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History

The Long View: Napoleon: A Political Life

Napoleon was one of the great figures of European history. This is a fine summary of his life. Napoleon: A Political Life By Steven Englund Scribner, 2004 592 Pages, $35.00 ISBN 0-684-87142-4 Several biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) have been published over the years. This one, by an American

The Long View: A History of Europe

In the twenty years since this was written, a common European identity has still failed to materialize. However, across the West we do see a common identity forming, a citizen of the world. A French voter, Rachid Berdouzi, memorably described himself as such, and this identity motivated him to vote

The Long View: The Last Division: A History of Berlin 1945-1989

While Kennedy did say something that could have been seen as funny in his famous Berlin speech, if you watch video of the speech it is pretty clear the crowd didn't take it that way. I have a number of personal connections to Berlin that make this review

The Long View: Terrible Honesty

In passing, this is a pretty funny comment on my own review of The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise. The problem with the academic writers on the subject, he complained, was the same that bedeviled writers on Spanish history: both seemed to be infected by the insanity they were describing.

King–of the Khyber Rifles Book Review

King–of the Khyber Rifles by Talbot Mundy Carrol and Graf 1985 $3.95; 395 pages ISBN 0881841692 I enjoy reading old books. This one is only 101 years old at this point, but I enjoy the act of getting into the mind of someone from another age. Written in

The Long View: The Holy Roman Empire

The idea of the King holds great power in the West, even when actual kings and queens largely do not. For us Westerners, what the Emperor means comes from Rome through Charlemagne and Otto I. There is a mythical undercurrent however, that is far older. The Holy Roman Empire By

The Long View: Island of the Day Before

The accurate measurement of longitude was a driving force of much of science during the Age of Exploration. A hell of a lot of good research came out of nations competing to do this faster and better, in search of filthy lucre. This is one of the foundational elements of