For twelve days after four U.S. Special Forces soldiers were ambushed in Niger, President Donald Trump said nothing publicly about their deaths. He didn’t mention their bravery. He didn’t acknowledge their sacrifice. He didn’t allude to the deadliest combat episode of his presidency. However, he did find the time to continue his tirade against professional […]

Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel fantasizing a theocratic coup in the United States, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. The book rocketed to the top of bestseller lists shortly after the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump, and last spring, Hulu, the streaming service, launched a 10-episode adaptation. Like George Orwell’s “1984,” Atwood’s […]

On Aug. 1, 1966, Charles Whitman opened a peculiarly American chapter in the history of violent deaths. Mowing down unsuspecting students and tourists from a tower at the University of Texas in Austin, Whitman pioneered the era of mass shootings in this country. He killed 15 people and injured 31 others. Since Whitman’s massacre a […]