The Lin Biao Incident
On 13 September 1971 a plane carrying Mao’s anointed heir crashed in Eastern Mongolia. What really happened to Lin Biao?
Recently published
Did It Matter That Elizabeth I Was a Woman?
Whether as ‘Gloriana’ or ‘Good Queen Bess’ Elizabeth I is one of England’s most iconic monarchs, but did her gender shape her reign?
Playing God: Mossad’s Murder of Achmed Bouchiki
European intelligence agencies assisted Mossad’s Wrath of God assassination campaign, while their governments condemned them.
Victorian Science’s Duck-Billed Enigma
By the 19th century, standard classification systems were struggling with new species. Then the platypus arrived.
‘Central Europe’ by Luka Ivan Jukic review
In Central Europe: The Death of a Civilization and the Life of an Idea, Luka Ivan Jukic makes the case for Mitteleuropa as a time that land forgot.
The Real Middle Earth
Though its meaning may have shifted over the centuries since its Anglo-Saxon origins, ‘middle earth’ is far from fantasy.
Ghana Against Corruption
A strong anti-graft sentiment runs throughout Ghana’s history, as its leaders have sometimes discovered the hard way.
‘The Great Exchange’ by Joad Raymond Wren review
The Great Exchange: Making the News in Early Modern Europe by Joad Raymond Wren looks to the 15th century for the birth of the press.
Basque Identity and French Unity
Fearing the loss of regional identity, at the end of the 19th century, the French Basques invented a cultural tradition – but did that make them a threat to national unity?
When Summer Meant Sea Serpents
For the Victorians and Edwardians, the late British summer was a time of sun, sand – and sea serpents.