History

Hundreds of airmen and sailors—mostly young, many only teenagers, many of them civilians—under terrifying circumstances, “redeemed from the brink of disaster one of the most hazardous naval operations of the Second World War.” In expertly recounting their courage and the horrors they faced, Max Hastings has helped ensure the well-deserved immortality of this band of heroes.

On Juneteenth, let’s remember the capitalists whose money and moral support made possible the Union victory—and who thereby played a vital role in abolishing slavery in America.

Americans need a book that will help them better understand the values underlying our early constitutional history—and they need an authoritative and compelling intellectual voice to explain and vindicate the nation’s fundamental law. Sad to say, they will not find those here.

Jackie Cochran's journey from “sawdust to stardust” is inspiring to all who want to achieve great things and “enjoy life to the brimful, every minute of it,” as she did.

Creating Christ provides a trove of unprecedented insights about the genesis of the modern world’s most popular religion. All interested in Christianity’s provenance would do well to read this boldly original book.

Louis Menand is a writer of great gifts, whose 2000 book The Metaphysical Club is a masterpiece of intellectual history. Unfortunately, The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War fails to recapture the magic. That’s partly because despite its bulk—880 pages—it’s curiously incomplete.

Celebrate the 85th anniversary of Ayn Rand's We the Living by picking up a copy—and smile “to so much that [is] possible” when people are free to pursue their values.

Award-winning writer Virginia Postrel discusses the stasist/dynamist divide, how it impacts people’s views on such things as style and glamour, and the incredible (though oft-overlooked) achievements that made possible the modern textile industry.

Oedipus the King has been considered a masterpiece for two and a half millennia. No less a luminary than Aristotle called it the ideal tragedy. But today’s readers are often disturbed by its apparent injustice. How is it fair that the gods consign Oedipus—a genuine hero who strives to avoid committing the sins for which he is damned—to such an awful fate?

Thomas Reid is not only an excellent foil against which to compare and better understand Ayn Rand’s views, his fierce wit, clear exposition of philosophic problems, and insightful solutions make him a thinker worth reading in his own right.