Robert Darnton’s history of censorship is vividly written, but sometimes he is just too sympathetic to his subjects

It seems far-fetched to compare today's America to the totalitarian nightmare of Orwell's "1984." But the novel can also be read as a warning about the failings of mass democracies, especially in...

Poland and the Czech Republic were isolated for 40 years by communism and have been separated since 1989 by old stereotypes. They may only come to regard each other as equals when they are both...