Nation History

Berlin Wall, 1981

East, West—Is There a Third Way? East, West—Is There a Third Way?

The cold war has become a habit, an addiction, supported by very powerful material interests in each bloc.

Mar 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / E.P. Thompson

The Fall of Rome The Fall of Rome

June 14, 1947 The piers are pummeled by the waves; In a lonely field the rain Lashes an abandoned train; Outlaws fill the mountain caves. Fantastic grow the evening gowns; Agents of the Fisc pursue Absconding tax-defaulters through The sewers of provincial towns. Private rites of magic send The temple prostitutes to sleep; All the literati keep An imaginary friend. Cerebrotonic Cato may Extol the Ancient Disciplines, But the muscle-bound Marines Mutiny for food and pay. Caesar’s double-bed is warm As an unimportant clerk Writes I DO NOT LIKE MY WORK On a pink official form. Unendowed with wealth or pity, Little birds with scarlet legs, Sitting on their speckled eggs, Eye each flu-infected city. Altogether elsewhere, vast Herds of reindeer move across Miles and miles of golden moss, Silently and very fast. This article is part of The Nation’s 150th Anniversary Special Issue. Download a free PDF of the issue, with articles by James Baldwin, Barbara Ehrenreich, Toni Morrison, Howard Zinn and many more, here. W.H. Auden (1907–1973) contributed many poems and critical essays to The Nation between 1938 and 1951. 

Mar 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / W.H. Auden

How to Lose Friends and Influence People

How to Lose Friends and Influence People How to Lose Friends and Influence People

…and other tales from the “back of the book.”

Mar 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Elizabeth Pochoda

150 Years of Telling the Truth

150 Years of Telling the Truth 150 Years of Telling the Truth

Independence—one of the keys to The Nation’s longevity—has become ever more important in an age that urgently needs dissident and rebellious voices.

Mar 23, 2015 / Katrina vanden Heuvel

March 21, 1980: Carter Announces US Boycott of the Moscow Olympics

March 21, 1980: Carter Announces US Boycott of the Moscow Olympics March 21, 1980: Carter Announces US Boycott of the Moscow Olympics

The Nation supported the boycott, but not for Carter’s reasons.

Mar 21, 2015 / Richard Kreitner and The Almanac

Or to Put It Another Way: 100 Years Ago, We Were Already 50 Years Old

Or to Put It Another Way: 100 Years Ago, We Were Already 50 Years Old Or to Put It Another Way: 100 Years Ago, We Were Already 50 Years Old

The Nation’s archives, Henry James wrote in our fiftieth anniversary issue, “compose the record of the general life of civilization.”

Mar 18, 2015 / Richard Kreitner and Back Issues

1975–1985: Standing in Solidarity Against Jackbooted Oppressors

1975–1985: Standing in Solidarity Against Jackbooted Oppressors 1975–1985: Standing in Solidarity Against Jackbooted Oppressors

It is nonsensical that those who support free-market economic policy should pretend to reject the system of terror it requires to succeed.

Feb 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / The Nation

February 20, 2005: Hunter S. Thompson Dies

February 20, 2005: Hunter S. Thompson Dies February 20, 2005: Hunter S. Thompson Dies

The Nation gave Thompson his first big break in journalism in 1965.

Feb 20, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

Today is FDR’s Birthday: Before the 1932 Election, ‘The Nation’ Was Not Impressed

Today is FDR’s Birthday: Before the 1932 Election, ‘The Nation’ Was Not Impressed Today is FDR’s Birthday: Before the 1932 Election, ‘The Nation’ Was Not Impressed

“A new deal is needed in the world,” The Nation said, but FDR was not the man to deliver it.

Jan 30, 2015 / Richard Kreitner and Back Issues

January 28, 1986: The Challenger Space Shuttle Explodes After Liftoff, Killing Seven Astronauts

January 28, 1986: The Challenger Space Shuttle Explodes After Liftoff, Killing Seven Astronauts January 28, 1986: The Challenger Space Shuttle Explodes After Liftoff, Killing Seven Astronauts

What do you get when fall in love… with lucrative corporate boondoggles?

Jan 28, 2015 / Richard Kreitner and The Almanac

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