Cultural

Robert Hole examines the often misunderstood careers of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano, whose power in Renaissance Florence was wielded with great subtlety and skill.

Ronald Kowalski and Dilwyn Porter place a famous series of football matches into the context of sports history, politics and international relations.

The popularity of the sci-fi epic Star Wars proved timely for Ronald Reagan and the Strategic Defense Initiative.

Ian Bradley reflects on the origins and development of Christmas carols.

Jay Winter describes the mixed emotions of combatants and non-combatants at the moment the Great War ended.

Katherine Ott

Stephen Spielberg’s blockbuster Amistad claims to educate as well as entertain; but how accurate is his portrayal of this slave revolt? John Thornton looks at the facts behind the film.

How Napoleon laid up trouble for future generations of Frenchmen by kick-starting Prussian and German domination of Eastern Europe.

Roy Porter, in his Longman/History Today lecture, warns of the bad eyesight, poor posture, incomprehensible babblings, addled wits, depravity and worse that may befall those who immerse themselves too much in books.

Jeremy Black charts its growth in Victorian Britain.