The Realist and the Utopian

Posted: Monday, May 12, 2008
During World War II, the India question was on hold and British-trained Indian troops rallied to the call of arms. Gandhi seemed to realize that Britain's survival was at stake and muted his demands for an India free of the British raj. Despite his brief imprisonment by the British he launched several hunger strikes. After the war, his full-fledged campaign against Britain resumed.  [Full Story]

Bear Market
Cold War classics for an age of a resurgent Russia.
Posted: Friday, January 4, 2008
EPPC Senior Scholar Ernest W. Lefever summarizes five classic mid-century books about the balance of power among nations and the origins of the cold war.  [Full Story]

Man with a Plan
When America saved Europe-after World War II.
Posted: Thursday, December 20, 2007
The Marshall Plan, which was launched exactly 60 years ago, was one of the wisest and most generous political achievements of the 20th century. Greg Behrman's The Most Noble Adventure introduces a new generation to the giants who wrought this miracle.  [Full Story]

Translation of Psalms that Sounds Like Hebrew

Posted: Monday, December 17, 2007
Ever since the King James Bible came off the press at the close of the Elizabethan era, biblical scholars on both sides of the Atlantic have attempted to correct and update it. The most recent laborer in this vineyard is Robert Alter, who teaches Hebrew at Stanford  [Full Story]

Pacifism versus Just War
One Man's Pilgrimage
Posted: Sunday, October 14, 2007
For eight fateful years, from Hitler's Nuremberg rallies in 1937 to the collapse of Germany and Japan in 1945, I was an active religious pacifist pursuing college and theological studies. My tenacious pacifism enabled me to blot out headlines about U.S. mobilization and war, yet I felt I was somehow more than a pawn in the larger struggle and persuaded myself that my words and deeds were relevant.  [Full Story]

The Rocket Scientist
Hitler's engineer, America's space explorer.
Posted: Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Michael J. Neufeld, author of the comprehensive biography Von Braun, provides a detailed and documented story of a remarkable man who reached the zenith of rocket science and technology both in the Third Reich and in post-World War II America.  [Full Story]

A Marshall Plan for the Big Easy?

Posted: Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Two years ago hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused more destruction than any other natural catastrophe in American history. Recovery efforts have fallen far short of expectations despite massive support. Thousands of houses and several hospitals still lie in soggy ruins. Despair and anger are widespread.   [Full Story]

The Fate of Camelot

Posted: Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The thesis of James Piereson's provocative and well-researched book, Camelot and the Cultural Revolution, is that the assassination of John F. Kennedy "opened up a break with the American past and a rupture in the evolving world of liberal ideals and idealism."   [Full Story]

The Great Depression

Posted: Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Amity Shlaes' brilliant and highly readable book surely must be the best analysis of the Great Depression ever. With the precision of an economist, a historian's sense of the enduring and a journalist's ear for language, she deftly parries the claims of FDR fans and defenders.  [Full Story]

God, Man, and Green at Yale
Why Not Nuclear Energy?
Posted: Friday, July 27, 2007
Everyone wants cleaner air and supports reasonable efforts to achieve it. But that is not enough for the new greens, who see catastrophe everywhere around us.  [Full Story]