The British Bombs Down Under
The legacy of a decade of British weapons testing in its vast central deserts has forced Australia into an uncomfortable reckoning with its nuclear past.
Military
‘Blood Dawn’ by Hans van de Ven review
Blood Dawn: World War II and the Making of Modern Asia by Hans van de Ven finds Japanese grievance and ambition in the eye of the storm.
The Crusade of Hormuz
Looking for a new route to Jerusalem, medieval crusaders turned to the Strait of Hormuz.
Baldwin, Saladin, and the Fall of Jerusalem
As Baldwin IV succumbed to leprosy, his potential successors fought over the throne. Their determination to prove their worth would bring medieval Jerusalem itself into peril
End of the Pastry War
Mexico’s disgraced saviour General Antonio López de Santa Anna completed his comeback on 9 March 1839 as the Pastry War came to a close.
Chivalry in Chains: Prisoners in the Crimean War
During the Crimean War soldiers died in appalling conditions, but the treatment of enemy prisoners was surprisingly humane.
Massacre at Glencoe
On 13 February 1692 the Macdonalds of Glencoe were put to the sword by troops loyal to William III. Nobody was held to account.
Fight and Flight in the Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years War devastated continental Europe, killing millions and creating as many refugees. How did they experience the conflict?
The Rise and Fall of the US Army Camel Corps
The vast deserts of the American West posed logistical problems for the US Army. Camels offered a novel solution.
‘The Maginot Line’ by Kevin Passmore review
The Maginot Line: A New History by Kevin Passmore confronts the myths surrounding the fall of France in 1940.