Bangladesh and its Search for Identity
Born of civil war in 1971, the former East Pakistan has wrangled with issues of religion, secularism and democracy ever since.
Volume 66 Issue 9 September 2016
The Hunt for Medieval Kings
As the search for lost medieval kings continues, interest in them seems stronger than ever. But a warning from the past speaks of their – and our – ruin.
Churchill, God and the Bomb
Did the idea of nuclear war make Britain’s wartime leader more God-fearing?
A Separate Australia
Western Australia’s desire to secede as ‘Westralia’ in 1933 was undermined by a change in Britain’s attitude towards its Empire.
The Cultural Revolution: A People's History
Mao Zedong’s brutal campaign to purify Communist China, which began in the early 1960s, resulted in a decade of chaos that has left an indelible stain on the nation’s politics.
The Great Fire of London
The rebuilding of London required an image of what had been lost. Kate Wiles shares one such survey from 1669.
Verdun: The Killing Field
The epic German offensive to take the strategically crucial fortress in north-east France reached its bloody end in September 1916. Robert Foley looks at how and why Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the German General Staff, sought to break the deadlock on the Western Front.
Burning Books
As the holders of both our cultural and personal memories, books seem sacred and their destruction, no matter the cause, is always shocking.
Portrait of the Author as a Historian: Penelope Fitzgerald
The Booker Prize-winning writer eschewed autobiographical novels for historical fiction in a bid to resolve the porous distinction between objective and subjective history, writes Alexander Lee.
Botswana after Independence
Since gaining independence Botswana’s history has not not been without turmoil, but the country has emerged as a model African state.