Called “the first great woman in history,” Hatshepsut reigned for two decades during Egypt’s early New Kingdom in the fifteenth century BCE. First acting as regent for her young nephew Thutmose III, in 1473 BCE she assumed the title Pharaoh and exercised the full powers of the throne as senior
Syrian President Bashar al-Asad has recently become the subject of intense international scrutiny. The United Nations probe into the assassination of Lebanese Premier Rafik al-Hariri has stepped up its investigation of the Syrian regime in recent weeks, after the former Syrian vice president, in an interview on al-‘Arabiyya television, claimed
This day marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin is perhaps the most remarkable figure in American history: the greatest statesman of his age, he played a pivotal role in the formation of the American republic. He was also a pioneering scientist, a bestselling author, the
Back when spies were spies, they spied by the rules—with the exception perhaps of those who did their spying for totalitarian regimes. The Constitution of the Soviet Union, for example, guaranteed the privacy of correspondence, but the government still read people’s private mail. By the end of the twentieth century,
“An enthralling new book,” says the Boston Globe in its recent review of Composers’ Voices From Ives to Ellington: An Oral History of American Music, by Vivian Perlis and Libby Van Cleve. The book and the two-CD set that accompanies it present a host of interviews with and about the
In an Op-Ed piece for the Washington Post, Harold Meyerson writes about “the pervasive insecurity that is inextricably part of today’s capitalism.” Invoking Richard Sennett’s new book The Culture of the New Capitalism, Myerson writes: “In the absence of a more structured work life, what Sennett sees is a more
Imagining America: Icons of 20th Century American Art, will air on PBS this Wednesday, December 28, 2005, from 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET. The film is a journey through the transformations that took place in 20th-century America, told through the words and work of some of the century’s most significant artists. “Anybody
“If Franklin were to mount a museum exhibition about himself,” writes Edward Rothstein in the New York Times, “it might very well resemble – in its variety, intelligence and pleasures – Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World.” The exhibition, which just opened, will be on display at the
A Little History of the World continues to receive praise in publications across the country. The Los Angeles Times Book Review counts A Little History among the 20 titles in its Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2005 in its holiday roundup. The Raleigh News & Observer also names A Little History
“The Unknown Battle of Midway is a memoir and more,” writes Robert Messenger in the Wall Street Journal. “Mr. Kernan brings this maritime battle superbly to life. He explains the whole history of the U.S. carriers and their arsenal and the commanders and pilots who were trying to learn on