The Browser - History

The Great Gatsby And The American Dream | Sarah Churchwell | Guardian | 25 May 2012

The Browser — Mon, 28 May 2012 06:36:17 +0000

"The phrase the American dream was invented to describe a failure, not a promise: Or rather, a broken promise, a dream that was continually faltering beneath rampant monopoly capitalism." Fitzgerald, like few others, saw it coming

More about this article

Tales Of Poppy-Heads | Frances Wilson | TLS | 24 May 2012

The Browser — Mon, 28 May 2012 06:30:03 +0000

Short history of opium, via review of new title by pathologist Thomas Dormandy. It's a two-faced drug. One that "corrupted and killed individuals, families, communities and even whole nations", but also changed pain relief forever

More about this article

Tattoos: The Legacy Of A Seafaring Heritage | Tessa Dunlop | History Today | 24 May 2012

The Browser — Sun, 27 May 2012 07:00:23 +0000

On Britain's fetish for tattoos. It's nothing new. "A hundred years ago tattooing was a novel pastime among the very wealthy in London’s most fashionable circles: An artistic reminder of the nation’s imperial reach"

More about this article

The Monarchy: More Ancient Than Modern | Dan Jones | History Today | 24 May 2012

The Browser — Sat, 26 May 2012 07:12:42 +0000

"As the nation celebrates six decades of Elizabeth II’s reign, it is worth taking the long view of monarchy, by asking not what is so modern about the Crown in the new Elizabethan age, but what remains ancient"

More about this article

The Time Britain Slid Into Chaos | Michael Wood | BBC | 25 May 2012

The Browser — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:30:52 +0000

Divisive inequality of wealth; rising unemployment and inflation; anarchist riots on the streets of Europe; rise of extremist political parties. 2012? No, 5th Century AD. What can fall of the Roman empire tell us about euro crisis?

More about this article

The American West, 150 Years Ago | Timothy O'Sullivan | Atlantic | 24 May 2012

The Browser — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:54:56 +0000

In the 1860s and 70s, O'Sullivan created some of the best-known images of America. After the civil war, he joined expeditions aimed at documenting the new frontiers in the American West. This gallery contains 34 of his photographs

More about this article

Louise Foxcroft on the History of Medicine and Addiction

FiveBooks — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:15:44 +0000

The historian prescribes reading on medical practices of the past, from treatments of madness and non-existent disease, to drug use and the origins of hypochondria

Read full interview

What History Can Explain About Greek Crisis | Katrin Bennhold | NYT | 21 May 2012

The Browser — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:16:49 +0000

There may be no good options, but can history guide us to the least bad ones? Let's consider: German reunification, collapse of Austria-Hungary, Argentina's abandonment of dollar peg, 14th century Florence, 20th century Panama

More about this article

How The Chicken Conquered The World | Jerry Adler & Andrew Lawler | Smithsonian | 22 May 2012

The Browser — Wed, 23 May 2012 07:06:14 +0000

Archaeologists believe chickens were first domesticated not for eating but for cockfighting. Today they're "cogs in a system designed to convert grain into protein with staggering efficiency". What happened inbetween?

More about this article

Their Sense Of Belonging | Timothy Snyder | WSJ | 18 May 2012

The Browser — Mon, 21 May 2012 07:04:29 +0000

Admiring review of "The Jews In Poland And Russia", by Antony Polonsky. "He has created the field of modern Jewish history as a subject to be considered and understood rather than simply a tragic past to be mourned"

More about this article