History Today

Gone With the Wind

Mark Juddery examines the impact and appeal of the film that has sold more tickets at the US box office than any other.

Free the Planet

Jean-François Mouhot traces a link between climate change and slavery, and suggests that reliance on fossil fuels has made slave owners of us all.

Prague’s Spring

Michael Simmons draws on many years experience of living in, and reporting from, central Europe to look back at the upheavals in Czechoslovakia of 1968.

The Last Valois: A Tragic Story

Robert Knecht describes the shortcomings of Henry III, the last Valois king, and the circumstances that led him to become the first – but not the last – French monarch to die at the hands of one of his subjects.

Under the Mushroom Cloud

The Cold War has become this year’s hot media topic. Taylor Downing welcomes the chance to look more critically at the era of ‘mutually assured destruction’.

Munich

York Membery visits the capital of Bavaria and explores the historic heart of this twenty-first century metropolis – and its annual beer festival.

Hadrian and the Limits of Empire

The emperor Hadrian presided over the Roman empire at its height, defined its borders and was one of the most cultured rulers of the ancient world.