History
History
From Sea to Shining Sea: The Heroes and Villains of the First Transcontinental Railroad
Tim White May 10, 2019
Despite the graft of a few pseudo-businessmen, the First Transcontinental Railroad was a profoundly life-enhancing demonstration of human ingenuity.
History
‘Sense Being Preferable to Sound’
Jon Hersey May 2, 2019
After a town named itself in honor of Benjamin Franklin, someone suggested that he acknowledge the tribute by supplying a church bell. Franklin, a "thorough Deist," proposed a different gift.
Arts & Culture, History
Monticello: Portrait of Its Designer
Timothy Sandefur May 2, 2019
Monticello, by America's first native-born architect, Thomas Jefferson, is a window into the mind of this most complex and captivating of Founders.
History, Philosophy, Reviews, Science & Technology
John Locke and Natural Philosophy by Peter Anstey
Jon Hersey April 26, 2019
Peter Anstey reveals how John Locke’s pessimism about a science of nature began evaporating in light of Isaac Newton’s achievements.
Biographies, History, Science & Technology
Salk and Sabin: The Rivalry That Killed Polio
Tim White April 26, 2019
Salk and Sabin never worked together, but their combined efforts made possible a world in which almost no one suffers from polio.
Arts & Culture, History, Philosophy, Politics & Rights, Reviews
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker
Timothy Sandefur April 17, 2019
Harvard professor Steven Pinker lays out a powerful case for cultural optimism in his book Enlightenment Now.
History
Prince Henry Launched the Age of Discovery
Robert Begley March 14, 2019
After reason had been smothered during the Dark and Middle Ages, Prince Henry helped to light the world with knowledge.
Arts & Culture, History
Max Hastings and the Tragedy of War
Timothy Sandefur March 6, 2019
Hastings delivers well-founded judgments about war in prose that brings to life the experiences of those who fought them.
Arts & Culture, History, Politics & Rights
Joseph Conrad: No Faltering, No Shame, No Regret
Timothy Sandefur February 13, 2019
For all his pessimism, Conrad held that a life of unfaltering conviction is a meaningful one.
History
Robert Morris: America’s Financial Atlas
Robert Begley January 26, 2019
This self-made immigrant helped make the Revolution possible, then laid the foundation for America’s essentially capitalist financial policies.