Modern History Stories

So much has happened in the past decade alone, but what got us here? Humanity has evolved in so many ways in the modern era. From the Industrial Revolution to the invention of the iPhone, from the Space Race to SpaceX, from last century's influenza pandemic to Covid-19, there’s a lot to cover. These stories attempt to recount how we’ve gotten to where we are and the rapid change that took place within the last few centuries.

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The Korean War Serves as a Cautious Reminder for the Future

North and South Korea's recent agreement has us looking back at the past.

The Midnight Ride of Sybil Ludington

The sixteen-year-old raced through the night to warn fellow colonists of approaching British forces.

10 Books About the Kennedys

Get an inside look at the family America will never stop talking about.

The 9 Best Vietnam War Movies

The war that continues to haunt America is poignantly represented in these movies.

Nancy Wake: The Fearless Resistance Fighter Who Led Over 7,000 Soldiers Against the Nazis

“Somebody once asked me ‘Have you ever been afraid?’ Hah! I’ve never been afraid in my life.”

Meet the Nightfighters, a Division of Allied Soldiers Who Attacked Nazis with Empty Rifles and Grenades

They launched their attacks under cover of darkness, equipped only with empty rifles, bayonets, and grenades.

Constance: The Untold Story of Oscar Wilde’s Wife

Though a popular children’s author and activist, Mrs. Wilde’s life eventually became one marked by scandal. 

Moonshot: That Time American Intelligence Collected Soviet Communication Signals Via the Moon

In 1960, a U-2 spy plane captured images of a massive and mysterious antenna in Soviet Russia...

"I've Been to the Mountaintop": Revisiting the 1968 Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Gerald Posner examines that fateful day and the man responsible for King's murder in Killing the Dream.

12 Baseball Books That Are Total Home Runs

Step up to the plate, and learn the history of America's favorite pastime.

That Time Imperial Japan Tried to Bomb the U.S. Using Hydrogen Balloons

Approximately 9,000 balloons packed with explosives drifted toward American shores...

The Bloody Past of Bethnal Green

Stroll the foggy streets Bethnal Green, a historic London neighborhood haunted by the wartime Bethnal Green Tube tragedy of 1943.

A Most Dangerous Humanitarian Mission: When Allied Pilots Dropped Food Into Nazi Occupied Territory

The best planes for the job were bombers—aircraft that German artillery units fired upon at every opportunity.

Moe Berg: The Boston Red Sox Catcher Who May Have Changed the Course of World War II

The third-string catcher secretly served as a spy for American intelligence during WWII...

Author Joe Haldeman on How the Vietnam War Gave Him Something to Write About

Haldeman’s military science fiction was heavily influenced by his time in combat.

Jim Jamison: The U.S. Corporal Who Sought Out Scientists in Post-Nazi Germany

Jamison was part of a top-secret program, similar to Operation Paperclip, that recruited German scientists to work for the U.S. government after World War II.