Non-essential Freedoms
The mild anarchy of piles of second-hand books reminds us of the simple, contingent encounters we have all missed during lockdown.
History Today
China’s First International Students
Realising the world was changing around them, the Qing government began sending students abroad.
Just a Book?
The story of Thomas Jefferson’s bible, his own version of the Gospels.
On the Spot: Srinath Raghavan
‘History doesn’t teach any lessons – only historians do.’
Ulysses and the Sirens
A Greek hero sees off the challenge of temptation with the help of his ship’s crew.
Saint for All Seasons
Whatever Henry II may have wished, we will never be rid of Thomas Becket.
For Love or Money
A compendious history of political murder.
Revolution in the air
Those who control the media control the state. Lenin knew this, but by 1991 his Soviet successors had forgotten, to their ultimate cost.
Who’s First?
The Norse voyages to Greenland and Canada as part of a bigger story.
‘Can’t Tek No More’
Franco Rosso’s film Babylon presented the lives of Black Londoners in a way few had done before.