Oxford University Press
'The Oxford Illustrated History of the World' (Oxford University Press), edited by Felipe Fernández-Armesto
The always-engaging philosopher-historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto looks at the story of human life from many angles. Read more
The Cosmic Mystery Tour: A High-Speed Journey Through Space & Time (Oxford University Press), by Nicholas Mee
British science writer Nicholas Mee’s The Cosmic Mystery Tour is a compact, speed-reader’s journey through the history and current conclusions of science as it developed in the West. Read more
A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination, and Faith During the First World War (Oxford University Press), by Owen Davies
In A Supernatural War, British historian Owen Davies examines a gamut of “supernatural” actions and sightings that accompanied a war of unprecedented technological slaughter. Read more
Doing Philosophy: From Common Curiosity to Logical Reasoning (Oxford University Press), by Timothy Williamson
One doesn’t have to agree with all points in Doing Philosophy to enjoy the author’s unusually clear exposition on philosophical methods. Read more
Future Politics: Living Together in a World Transformed by Tech (Oxford University Press), by Jamie Susskind
Jamie Susskind’s Future Politics is grim and long, but it offers thoughtful insight into arising issues created by technology. Read more
Hitler's Collaborators (Oxford University Press), by Philip Morgan
Hitler’s Collaborators is a sophisticated analysis of wartime politics and postwar court records in Nazi-occupied Western Europe. Read more
Lives of the Eminent Philosophers (Oxford University Press), by Diogenes Laertius, edited by James Miller
Lives of the Eminent Philosophers written circa 200 CE by Diogenes Laertius receives a beautifully produced new translation that includes artwork inspired by those philosophers over many centuries and cultures. Read more
Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World (Oxford University Press), by Iddo Landau
Iddo Landau hasn’t written a handbook for social change as much as a refutation of the apathy that can arise from anxiety over the possibility that individual lives are ultimately meaningless. Read more
The Oxford Illustrated History of Science (Oxford University Press), edited by Iwan Rhys Morus
The Oxford Illustrated History of Science, which despite its title (and many illustrations), is a collection of essays by authorities in various fields. Read more
Margaret Thatcher: A Life and Legacy (Oxford University Press), by David Cannadine
With Margaret Thatcher: A Life and Legacy, British historian David Cannadine presents an even-handed assessment of Britain’s first female prime minister. Read more
More on War (Oxford University Press), by Martin Van Creveld
In More on War, Martin Van Creveld, a historian with ties to the Israeli military, sets out to rethink the theory of waging war in the present day. Read more
Gothic Tales (Oxford University Press), by Arthur Conan Doyle
Books can enrich lives and even save them. Although it’s not a remarkable assertion, it’s integral to Will Schwalbe’s argument in Books for Living for the continued relevance of books. Schwalbe has been active in web publishing, yet issues ... Read more
A Cabinet of Ancient Medical Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Healing Arts of Greece and Rome (Oxford University Press), by J.C. McKeown
UW-Madison classics professor J.C. McKeown readily admits he’s not giving the Greeks and Romans their due in A Cabinet of Ancient Medical Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Healing Arts of Greece and Rome. “The focus i... Read more
The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East (Oxford University Press), by Roger Hardy
Experts on each of the nations included in Roger Hardy’s chronicle of Middle East politics, The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East, will probably find something omitted or amiss in his country-by-country assessment. Eve... Read more
Britain’s War 1937-1941: Into Battle (Oxford University Press), by Daniel Todman
Todman’s magisterial account is less about myth busting than exploring the context in which myths take hold. Read more
When Broadway Went to Hollywood
EthanMordden loves film and Broadway shows, yet is often frustrated when they meetand produce that hybrid known as the movie musical. With When Broadway Went toHollywood , the New Yorker-New York Times writer has composed a ra.. Read more
Indian Cinema: A Very Short Introduction
Onpage one of Indian Cinema: A Very Short Introduction , film historian AshishRajadhyaksha confesses that he has not written a “proper history” of hissubject, pleading that so vast a subject cold not be contained within the.. Read more
The Face of Britain: A History of the Nation Through Its Portraits (Oxford University Press), by Simon Schama
Simon Schama became a celebrity intellectual for his PBS series “The Power of Art,” but much of his academic work has concerned British history. With The Face of Britain: A History of the Nation Through Its Portraits, Schama brings toget... Read more
Harmful and Undesirable: Book Censorship in Nazi Germany (Oxford University Press), by Guenter Lewy
Harmful and Undesirable: Book Censorship in Nazi Germany by Guenter Lewy goes beyond the infamy of book burnings and examines how the regime’s censorship system operated. Lewy finds squabbling and overlapping jurisdictions vying for control... Read more
The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention (Oxford University Press), by Rajan Menon
Rajan Menon, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Institute of War and Peace Studies, is a pessimist when it comes to intervening to prevent genocides, thwart civil wars and relieve oppression. Menon’s tightly focused essay, T... Read more
