Cold War

In 1954 a new agency was founded: the KGB. While less violent and arbitrary than what it replaced, its insidious reach soon permeated Soviet society.

The British Council was founded to help the world better understand Britain and to fight fascism. As times changed, so did its remit.

The question asked by Werner Sombart in 1906 grew in relevance as the 20th century progressed. Why are leftist politics anathema to Washington – both at home and abroad?

Was it the mob? A coup? Cuban dissidents? War hawks? Over 60 years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the theories are still debated. Do any of them hold up?

In 1973, Egyptian soldiers hoisted their flag over Sinai, smashing the myth of Israeli invincibility. Fifty years on from the October War, who claims the victory: the president or the people?

One man more than any other is associated with Singapore’s remarkable success. On his centenary: who was Lee Kuan Yew and how did he do it?

Popularizing the Past: Historians, Publishers, and Readers in Postwar America by Nick Witham explores the industry of popular history from Daniel Boorstin to Howard Zinn.

Privatisation of Chile’s natural resources was a pillar of Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship.

Theft in East Germany was so common as to be nicknamed ‘the people’s sport’. Why were citizens of the GDR so light-fingered?