Military History

It’s Here: The Ides of March

CAESAR Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, Cry ‘Caesar!’ Speak; Caesar is turn’d to hear. SOOTHSAYER Beware the ides of March. Some might say that the death of Caesar on this day in 44 BCE was the

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J’Accuse! (Heard That One Before?)

On February 7, 1898, French writer Émile Zola was brought to trial for libel in his publication of “J’Accuse” in L’Aurore, a daily, leftist paper in Paris. His indictment of the French military’s treatment of the Drefyus Affair catapulted the anti-Semitic, pro-nationalist conspiracy to international recognition. The sympathetic camp of

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To London, with Love: For the Man of December

Ivan Lett The nickname l’homme de décembre was given to Napoléon III, largely, it seems, for living in the shadow of his uncle Napoléon I, Emperor of the French. On December 2, 1804, Napoléon I was crowned emperor, changing the political landscape of not only Europe, but the emerging interconnected

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Henry Roe Cloud Series and More on Native American History

As reported by the Yale Daily News earlier this month, the new Henry Roe Cloud series on American Indians and Modernity was announced by Ned Blackhawk, a Yale professor of History and American Studies, and Christopher Rogers, Editorial Director of Yale University Press. Cloud was the first known Native American

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Darfur Genocide Charges Filed

This Monday, the International Criminal Court in The Hague charged the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, with three counts of genocide in Darfur, which is the worst crime in international law. The charges come after a long legal process, during which al-Bashir was reelected for another term as president. 

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Scenes from the other “London Underground”

Faced with the impending blitz during the Second World War, Winston Churchill and his cabinet sought protection in an underground headquarters beneath the Treasury building in London. Though the prime minister much preferred to observe the war from the keener vantage point of the top floor of 10 Downing Street

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In Memoriam: Lt. Gen. William E. Odom

The recent passing of retired senior military official and former Yale professor William Odom has given many the chance to reflect on his life of service and scholarship. In his work with the Carter and Reagan administrations, Odom maintained a hard-line stance on the Soviet Union, a nation that had

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Morris’s 1948 is a critics’ favorite

Under the spotlight of the 60th anniversary of Israeli independence, Benny Morris’s recent book, 1948, is a praised as a shining example. Last Sunday’s New York Times Book Review features David Margolick’s review, saying: “Morris relates the story of his new book soberly and somberly, evenhandedly and exhaustively.” The May

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May Day and National Hamburger Month

In honor of May Day, Slate ran an article on the best recent books about Communism. After reviewing some basics like the Communist Manifesto, they recommend the Annals of Communism series: …Once you’ve got the surveys under your belt, you can turn to Yale University Press’ Annals of Communism series,

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Books on the beauty of nature and the nature of humanity

Two reviews of Yale Press titles appeared in the April 17th edition of the New York Review of Books. Andrew Butterfield reviewed Poussin and Nature: Arcadian Visions, edited by Pierre Rosenberg and Keith Christiansen. Butterfield praises the “ravishingly beautiful exhibition, … one that attempts to renew our understanding of the

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