The Return of Vladimir Lenin

There are few individuals who had a more profound impact on the history of the 20th century than Vladimir Lenin. Born in 1870 to a wealthy middle-class family in Simbirsk Province, Lenin’s path as a revolutionary was laid early in life when his brother was executed for his part…

The Uneasy Past of the Veiled Prophet Organization

St. Louis’s Veiled Prophet Organization (VPO), with its historic roots in both Irish poetry and the Civil War Confederacy, is a case study in how past contexts inform present-day understanding.

How Newt Gingrich Blew Up America

Craig Shirley makes a solid case for the importance of Gingrich in revamping both the Republican Party and American conservatism. 

Art for the Public’s Sake

Please Touch is a handsome coffee table book, the kind that invites casual examination but typically poses no real intellectual challenges to its readers. Or so one might initially think.

The World Samba Made

Hertzman’s book on samba illuminates a common struggle for music scholars and cultural historians: how can musical sounds inform our cultural histories?

What Price Peace in Our Time?

Though clearly in favor of the 2015 agreement that limited Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapons capability in return for lifting sanctions, the strength of Parsi's account is in its ability to speak to many of the players.

Life With Rodents

I had been surprised days earlier when I found gray fur on one of the traps, from a now partially bald mouse who had a story to tell his many buddies, but here was something worse: not an uncaught rodent, but a half-caught rodent.

Lords of the Flies

Insects may be the perfect villains, but there are inherent problems with casting insects as the bad guys with whom heroes must do battle.

Animal House

Shuffling through the vaccination and microchip records, reading the myriad names, I sometimes smile with nostalgic fondness, but more often my eyes mist as I am reminded of the multitudes we have loved but lost.

Turtles All the Way Down

In a number of ancient traditions, the world is believed to rest on the back of a giant turtle, which leads to the epistemological question of what might be supporting that turtle.

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