The Candle of Memory The Candle of Memory
Anne Applebaum's new history of the Ukrainian famine illustrates the perils of using the past in service of today's politics.
Dec 14, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Sophie Pinkham
What Revolution? What Revolution?
Enzo Traverso’s new book offers us a guide to the left that the 20th century left behind.
Nov 30, 2017 / Books & the Arts / J. Hoberman
Mikhail Gorbachev’s New Thinking Mikhail Gorbachev’s New Thinking
Gorbachev set out to transform the Soviet Union from within. What happened?
Oct 26, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Keith Gessen
The Death of Che Guevara Declassified The Death of Che Guevara Declassified
A top-secret CIA memo shows that US officials considered his execution a crucial victory—but they were mistaken in believing Che’s ideas could be buried along with his body.
Oct 10, 2017 / Peter Kornbluh
Will Russia Leave the West? Will Russia Leave the West?
The new Cold War could drive the planet’s largest country, long anchored politically in both geopolitical worlds, eastward to stay.
Sep 13, 2017 / Stephen F. Cohen
What Liu Xiaobo’s Death Says About China’s Two Futures What Liu Xiaobo’s Death Says About China’s Two Futures
China’s president has crafted an increasingly progressive image for himself abroad, while stifling dissent at home.
Jul 25, 2017 / Gina Anne Tam and Jeffrey Wasserstrom
What Caused the Russian Revolution? What Caused the Russian Revolution?
How historians narrate 1917 tells us as much about their politics as it does about what we can learn from the revolution’s failures.
Jun 13, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Sophie Pinkham
Diana Trilling’s Discontents Diana Trilling’s Discontents
To keep up with the New York Intellectuals, Diana Trilling forgot—and forgave—nothing.
Jun 1, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Vivian Gornick
Could Leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon Win the French Presidency? Could Leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon Win the French Presidency?
Communism may be dead, but the struggle against capital has taken on new life in France.
Apr 21, 2017 / Paul Cohen
What ‘The New York Times’ Missed in Its Piece about Norman Podhoretz What ‘The New York Times’ Missed in Its Piece about Norman Podhoretz
The profile failed to mention the larger historical context in which the former Commentary editor and his contemporaries operated.
Mar 27, 2017 / Norman Birnbaum