Roald Dahl’s Anti-Black Racism
The first edition of the beloved novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory featured "pygmy" characters taken from Africa.
The Long-Lost Ritual of Baby Books
Mothers used to documented their infant children's milestones—first steps, first smile—in specially made books. They're amazing historical documents.
The Self-Styled Sci-Fi Supermen of the 1940s
Way before there were stans, there were slans. Too bad about their fascist utopian daydreams!
How Americans Were Taught to Understand Israel
Leon Uris's bestselling book Exodus portrayed the founding of the state of Israel in terms many Americans could relate to.
Resistance through Silence in Camus’s The Plague
"On this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it’s up to us, so far as possible, not to join forces with the pestilences."
The Self-Help Mantra That Got Better and Better
Every day, in every way, the pop psychology of Emile Coué conquered 1920s Britain.
Morgan Jerkins: Exploring the Multitudes within American Blackness
In her new book, Wandering in Strange Lands, Morgan Jerkins takes a deeply personal look at the effects of the Great Migration.
Meet Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective
Fictional detectives usually reflect conservative values. But the first "lady detective" story written by a woman broke boundaries.
The First Black-Owned Bookstore and the Fight for Freedom
Black abolitionist David Ruggles opened the first Black-owned bookstore in 1834, pointing the way to freedom—in more ways than one.