How can early-20th century Russia be in color?
The early color photography that changes our view not just of the world but of time
Libya and the end of the neo-colonial argument
Libyans have asked the international community for help; there’s no colonial aggression in doing it
A look inside Japan’s massive earthquake
Terrifying video footage of a Japanese supermarket as the earthquake hit
The truth about travel guidebooks
They are no joy to write and they don’t change as much as you think
Reading about Sarkozy and French nativists
French cultural insecurity eviscerates the universalism of the Rights of Man
A graph of our obsessions
A graphic of our fears, from killer wasps to swine flu. We panic, then get over it
Teenager’s songbook, France, early-1960s
A handwritten record of a French teenager’s musical passions in the early-1960s
Seeing Cambodia and Indonesia on the roads of Tamil Nadu in India
There was once a Hindu empire in southeast Asia and reminders of it are everywhere in Tamil Nadu
Michael Bierut’s 100 day design project
Legendary designer Michael Bierut forces great design through repetition, with surprising results
What is in Gaddafi’s Green Book, Part One
In his infamous Green Book, Gaddafi offers his unorthodox solutions to the problem of democracy
What is in Gaddafi’s Green Book, Part Two
In his infamous Green Book, Gaddafi offers his unorthodox solutions on socialism and society
1957: Israelis protest UN demand to withdraw from the Sinai
In a newsreel after Israel’s 1956 invasion of Egypt, Israelis rally in Tel Aviv against UN demands to withdraw from the Sinai
New Year’s surprise: Paris, France, c2006
A gift from Paris that came each New Year’s setting the tenor of the year ahead
1956: Egypt claims Suez, a move called the biggest threat to world peace
A 1956 newsreel announcing that Egypt’s president Nasser has nationalized the Suez Canal, a move it calls the biggest threat to world peace
Reading the New Yorker on Islam and economic growth
The middle class everywhere competes on skills; in Egypt connections matter most. That’s the problem
The scene in liberated Benghazi in eastern Libya
The first detailed images out of Libya show thousands in Benghazi celebrating Gaddafi’s demise
Blue Guide to Yugoslavia: Paris, France, 1970
A travel guide to Yugoslavia, before war tore it apart
Look in his glasses: Gaddafi speaks to no one
Gaddafi speaks but you can see the reflection in his sunglasses: he has no audience.
The surreal experience of visiting Libya
With a Libyan human rights activist, racing through the Tripoli medina alleys to avoid eavesdroppers
1956: Gaza fighting, space cadet elevators, and Grace Kelly
Making news in 1956: Gaza fighting, space cadet elevator operators, Grace Kelly getting married.
Tincture of cacao bean: Lyon, France, date unknown
Tincture of cacao, an antiquated medicine best taken with vodka
Prospects for social justice and economic reform in Egypt
Why social justice in Egypt demands more economic reform — true reform, this time — not less