God’s Machines: Descartes and Nature
How should we see the natural world? For Descartes it was a mechanism, but a wondrous one.
History Today
‘Saudi Arabia: A Modern History’ by David Commins review
How did a Gulf backwater become a global powerbroker? Saudi Arabia: A Modern History by David Commins explores the uneasy alliance between oil, autocracy, and Wahhabism.
The Battle for Britain’s First Book of the Month Club
Britain’s first book-of-the-month club – the Book Society – brought reading to a vast new audience. But not without some controversy.
‘Language and Social Relations in Early Modern England’ by Hillary Taylor review
In Language and Social Relations in Early Modern England Hillary Taylor listens in the archives for the voices of ordinary people.
Swahili on the Road
How did Swahili become an East African lingua franca? It was not by accident.
The Death of the Great Barnato
On 5 July 1852 the curtain was raised on Barney Barnato, one of the richest men in South Africa.
Plato’s Last Word to Dionysius
How to reform an ancient Greek tyrant? Plato’s final advice to Dionysius the Younger was not well received.
‘The Big Hop’ by David Rooney review
Long overshadowed by Lindbergh, The Big Hop: The First Non-Stop Flight Across the Atlantic and Into the Future by David Rooney returns Alcock and Brown to aviation's top flight.
England’s Prison Population Problems
In the early 20th century the prison population in England and Wales was in sharp decline, despite a rise in crime.
Artificial Inspiration
Poets across the ages have sought help with their writing – but AI bears no comparison with the divine.