‘Red Dawn Over China’ by Frank Dikötter review
Red Dawn Over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity by Frank Dikötter is a balanced account of the violent years between Kuomintang and communist rule.
Political
‘The Cancelled Prime Minister’ by Walter Reid review
The Cancelled Prime Minister: The Extraordinary Rise and Tragic Fall of Ramsay MacDonald by Walter Reid finds the romance behind Labour’s great betrayer.
‘Exit Stalin’ by Mark B. Smith review
Compassion from the Kremlin often proved as short-lived as its critics. In Exit Stalin: The Soviet Union as a Civilization, 1953-1991, Mark B. Smith finds that terror was a feature rather than a bug.
The Trials of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc was put on trial twice, once before and once after her death. The records made at these trials are often used as evidence of Joan’s own words – but whose voice was really recorded?
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.
‘Demosthenes’ by James Romm review
Demosthenes: Democracy’s Defender by James Romm looks for hope amid the sound and fury surrounding the great orator of ancient Athens.
Prelude to Putin: Russia and the West in the 1990s
At the end of the Cold War, Russia and the West seemed set on a path towards cooperation. Why did it veer into renewed animosity?
Indonesia’s Heroic History
Indonesian national heroes are state approved. Is Suharto, an old president with a history of violence, worthy of the title?
‘The Queenship of Mathilda of Flanders’ by Laura L. Gathagan review
The Queenship of Mathilda of Flanders, c.1031-1083: Embodying Conquest by Laura L. Gathagan traces the material legacy of the Conqueror’s consort.
‘The Revolution to Come’ and ‘Revolutions: A New History’ review
Two recent books, The Revolution to Come: A History of an Idea from Thucydides to Lenin by Dan Edelstein and Revolutions: A New History by Donald Sassoon, illustrate the past and future of revolutionary studies.