Reviews

Review

Books of the Year

Contributors to Engelsberg Ideas highlight the books they’ve enjoyed in 2022.

Engelsberg Ideas December 22, 2022

Review

Sanctions as potent yet unwieldy weapons of war

This timely book is a valuable history on a technique that dominates today’s landscape of war. But a discussion about the time sanctions require to take effect is vital.

Rob Johnson December 16, 2022

Review

Great Books: E.H. Carr’s Nationalism and After

E.H. Carr envisioned a world ‘after’ nationalism. He did not expect there would be no ‘after’ — just more of the same. But his insights remain instructive on the conditions for int..

Sergey Radchenko December 9, 2022

Review

Jay Gould — robber baron or capitalist hero?

As a symbolic figure of late-nineteenth century American capitalism, Jay Gould is less known today than some of the other economic titans of the period. In his own time, however, G..

Samuel Gregg December 9, 2022

Review

Where does Cuba’s destiny lie?

An unusual view of Cuban history reflects on a shared past with America and speculates on the future of this most difficult of relationships.

Anthony DePalma December 2, 2022

Review

Cato v Caesar

The pursuit of individual glory dominated the politics of the late Roman Republic.

Armand D'Angour November 25, 2022

Review

Great Books: Sir John Malcolm’s Sketches of Persia

Sir John Malcolm's seminal ethnography is unrivalled in its critical appreciation of the Iranians at the turn of the nineteenth century.

Ali Ansari November 25, 2022

Review

Between Hitler and Mussolini: The agony of Pope Pius XII

David Kertzer’s The Pope at War is a compelling historical account of a Catholic Church and its Pope caught up in the totalitarian experiments of the twentieth century.

Elisabeth Braw November 11, 2022

Review

Great Books: I Viceré by Federico De Roberto

De Roberto's familial saga lyrically charts the decline of the Sicilian aristocracy during the Unification of Italy.

Alexander Lee November 11, 2022