The President's Slaves

At a time when the first Afro-American President resides at the White House, Annette Gordon-Reed’s The Hemingses Of Monticello: An American Family published by Norton is a timely reminder. Presidents of the United States of America used to own slaves. This book covers the story of the 'second' family of a historic president residing in pomp at Monticello. 

Assassinate Hitler: Maurice Bavaud

On November 9th, 2008, it was 70 years since Maurice Bavaud tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler in Munich. After prolonged torture, he was murdered by the Nazis on May 14th, 1941, after ‘legal’ proceedings followed by a sentence to death on the guillotine. He was officially rehabilitated by Germany in 1956. 

How Money Came to Dominate Our Lives

Niall Ferguson’s The Ascent of Money was published by Allen Lane. A Harvard historian shows the star economists how economics work today and how they worked in the past. His conclusions from comparing the two are at the same time obvious and disturbing. 

Colorful Claims on FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona is one of the best known football or soccer clubs in the world and probably the best to boot. One of the questions coming up every now and then is: How did it come by the colors blue and red on its dress? There are many claims to fame, and none of them gives a satisfactory answer. 

King Solomon Turning Copper Into Gold

As archaeologists dug deeper in the modern kingdom of Jordan, more light was shed on the historical times of King Solomon and the historic kingdom of Israel. By proving a mine found 40 years ago to date back to the 10th century B.C., they theorized that they had constituted a probable contribution to Solomon’s filled treasuries.