Charles River Editors

The man known to most of the world as Emperor Hirohito ruled during some of the most tumultuous years in Japanese history. When he came to the throne in 1926, he inherited control of a country which had only recently emerged as a major industrial and world power....

The American occupation of Japan holds a singular and problematic place in the histories both of Japan and of American foreign policy....

Though often remembered today merely for the modern word “epicurean,” which has become associated with luxurious food and refined tastes, the actual philosophy of Epicureanism was far more complex and intellectually ambitious than simple indulgence.

Alfred Thayer Mahan is arguably the most influential military strategist in American history, and one of the world’s most important naval theorists. His book, The Influence of Naval Power upon History, somehow became an international best seller in 1890....

The Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The History of the Yugoslav Wars and the Political Problems that Led to Yugoslavia’s Demise examines how the multicultural nation broke apart in the 1980s and 1990s....

In many ways it is fitting that Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) is one of the best known figures of the French Revolution, if not its most famous....

Nearly 50 years after the campaign, the Tet Offensive continues to inspire impassioned and occasionally bitter debate....

"Unquestionably, it was going to be highly dangerous. After all, if you don't like action and excitement, you don't go into police work. And, what the hell, I figured" - Eliot Ness....

Yuri Bezmenov was among the first Soviet whistleblowers to attract attention on a global scale, and interest in his story has recently been revived thanks to his surprising cameo in the teaser trailer for Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War....

Within a month of becoming president, the issue of Communist Cuba became central to John F. Kennedy's administration. He attempted to align disadvantaged groups against communism....

It was as though Bacall was simply wiped away with the death of her husband....

On July 12, 1588, the legendary Spanish Armada started for the English channel. The Spanish plan was to take this invasion, led by the duke of Parma, to the coast of southeast England....

In virtually all fields of human endeavor, Classical Athens was so much at the forefront of dynamism and innovation that the products of its most brilliant minds remain not only influential but still relevant to this day.

Africa may have given rise to the first human beings, and Egypt probably gave rise to the first great civilizations, which continue to fascinate modern societies across the globe nearly 5,000 years later.

Homo Erectus: The History of the Archaic Humans Who Left Africa and Formed the First Hunter-Gatherer Societies examines how H. erectus evolved, and what their lives were like. Listen to learn more....

About 225 miles west of Ulaanbaatar, the present-day capital city of Mongolia, are the ruins of Karakorum, the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire. Founded by Genghis Khan in 1220 CE....

Kim Jong-Un, the baby-faced 30-something with the bizarre flat-top seated at the North Korean throne today, is an object of fascination....

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans contemplate whether they want to go to law school. Many who are unfamiliar with the application process will easily talk themselves out of it. But for those who decide to follow through, what's next?....

In the summer of 1969, Apollo 11 successfully landed men on the Moon for the first time in history, and Apollo 12 successfully landed astronauts on the Moon just a few months after....

La larga agonía del “hombre enfermo de Europa” , una expresión utilizada por el Zar de Rusia para describir la caída del Imperio Otomano, podía casi cegar a la gente de su increíble poder e historia. Preservando su herencia mixta, el Imperio Otomano duró más de seis siglos....