Social

Piers Brendon asks how we can arrive at a fair judgement of the benefits of the Empire for those who enjoyed – or endured – its rule.

George T. Beech traces the origins of the word England to the period 1014 to 1035 and suggests how and why it came to be the recognized term for the country.

Why is the sordid murder of Horst Wessel, a young Nazi storm troop leader in Berlin in early 1930, so important? Nigel Jones recalls his death and the black legend that sprang from it.

Graham Gendall Norton explores the opportunities open to those who like to sail into the past.

John Etty examines how far history has been moulded by enviroment.

Viv Sanders corrects the male bias in the study of the civil rights movement in the USA.

Alan Farmer assesses the personal responsibility of the Führer

Neil Pemberton and Michael Worboys tell the fascinating story of how rabies – a disease that still kills thousands worldwide every year – was eradicated from Britain.

As Britain gets used to the ban on smoking in public spaces, Virginia Berridge looks at the way attitudes to public health have changed in the last fifty years, particularly among the medical profession.

Will the new super-casinos bring about the demise of the commercial bingo hall? Carolyn Downs traces the history of the game back to the eighteenth century and finds that then – as now – it had a strong attraction for women gamblers.