‘A Popular History of Idi Amin’s Uganda’ by Derek R. Peterson review
A Popular History of Idi Amin’s Uganda by Derek R. Peterson looks for the ordinary people who kept the regime’s wheels turning.
Cold War
The Problem with Britain’s Pensions
How to finance old age has been a problem since the inception of Britain’s welfare state. Why is pension reform so difficult?
Tibet: History Across the Himalayas
How can historians of Tibet – a region whose history is tightly controlled by the Chinese authorities – gain access to its recent past? Comparing newspapers from either side of the Himalayas might offer a way in.
Ploughing Up Postwar Britain
Postwar state support for agriculture in the UK has been hailed a great success, but it had unexpected consequences.
‘Chernobyl Children’ by Melanie Arndt review
Chernobyl Children: A Transnational History of Nuclear Disaster by Melanie Arndt discovers how Soviet civil society flourished – and then faltered – in the fallout.
How Has Space Exploration Changed History?
In November 2025 we reach 25 years of continuous human presence in space. Did reaching orbit alter the trajectory of the planet below?
‘El Generalísimo’ by Giles Tremlett book review
El Generalísimo: Franco: Power, Violence and the Quest for Greatness by Giles Tremlett considers the making of the mediocrity at the heart of modern Spain.
‘The Second Emancipation’ by Howard W. French
The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide by Howard W. French traces the line between civil rights in the US and decolonisation in Africa.
‘Peacemaker’ by Thant Myint-U review
Peacemaker: U Thant, the United Nations and the Untold Story of the 1960s by Thant Myint-U captures the optimism and ambition of Burma’s bridge between worlds.
AD-X2: When US Politicians Took on Science
The dismissal of a government scientist over the unproven battery additive AD-X2 galvanised the American scientific community in the 1950s.