Volume 76 Issue 10 October 2026

The Barrel of a Gun: Political Power in Africa and the Coup d’État by Ruth First is a timely reissue from the first wave of Africa’s ‘coup contagion’.

What can three recent books – Master of Rome by David Potter, The Roman World War by Giusto Traina, and Livia by Caitlin C. Gillespie – tell us about Rome’s political personalities?

It has been 60 years since the Aberfan disaster of 1966, but memories of corporate failings and injustice persist.

‘What’s the most exciting field in history today? The continuing retrieval of forgotten voices.’

In the 19th century nascent copyright law allowed brands to use fine art in their advertising. It raised prestige, sales, and controversy.

With the price of meat soaring, a new source offered a cheap solution – if only the Victorian public could be convinced of the benefits of hippophagy.

On 6 October 1802 Ludwig van Beethoven confessed his despair at the loss of his hearing in the Heiligenstadt Testament.

Burn This Letter: Love and Trouble in a Marriage of Four by Susan Pedersen wonders whether a radical relationship might offer inspiration for a radical restructuring of society.

Neanderthals Among Us: The Making of a Prehistoric Human by Peter Sahlins charts the ascent of an idea from prehistory to popular culture.

Wikipedia turns 25 this year. Its success was not a given and reveals much about our changing relationship with information online.