Godfrey Hodgson— Fifty years ago this summer, Lyndon Johnson was gradually committing the United States to what most now see as a disastrous war in Vietnam. Certainly Vietnam was a disaster for President Johnson himself. While in 1964 and 1965 he pushed through Congress a program of domestic reform—in civil
Ian Shapiro— Robert Dahl died on February 5, 2014 at the age of ninety-eight. He might well have been the most important political scientist of the last century, and he was certainly one of its preeminent social scientists. In many ways, Dahl created the field of modern political science, understood
Bill Vaughn— In “Hawthorn Blossom,” the Brothers Grimm rewriting of the folk story Sleeping Beauty, a queen is informed by a frog that the royal couple finally will have a child. Among the guests at the celebration of the princess’s birth are twelve “wise women” (the sort of traditional village
Joshua Reid— This last March, the National Marine Fisheries Service invited public input on a recently released draft environmental impact statement that evaluates the Makah Nation’s request to resume hunting gray whales off the coast of Washington State. Most of the feedback on the government website that is collecting this
Irwin F. Gellman— The gradual ascent of Dwight Eisenhower’s reputation among historians has now been going on for more than forty years. Younger readers may not remember the time when Eisenhower was considered a passive incompetent, preferring to play golf or bridge than to lead his administration, and letting the
Louis Barthas kept vivid journals of his service as a French corporal in World War I. In honor of his birthday today, July 14th (which is also Bastille Day!), the following is an excerpt from the 1978 introduction to Poilu, his collected notebooks. Rémy Cazals— Louis Barthas was born on
Robin Prior— I want to highlight the dangers to Western civilization if Britain had succumbed to Nazi Germany in 1940. But to do this, first I’ll make the point, illustrated over the course of history, that the side that wins the war does not necessarily represent all that is best
Margot Anderson – July 11 is World Population Day, a yearly commemoration established in 1989 by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Program of the United Nations to focus attention on world population issues. This year’s theme focuses on “Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies” particularly the “hygiene, health, dignity,
Patrick Smith— What will come of the mid-June murders in Charleston is still to be determined. We have already seen an extraordinary display of solidarity and restraint as forms of power among South Carolina blacks close to the African Methodist Episcopal Church. And the news from Columbia, South Carolina’s capital,
Jonathan Rose— More than most politicians, Winston Churchill was an insatiable reader. He loved to schmooze with authors, and what he read profoundly shaped his political worldview. He never actually published a “Top Ten” list of his favorite books—but if he had, it might have been something like this: The