, posted April 27
“Governor Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are dismantling higher education at breakneck speed, and they’re doing it in part by taking aim at people like me.” The author teaches at Florida International University and wrote The African American Struggle against HIV/AIDS (University of North Carolina Press, 2020).
By Molly Nolan, Public Seminar, posted April 24
An overview of the “anti-learning culture wars” and of participation by Historians for Peace and Democracy in efforts to counter threats to public education and academic freedom. The author is a professor emerita of history at New York University and a Steering Committee member of H-PAD.
By Alan Taylor, New York Times, posted April 23
A review of Yale University historian New Blackhawk's new book The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History (Yale U. Press, 2023). The reviewer teaches history at the University of Virginia.
By Richard Ovenden, The Atlantic, posted April 23
On the destruction of many libraries and archives in Ukraine by Russian bombs. The author is director of the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford and author of Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge (Harvard U. Press, 2020).
By Michael D. Swaine and Andrew Bacevich, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, posted April 18
Warns against the dire consequences of a “genuinely hostile” US-China relationship and proposes steps to reduce the dangers. Both authors are associated with the Quincy Institute, and Andrew Bacevich is an emeritus professor of history and international relations at Boston University.
By Charles F. Howlett, History News Network, posted April 16
A review essay on David Cortright's new book on opposition to the Iraq War (A Peaceful Superpower: Lessons from the World’s Largest Antiwar Movement, New Village Press, 2023)
The reviewer is a professor emeritus at Molloy University and a recent recipient of the Peace History Society's Lifetime Achievement Award.
The reviewer is a professor emeritus at Molloy University and a recent recipient of the Peace History Society's Lifetime Achievement Award.
By Sarah Cords, The Progressive, posted April 8
An exposition of Carolyn Eisenberg's just-published book Fire and Rain: Nixon, Kissinger, and the Wars in Southeast Asia (Oxford University Press), which is based on newly declassified materials and “reads as easily as a novel.”.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for suggesting articles included in the above list. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.