When reading history, I am always struck by the similarities with the present, but most of all, by the constancy of human emotion. The story of disease is intimately tied to the story of humanity and the grief, heroism, and horror run through this story as an unbroken thread. Our shared humanity does not change, […]

In February of 1918, the world was embroiled in the bloodiest conflict in the history of civilization. Soldiers from around the globe were mobilized and sent to the front lines of the first world war, fighting battles so terrible that they believed that its conclusion would bring lasting peace and an end to all future […]

If one were to paint a map of modern Europe on a glass pane and drop it, one would have a good approximation of a map of Europe during the 14th century. What are today regions of each particular country were in many cases independent states with fluctuating allegiances to neighboring powers,  each nominally responsive […]