Social democracy – a Scandinavian mystery?

Perceptions of Scandinavia at the moment are governed by its seemingly endless production line of quality crime fiction and drama – the likes of Wallander, The Killing and the ubiquitious Girl With the Dragon Tattoo franchise, not to mention the terrifying work...

Whatever happened to postmodernism?

By the 1990s, even historians were finding it difficult to ignore the potential implications of what was variously described as postmodernism, post-structuralism, or the linguistic or cultural turn. Theory, so often seen as dangerously continental, even succeeded in...

Common Sense?

In her new book, Common Sense: A Political History (see here for in-depth review and author’s response), Sophia Rosenfeld points out the diverse ways common sense has been used throughout history as well as what it actually stands for.The novelty of her...

Voices of the Lowly

One of the books covered this week by Reviews in History is Memory of War in France, 1914–45: César Fauxbras, the Voice of the Lowly by Matthew Perry, which aims to bring to attention the voice and viewpoint of a dissident French intellectual who lived through both...

Mapping the Nation

Rachel Hewitt’s new book Map of a Nation: a Biography of the Ordnance Survey (see here for full review) charts the story of this longstanding British institution from its inception as an aid to the subjugation of the Highlands in the mid 18th century to...