Reviews

Review

The ballad of John and Paul

An imaginative account of the unique friendship between the Beatles' two creative geniuses provides an intriguing reinterpretation of their personal bond, but too often strays into..

Mathew Lyons April 8, 2025

Review

Suetonius’ spectacle of the Caesars

Tom Holland's excellent new translation of Suetonius' The Lives of the Caesars will introduce the ancient historian's peerless studies of power to a new generation of readers.

Armand D'Angour April 2, 2025

Review

Is this free speech?

A new, global history of free speech fails to capture its essential qualities.

Peter Hoskin March 28, 2025

Review

How a Republic falls

As our own societies grapple with the tension between civil liberty and state authority, the lessons of Ancient Rome endure.

Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri March 26, 2025

Review

What the Taliban did next

After the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban were left with massive quantities of western military hardware, creating both problems and opportunities for the Islamis..

Christopher Silvester March 21, 2025

Review

Henry Fuseli knew about nightmares

The painter Henry Fuseli traded in the unconscious, the weird, and the fantastical. A forceful, aggressive artist, for whom darkness was always a more congenial medium than light, ..

Alexander Lee March 20, 2025

Review

The language of flowers

We have failed to give the botanical world its fair due, as a new history of art explores.

Caroline Eden March 19, 2025

Review

An empire of ivory and inhumanity

A vivid account tells the story of Belgian colonialism in Africa with the skill of a seasoned travel writer, exposing a history of hubris and greed that has cast a long shadow.

Franklin Nelson March 18, 2025

Review

The power of pilgrimage

A delightful and compelling history interprets pilgrimage as an activity in which the secular and the sacred are inextricably entwined.

Katherine Harvey March 14, 2025