Kultur & Ideen

Were Two Ancient Chinese Astronomers Beheaded for Failing to Predict an Eclipse in 2134 B.C.E.? The Story May Be a Myth, but It Underscores the Real Risks of Interpreting Celestial Events

Experts say that an oft-circulated anecdote about two royal astronomers drunkenly failing to foresee an eclipse thousands of years ago contains hints of truth

Smithsonian History · EN

'Pretty Boy' Floyd, One of the Most Notorious Outlaws of the Great Depression, Was Shot and Killed in an FBI Raid 92 Years Ago

Some Americans lauded the 30-year-old bank robber as a Robin Hood-esque folk hero. Others castigated him as a violent criminal whose misdeeds were emblematic of the troubled era

Smithsonian History · EN

Ivan the Terrible Wanted to Marry Elizabeth I. How Did England's 'Virgin Queen' Reject the Russian Czar Without Souring Trade Relations?

A new book details the Russian ruler's failed courtship of the Tudor queen, who famously remained unmarried during her nearly 45-year reign

Smithsonian History · EN

Archaeologists at This Ancient Maya Metropolis in the Forest of Belize Are Debunking Long-Held Myths About the Mesoamerican Civilization

Diane and Arlen Chase have spent a good portion of their lives uncovering the once-great city of Caracol. Their groundbreaking research is rewriting everything we thought we knew about the Maya

Smithsonian History · EN

Two Years After World War II Ended, This Ship Brought the Bodies of 6,251 Fallen Service Members Back Home to America

The S.S. "Joseph V. Connolly" arrived in New York City on October 26, 1947. The caskets stored in its holds contained the remains of privates and three-star generals alike

Smithsonian History · EN

THE UNIFYING FORCES OF HUMANKIND

“Throughout history, rulers of humankind narrowly defined the world’s center to be their own corner of the world,” writes Stoffer. From the Babylonians and Romans to the Zhou dynasty and the Aztecs, imperial civilizations have made dramatic claims about their importance and exceptionalism. In this work, Stoffer argues that our history is more accurately defined by the “unifying forces” that bond humans, not only across geographic space, but also across thousands of years. The book’s opening chapter focuses on humanity’s unique ability to communicate via language and the written word. The autho

Kirkus · EN

DON'T LOSE YOUR GOOD THING

As the music industry has undergone a profound paradigm shift in the 21st century, it has left a lot of history behind: small labels that released seminal music, studios where those classics were recorded, sessions so significant that they established one Southern town as “the Birthplace of Country Music.” If a culture commemorates battlefields and other historical sites, why not musical landmarks? The opening chapter of this insightful book by Dahan, a scholar at Middle Tennessee State University, tells a fascinating story of how Richmond, Indiana, became a recording hub for Gennett Records,

Kirkus · EN

DEBTS OWED

In 1943, on New York’s Long Island, American intelligence operative Conor Thorn is testifying at the trial of his late wife Grace’s rapist, Buster Seaker, the son of a high-powered political official. Although his testimony goes well, he can’t keep his rage contained and winds up in a fight with the offender on his way out of the courtroom, which leaves the trial’s outcome in question. He goes abroad to London, where he faces a new problem: He doesn’t know where his current love, Emily, has been assigned for a covert mission. Desperate to reconnect and ensure her well-being, he finds himself t

Kirkus · EN

THE WORLD OF CECIL TAYLOR

This collection of some 40 pieces brought together by writer, translator, and filmmaker Valente offers up an eclectic, daunting overview of the life and career of the singular free-jazz composer, performer, and poet Cecil Taylor. As Gary Giddins puts it in his fine essay, “The Avant-Gardist Who Came in From the Cold,” Taylor inherited a tradition of “unending discovery.” Marc Edwards contributes a personal piece on his “transformative experience” playing drums with Taylor. John Bruschini describes Taylor’s music as “always controversial, groundbreaking, and revolutionary.” Valente himself prov

Kirkus · EN

THE APPARENT TRAP

Thirty-one-year-old Ezzie Halevi is used to life behind the scenes. As a producer for The Wake Up Show , she’s rarely the one anyone is watching, which is why she can’t stop thinking about her recent encounter with Lee Morgan. Lee, a handsome TV chef 10 years Ezzie’s senior, steals the hearts of viewers and his co-workers on the show’s weekly cooking segment. Yet, out of everyone in a crowded bar, Lee flirted with and almost kissed her ...until he abruptly ghosted her. Ezzie is left hurt and confused by Lee’s sudden change of heart, until she meets the new co-anchor she’s assigned to work with

Kirkus · EN

WHERE THE SCARECROW STOOD

Kawamura Haruki is already a sailor, but the wartime Imperial Japanese Navy sends him to New Georgia, part of the Solomon Islands. His brothers are in the war also, and he holds a treasured letter from one of them, folded neatly and kept hidden in his pants cuff. He’s originally from a farm outside of Hiroshima, and the fate of one his brothers seems grim. The fictional narrative, which draws from historical sources, traces his unit’s trek across the jungle in the Solomon Islands as they fight a losing battle that becomes even worse in the Philippines. On a Luzon mountain, the haggard crew fac

Kirkus · EN

LORNA

Nothing in Tyler Owens’ background could prepare him for the maelstrom of Lorna Eads. The son of “Sawdust Republicans who nonetheless spoke cordially of FDR and Carter,” he grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and moved to California to study economics at USC. Although he was raised to have practical plans for the future, Tyler drops out of college to pursue a writing career. A late-night drive through Los Angeles changes the trajectory of his life when he gets into a fender bender with Lorna Eads, an aspiring actress from Rhode Island. She gives Tyler her phone number, and a relationship quickly dev

Kirkus · EN

STICK

Stick begins with Eddigan, an elderly one-eyed wizard with diminished powers who lives alone in a forest with a raven. Eddigan’s hermit-like existence delays his inevitable surrender to the Arcansil, “the abandonment of magic, […] a process that strips the arcane from all magical beings” which is tearing its way through Eddigan’s Draywood Forest and the Celt-lands as a whole. The Arcansil causes beings with arcane powers to lose their minds, abandon their beliefs, and eventually turn violent and feral. On a supply run, Eddigan and the raven discover and rescue a diminutive being attacked by fe

Kirkus · EN

The hottest class at Harvard? Humanities 10, where phones are banned, attendance is mandatory, and the readings are dense

The hottest class at Harvard? Humanities 10, where phones are banned, attendance is mandatory, and the readings are dense

Arts & Letters Daily · EN

Drunk or sober, but especially drunk, Edgar Allan Poe acted against his own interests. He turned the mystery of why into art

Drunk or sober, but especially drunk, Edgar Allan Poe acted against his own interests. He turned the mystery of why into art

Arts & Letters Daily · EN

The Guide for the Perplexed is a perplexing work — its difficulty is, in part, the point. Can fluent English do it justice?

The Guide for the Perplexed is a perplexing work — its difficulty is, in part, the point. Can fluent English do it justice?

Arts & Letters Daily · EN

The femininization of the deathcare industry. Advances in cosmetics, among other things, are pushing women into the mortuary arts

The femininization of the deathcare industry. Advances in cosmetics, among other things, are pushing women into the mortuary arts

Arts & Letters Daily · EN

The life of a Capitol Hill intern involves bamboozling policyspeak, hellacious heat, free food at AEI, and a parade of utterly charmless Tattes

The life of a Capitol Hill intern involves bamboozling policyspeak, hellacious heat, free food at AEI, and a parade of utterly charmless Tattes

Arts & Letters Daily · EN

Curiosity is a cure for certainty. It’s also the enemy of humility, modesty, and self-doubt. Adam Phillips explains

Curiosity is a cure for certainty. It’s also the enemy of humility, modesty, and self-doubt. Adam Phillips explains

Arts & Letters Daily · EN

How did the journal Telos, champion of Marcuse and Gramsci, produce two editors who would serve in Trump’s State Department?

How did the journal Telos, champion of Marcuse and Gramsci, produce two editors who would serve in Trump’s State Department?

Arts & Letters Daily · EN

Disgust and desire. In the 16th century, a woman might carry a peeled apple in her armpit until it absorbed her scent, then give it to her lover

Disgust and desire. In the 16th century, a woman might carry a peeled apple in her armpit until it absorbed her scent, then give it to her lover

Arts & Letters Daily · EN

Sin City: Toulouse and the Albigensian Crusade

Sin City: Toulouse and the Albigensian Crusade James Hoare Thu, 10/22/2026 - 09:13 To justify the 13th-century Albigensian Crusade, waged against heretics in the south of France, its champions painted Toulouse as Sodom and Gomorrah reborn.

History Today · EN

How Did the Suez Crisis Change the World?

How Did the Suez Crisis Change the World? James Hoare Thu, 10/22/2026 - 09:14 The military attempt to reverse Egypt’s nationalisation of the Suez Canal in 1956 was a disaster for Britain. What were the consequences?

History Today · EN

Abortion and the Church in 17th-Century Scotland

Abortion and the Church in 17th-Century Scotland James Hoare Fri, 10/23/2026 - 06:00 When an unmarried servant returned home pregnant in the 17th century, women in her community helped her ‘part with child’ – risking the wrath of the Scottish Presbyterian Church.

History Today · EN