Ronald J. Granieri

Latest by Ronald J. Granieri in Chronicles

• Reviews

  September 2021

  Dynastic Nostalgia

  Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., was the scion of an American imperial dynasty who guided America through the Cold War. But the Republic soon had no more use for men like Lodge, as we read in Luke Nichter's The Last Brahmin.

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• Reviews

  April/May 2021

  Grappling With Armageddon

  How much does the American government's nuclear decision-making resemble the scenarios depicted in popular films like Dr. Strangelove? Author Fred Kaplan explores the esoteric nature of nuclear war in his book The Bomb.

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• Reviews

  September 2020

  Old Story, New Resonances

  Modern politics was born in the French Revolution; knowing its history can enrich our understanding of today’s political challenges. Ronald J. Granieri reviews Jeremy Popkin’s latest book, covering events from the Tennis Court Oath to the Terror.

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• Reviews

  June 2020

  Empire States of Mind

  Although this relatively short book is closer to an extended, episodic essay than to the comprehensive history of the British Empire implied by the title, it is an excellent example of the author’s style. Jeremy Black takes a broad view…

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• View

  September 2013

  Strong State, Strong Schools? The German System

  Anglo-Americans habitually disparage the “socialist” Europeans, as if it were just or fair to lump all Continental economies under one pejorative label. Rather than relying on epithets, however, would-be economic and educational reformers should take a closer look at Germany, where the combination of regulated markets and the welfare state has produced six decades of prosperity.

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• News

  January 2012

  Normal Germans, Nervous Europeans

  The saga of Europe’s debt crisis can be dispiriting for anyone interested in the future of the Old Continent. There is, however, another, perhaps larger story lurking beneath the tales of billions and bond yields, and that is the story of Germany’s changing role.

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• Vital Signs

  August 2011

  Reviving the West: The Case for Europe

  In the early years of the current century, confident predictions about the inevitable rise of Europe to a position of world power and influence filled the air over the Atlantic. The recent travails of the European Union have undermined that confidence.

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