History

Daniel Wahl reviews Double Cross: The True Story of The D-Day Spies, by Ben Macintyre.

Daniel Wahl reviews The Secret Lives of Codebreakers: The Men and Women Who Cracked the Enigma Code at Bletchley Park, by Sinclair McKay.

Robert Begley reviews Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow.

Michael A. LaFerrara reviews Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America, by Mark R. Levin.

There’s a lot to like about The Secret Lives of Codebreakers: The Men and Women Who Cracked the Enigma Code at Bletchley Park. For one example, see “Ian Fleming’s Beautiful Plan to Defeat the Nazis.” For another, consider a story from the book that involves Alan Turing and how he…

Before writing a series of books on the exploits of British spy James Bond (aka 007), Ian Fleming served in Britain’s navy during World War II. As part of his job as lieutenant-commander in naval Intelligence, Fleming developed various plans to foil the Nazis in their aspirations to take over…

Most children, notes Jeff Jarvis at the start of Gutenberg the Geek, learn of Johannes Gutenberg as “the hero who brought them the miracle of the book.” But is this an accurate depiction of the man and his work? In this short, twenty-page Kindle Single, Jarvis provides readers with all…

Hannah Krening reviews The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of the Secular State, by Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore.

Examines key ideas that have driven Marxists and socialists—from Asian and European dictators to American college professors—to enact or advocate an ideology that is historically and philosophically pure evil.

A few items from the benevolent news front: Helen Collins, an “80-year-old woman with no flying experience,” safely landed a plane as it was running out of gas after the pilot died. An airport official said, "She was remarkable on the radio... She kept her composure and sounded like she…