A Plutarchian Life of Brown and Lincoln

A Plutarchian Life of Brown and Lincoln

The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom by H. W. Brands. Doubleday, 2020. Hardcover, 464 pages, $30. Reviewed by Carl Rollyson H. W. Brands has written perhaps his most fluent book, a constantly engaging study...
The Cost of a Global Revolution

The Cost of a Global Revolution

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze. Oxford University Press, 2020. Hardcover, 960 pages, $40. Reviewed by Casey Chalk Many, I’d imagine, would be intimidated by a 960-page book on the Napoleonic era. Or perhaps they’d be uninterested,...
Succession and the Anarchy

Succession and the Anarchy

Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior by Catherine Hanley. Yale University Press, 2019. Hardcover, 277 pages, $30. Reviewed by Timothy D. Lusch By none but me can the tale be told, The butcher of Rouen, poor Berold. (Lands are swayed by a King on a throne.) ’Twas a royal...
Churchill’s Summer of Destiny

Churchill’s Summer of Destiny

John P. Rossi Winston Churchill was the greatest orator of the twentieth century. His most famous speeches rank with those of giants like Lincoln and Martin Luther King. A master of rhetoric with a gift for the memorable phrase, six of his speeches were transformative...