David A. Bell

David A. Bell is the author, most recently, of Men on Horseback: The Power of Charisma in the Age of Revolution. He teaches history at Princeton and is writing a history of the Enlightenment.

Barricade fight in Berlin, March 1848.

The Year Europe Revolted The Year Europe Revolted

A new history by Christopher Clark on the 1848 revolutions.

Oct 31, 2023 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

Paris Commune, 1871.

The Life and Afterlife of the Paris Commune The Life and Afterlife of the Paris Commune

It was one of the most radical political experiments in European history. It was also one of Europe’s most tragically short-lived.

Nov 15, 2022 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

What Is Left of History?

What Is Left of History? What Is Left of History?

Joan Scott’s On the Judgment of History asks us to imagine the past without the idea of progress. But what gets left out in the process?

May 2, 2022 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

Emma Rothschild’s Family Sagas and Microhistories

Emma Rothschild’s Family Sagas and Microhistories Emma Rothschild’s Family Sagas and Microhistories

Can one tell the story of a country through one family?

Aug 23, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

Benito Mussolini

Are We Living in an Age of Strongmen? Are We Living in an Age of Strongmen?

A new book by Ruth Ben-Ghiat discusses the past and present challenges posed by authoritarianism, but misses the social and economic conditions in which it arises.

Apr 6, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism

Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism

In his new book, the New Yorker writer sets out to defend liberalism from its critics, but only ends up revealing its current limitations.

Jun 12, 2019 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

Where Does Truth Fit into Democracy?

Where Does Truth Fit into Democracy? Where Does Truth Fit into Democracy?

In modern democracies, who gets to determine what counts as truth—an elite of experts or the people as a whole?

Jan 24, 2019 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

Macron Yellow vest Adress

For Emmanuel Macron, How Did Things Get So Bad, So Fast? For Emmanuel Macron, How Did Things Get So Bad, So Fast?

The fault lies with both the French president himself and the political and cultural elite that formed him.

Dec 13, 2018 / David A. Bell

The Afterlives of Charles de Gaulle

The Afterlives of Charles de Gaulle The Afterlives of Charles de Gaulle

A new biography claims his vision was a stabilizing synthesis of France’s monarchical and republican political traditions. But was it?

Aug 29, 2018 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

Waiting for Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment

Waiting for Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Waiting for Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment

The genre that Pinker’s latest book most closely resembles is not 18th-century philosophie but a TED Talk.

Mar 7, 2018 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

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