The right wants to erase unpleasant history, while the left talks of nothing else. Is there a middle ground?
Books
Book reviews and essays from the Washington Monthly on the new books shaping debates over politics, policy, history, and American democracy.
Posted inMagazine
Amnesty Transactional
While almost every president has granted a few dodgy pardons, Donald Trump’s abuse of the godlike constitutional authority has no parallel in American history.
Posted inMagazine
How New York City Got Safe
A historical reconstruction of the Big Apple’s crime decline, told from inside the institutions responsible for public safety.
Posted inMagazine
The Kalven Trap
University leaders are increasingly clinging to “viewpoint diversity” and institutional neutrality in the face of MAGA assaults. This is a mistake.
Posted inMagazine
The Scandal About Scandals
A new book says polarization breeds impunity. But America’s worst injustices emerged when the parties got along too well.
Posted inPolitics
What Senator Robert F. Kennedy Could Teach Donald Trump
The slain U.S. senator, like his martyred brother, knew how important it was to concede defeat—a lesson Trump still hasn’t learned.
Posted inPolitics
What Is the “American Contradiction”?
Paul Starr on the deeper historical roots of what will be called the Trump Era—whether we like it or not.
Posted inNovember/December 2025
Hitting His Stride
Nick Thompson was an above-average runner who suddenly, in middle age, started breaking world records—a mysterious success inspired by a complicated relationship with his father.
Posted inNovember/December 2025
Measuring the Vibecession
Why top-line federal statistics miss the economic pain average Americans feel.
Posted inMagazine
Monopoly Men
Big Tech platforms and the Gilded Age trusts have something in common: a stifling grip on the fundamentals of commerce.
