History Today

Andrew Fettegree looks at how the life and death of a radical religious maverick points up the tensions between individualism and order in Reformation Europe.

John Springhall on violence in the 19th-century media

Ann Hills on attempts to recreate authentic historic houses and grounds

'What's the matter with kids today?' Beth Bailey looks at the teen dreams of America's golden post-war years and finds ambivalence about their attitudes to affluence, competition and 'going steady'.

Michael Burleigh describes how the traditional debate over euthanasia was given a perverted twist by the Nazi use of it for a campaign of mass extermination, and the films and actors they used to enlist support for it.

Political cartoonists are the sharpshooters of the artistic world; theirs is a skilled but risky profession. Peter Mellini draws a line on the marksman James 'Gabriel' Friell, whose career at the Daily Worker and Evening Standard spanned the crucial years of Depression, World War, Cold War and post-war recovery.

Richard Welch charts the extraordinary explosion in American music and argues for its impact on society as a whole.

Ross Hassig questions whether the rationale behind the fighting in Mexico which Cortes encountered in 1519 has not been misunderstood.

Joseph Wright of Derby and the exhibition at the Tate.

Robert Waller on the history, dangers and importance of opinion polls.