History
History, Philosophy, Politics & Rights, Reviews
Freedom: An Unruly History by Annelien de Dijn
Timothy Sandefur January 14, 2021
Far from a history of liberty, de Dijn’s book is a conscious effort to undermine that concept and to substitute in its place what she calls a “democratic conception of freedom,” which, in principle, amounts to collective control over every aspect of individual behavior.
Arts & Culture, History, Politics & Rights, Reviews, Science & Technology
Chernobyl, by Craig Mazin
Jennifer K. Crosby December 11, 2020
Chernobyl explores the reasons for a monumental catastrophe and illustrates how it was magnified by the evasion and denial of those in charge.
Arts & Culture, History
Three Symphonies to Help You Triumph
Leisa Hart October 15, 2020
Finding music that conveys struggle and eventual triumph is difficult because, to depict true triumph, one has to study it intensely and perhaps experience it firsthand. But such music is a wonderful source of inspiration and empowerment.
Arts & Culture, History, Philosophy, Politics & Rights, Reviews
Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay
Timothy Sandefur October 2, 2020
In Cynical Theories, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay explore the connections between such phenomena as “shoutdowns,” “canceling,” and identity politics on the one hand and the philosophical doctrines taught in America’s universities on the other.
Arts & Culture, Good Living, History
How Travel Can Foster a Personal Renaissance
Joseph Kellard September 17, 2020
I once found it difficult to relate to the excitement travelers expressed at walking the same streets their heroes did centuries earlier. Not so after walking through cities where a hero of mine revolutionized art and science.
History, Philosophy, Politics & Rights
CJ Pearson Identifies a Cause of 9/11—but Not the Fundamental Cause
Craig Biddle September 11, 2020
The fundamental cause of the atrocity on 9/11 was acceptance of faith as a means of knowledge. This cause set all of the other, derivative causes in motion.
Arts & Culture, History, Reviews
The Death of Stalin by Armando Iannucci
Thomas Walker-Werth August 28, 2020
Comedy can be a powerful medium for expressing important ideas, and Armando Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin is a standout example.
Arts & Culture, Biographies, History
John Singer Sargent and the Art of Elegance
Timothy Sandefur August 20, 2020
More than any of his contemporaries, Sargent expressed the glamour that emerging capitalism made possible. Yet that is just what made him incomprehensible or unacceptable to later artists and critics.
Biographies, History, Science & Technology
Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Bridges to the Future
Thomas Walker-Werth August 20, 2020
Across Britain, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s innovations stand as triumphant monuments to his genius—and likely will for centuries to come.
History, Philosophy, Reviews
Heroes, Legends, Champions: Why Heroism Matters by Andrew Bernstein
Elliott Hill July 31, 2020
If you appreciate man at his best, read this book. You’ll not only enjoy heroes more deeply, you’ll be better equipped to emulate them, too.