Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and the Making of Stars
What are stars made of? When a young astronomer upset standard explanations for the formation of the solar system, the establishment told her she was wrong – then stole her findings.
Interwar period
How Mexico Fought Franco
Just two countries supported the Republic during the Spanish Civil War: the Soviet Union and Mexico. While Soviet help came with strings attached, Mexico’s reflected the country’s contentious relationship with its old colonial master.
Keeping Blinded Veterans in View
To support ex-servicemen injured during the First World War, charities like St Dunstan’s found creative ways of fundraising.
‘The Wild Men’, ‘The Men of 1924’ and ‘A Century of Labour’ review
On the centenary of Britain’s first Labour government, three recent histories cast a sympathetic eye over Ramsay MacDonald’s nine months in Number 10.
Pasternak and Stalin: What Was Said?
A short telephone call between Joseph Stalin and Boris Pasternak sealed the fate of a fellow writer. What exactly transpired during that fateful discussion remains subject to debate.
‘Daughter of the Dragon’ by Yunte Huang review
Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong’s Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang explores the discrimination beneath Hollywood’s glamour.
‘Bystander Society’ by Mary Fulbrook review
Mary Fulbrook’s Bystander Society: Conformity and Complicity in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust holds the ambivalent accountable.
An Uyghur Chieftain in China’s Civil War
How did Uyghur chieftain Yolbars Khan come to be buried in a Chinese Nationalist grave in Taipei? The answer reveals much about China’s violent relationship with its most western province.
Was the 1926 Floating University a Failure?
In 1926 an American university went to sea and caused an international scandal. Could it still be considered a success?
‘The Weimar Years’ by Frank McDonough review
The Weimar Years: Rise and Fall 1918-1933 by Frank McDonough is a lucid overview of Germany’s tumultuous interwar years.