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Creating the Qur’an: A Historical-Critical Study
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ by Boopala Arul

Creating the Qur’an: A Historical-Critical Study

Stephen J. Shoemaker’s Creating the Qur’an: A Historical-Critical Study is, in brief, an argument for placing the “closure” of the Qur’an, its development into the definitive form we know today, in 8th century Iraq and Syria, as opposed to...
A Noble Ruin: Mark Antony, Civil War, and the Collapse of the Roman Republic
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ by Alex Hagler

A Noble Ruin: Mark Antony, Civil War, and the Collapse of the Roman Republic

Despite Tatum's best efforts, it is hard to call this book a proper biography of Mark Antony. As the subtitle suggests, Tatum attempts to chronicle Mark Antony’s life, the multiple civil wars throughout it, and the broader narrative of the...
American Exceptionalism: A New History of an Old Idea
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Shankar Chaudhuri

American Exceptionalism: A New History of an Old Idea

In framing his discussion of American exceptionalism, the author employs two methodological approaches referencing Seymour Martin Lipset, a social scientist, and Mircea Eliade, a philosopher. Lipset, the author holds, evaluated the U.S. against...
Networks of Modernity: Germany in the Age of the Telegraph, 1830-1880
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Carlos Fernando Teixeira Alves

Networks of Modernity: Germany in the Age of the Telegraph, 1830-1880

Jean-Michel Johnston's Networks of Modernity: Germany in the Age of the Telegraph, 1830-1880 primarily targets scholars, students, and enthusiasts who have a keen interest in the intersection of technology, society, and culture during 19th-century...
The Slavic Myths
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Kelly Macquire

The Slavic Myths

The Slavic Myths, by the historian Noah Charney and the anthropologist and historian Svetlana Slapšak, is a wonderfully written and beautifully illustrated book delving into various Slavic myths, gods, and supernatural figures as well as...
Nero: Emperor and Court
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Philip Mathew

Nero: Emperor and Court

Of the many emperors of Rome, there is one who has been given considerable attention and is often portrayed in a negative light. In Nero: Emperor and Court, John F. Drinkwater challenges the traditional notions attributed to Nero and offers...
Lost Cities of the Ancient World
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Kelly Macquire

Lost Cities of the Ancient World

Lost Cities of the Ancient World by Philip ‘Maty’ Matyszak compiles the individual histories of cities across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia into one volume, linking cities thousands of years and kilometers apart with the simple fact that...
Emotions Across Cultures: Ancient China and Greece
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Kelly Fu

Emotions Across Cultures: Ancient China and Greece

Emotions Across Cultures: Ancient China and Greece brings together nine distinguished scholars working with modern and ancient texts from China and Greece to investigate emotional history’s potential to address cross-cultural and trans-historical...
The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky: A History of the Chinese Experience in Montana
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Zhihui Zou

The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky: A History of the Chinese Experience in Montana

When thinking about early Chinese American history, people often point to the Transcontinental Railroad and California's Gold Rush. However, Chinese residents also built their communities in the American Midwest. Mark T. Johnson's research...
A Nation So Conceived: Abraham Lincoln and the Paradox of Democratic Sovereignty
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Sam Short

A Nation So Conceived: Abraham Lincoln and the Paradox of Democratic Sovereignty

Michael Zuckert, the Nancy R. Dreux Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, has included his analysis of some of Lincoln’s mostly noteworthy speeches, such as the House Divided Speech and both inaugural addresses...
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