The Year Europe Revolted The Year Europe Revolted
A new history by Christopher Clark on the 1848 revolutions.
Oct 31, 2023 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell
The Life and Afterlife of the Paris Commune The Life and Afterlife of the Paris Commune
It was one of the most radical political experiments in European history. It was also one of Europe’s most tragically short-lived.
Nov 15, 2022 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell
What Is Left of History? What Is Left of History?
Joan Scott’s On the Judgment of History asks us to imagine the past without the idea of progress. But what gets left out in the process?
May 2, 2022 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell
Emma Rothschild’s Family Sagas and Microhistories Emma Rothschild’s Family Sagas and Microhistories
Can one tell the story of a country through one family?
Aug 23, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell
Are We Living in an Age of Strongmen? Are We Living in an Age of Strongmen?
A new book by Ruth Ben-Ghiat discusses the past and present challenges posed by authoritarianism, but misses the social and economic conditions in which it arises.
Apr 6, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell
Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism
In his new book, the New Yorker writer sets out to defend liberalism from its critics, but only ends up revealing its current limitations.
Jun 12, 2019 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell
Where Does Truth Fit into Democracy? Where Does Truth Fit into Democracy?
In modern democracies, who gets to determine what counts as truth—an elite of experts or the people as a whole?
Jan 24, 2019 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell
For Emmanuel Macron, How Did Things Get So Bad, So Fast? For Emmanuel Macron, How Did Things Get So Bad, So Fast?
The fault lies with both the French president himself and the political and cultural elite that formed him.
Dec 13, 2018 / David A. Bell
The Afterlives of Charles de Gaulle The Afterlives of Charles de Gaulle
A new biography claims his vision was a stabilizing synthesis of France’s monarchical and republican political traditions. But was it?
Aug 29, 2018 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell
Waiting for Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Waiting for Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment
The genre that Pinker’s latest book most closely resembles is not 18th-century philosophie but a TED Talk.
Mar 7, 2018 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell