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Articles by Nicholas Gordon
Sea of Treasures
After Caesar's assassination, the triumvirs drew up a kill list; one such target, a man named Lucius Plotius Plancus, fled to a villa near Naples and tried hiding behind a curtain. The soldiers found him anyway–thanks to his heavy perfume. Pliny the Elder, writing a century later, used the perfume to suggest the killing was justified. Historians have often taken that at face value, as proof that Rome despised Eastern luxuries.
To Rule All Under Heaven
The Warring States Period is one of the most important times in China’s history. It marked the end of one dynasty–the Zhou–and the beginning of a new imperial era, under the Qin. It’s an era that historian Andrew Seth Meyer describes as one of the most important revolutions in world history: The fall of the old aristocratic order, the birth of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism, and the creation of the imperial system that would shape China for over two thousand years.
Charlie Walker, "On Thin Ice: An Explorer's Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival" (Duckworth, 2026)
In February 2022, British explorer Charlie Walker flew to Siberia's Sakha Republic to walk a thousand miles up frozen rivers to the Arctic Ocean, through Earth's coldest inhabited region. Days later, Russia invaded Ukraine. Tamping down his concerns, he continued on his journey, meeting indigenous people and ice road truckers along the way.
Jieun Baek, "Privileged But Powerless: How North Korean Elite Grievances Reveal the Regime’s Greatest Weakness" (Yale UP, 2026) - New Books Network
Support Kritika | Support H-Net | Buy Books Here | Join the NBN and NBN en Español on Patreon | Visit New Books Network en Español! How North Korean Elite Grievances Reveal the Regime's Greatest Weakness What do the people closest to power really think about the system they serve? That’s perhaps one of the most important questions one could ask about North Korea, still one of the world’s least understood countries.
Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal
Chapal Rani was one of India’s most famous performers of jatra, Bengal’s popular theater. Traditionally, all the roles, including female roles, were played by men—and Chapal Rani was perhaps the most prominent performer of women on the stage. He’s also the subject of a new book from Sandip Roy, titled Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal.
“It’s Raining Goals”: Brooklyn F.C. Overwhelms Portland for 5-1 USL Cup Win
Brooklyn’s Abdoulaye Kante drove the ball up the right wing and delivered a low cross that Markus Anderson finished for his second goal of the afternoon, putting Brooklyn ahead 5-1. (Photo: Brooklyn FC) BY NICHOLAS GORDON | news@queensledger.com The goals came early and they came often for Brooklyn FC in a resounding 5-1 victory over the Portland Hearts of Pine in a USL Cup game on Saturday, June 7, at Maimonides Park in Coney Island.
Yossef Rapoport, "Becoming Arab: The Formation of Arab Identity in the Medieval Middle East" (Princeton UP, 2025)
Today, much of the Middle East is “Arab”—an identity that now extends across North Africa and up through the Near East to Syria. Yet how did this region become Arab? How did this identity spread? Was it due to migration, or conquest?
2025 Final Grade: Máximo Carrizo
Appearances: 5 Starts: 0 Minutes: 83 Age: 17 Key Stat: 1 hockey assist against Seattle Sounders As the youngest player ever to sign an MLS contract at age 14 in 2022, Máximo Carrizo has a world of footballing potential in him, but we’re still waiting to see him fully display it for New York City FC.
New York City FC 2025 Final Report Card
Skip to content Report Cards — Analysis + Opinion — New York City FC With the 2025 season is in the rearview mirror, here are the final grades for New York City FC players and the front office. It was a good year for the Boys in Blue | Courtesy newyorkcityfc.com This month, Hudson River Blue will hand out 2025 Final Grades to New York City FC's players and front office. We will update this page as new grades are issued, so check back daily.
New York City vs Philadelphia player ratings
New York City FC player ratings are determined by you, the Hudson River Blue readers: Here are the NYCFC player ratings from the frenetic 1-0 loss to Supporters' Shield-winning Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Coming off their dazzling three-goal derby performance last Saturday, New York City FC seemed poised to deliver some offensive firepower in this matchup against regional rival Philadelphia Union.
Empire of Contingency
Portuguese India was tiny—a handful of trading posts and enclaves, centered on the colony of Goa. The Estado da Índia faced the Mughal Empire and the Deccan Sultanates, large Muslim and Persian-based societies that ruled the subcontinent. How did Portuguese India survive? Well, by spying.
Alfredo Morales leaves NYCFC, signs with San Jose
Alfredo Morales has signed with the San Jose Earthquakes, with NYCFC announcing a trade of the midfielder’s MLS rights in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. In its announcement of the move, San Jose confirmed signing Morales to a new contract through the 2024 season with a club option for 2025. NYCFC declined its contract option for Morales as part of its end-of-season roster decisions, but still held his MLS rights.
NYCFC select Malachi Jones in 2024 MLS SuperDraft
Skip to content The forward from Lipscomb University was the 8th overall pick. Malachi Jones in action at Lipscomb | Courtesy MLS.com New York City FC selected Malachi Jones in the first round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. Jones is a 20-year-old forward and currently is a sophomore at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn. That’s the same school that produced the No 1 overall pick in this year’s SuperDraft, Tyrese Spicer, who was selected by Toronto FC.
Bernardine's Shanghai Salon
In 1929, Bernardine Szold Fritz left Paris on a train bound for China. She was on her way to her fourth wedding, and her fourth husband: An American investment banker named Chester Fritz, who’d proposed after a whirlwind meeting earlier in Shanghai. Bernardine is then forced to find herself things to do in interwar China–and her husband isn’t helping much.
China Incorporated
How do we talk about China? It’s a question every analyst, academic, policymaker, and reporter probably needs to ask themselves. Is China, as some of the hawks claim, an existential threat to the world order? Is it on the verge of aggressively taking the number one spot—or is it on the verge of collapse? Is it a dangerous military threat or is it—as some Chinese commentators claim—an entirely benevolent power?
Angels Tapping at the Wine-Shop's Door
Rudi Matthee Aug 3, 2023 A History of Alcohol in the Islamic World Oxford University Press 2023 When meeting an expatriate friend on my first trip to Dubai, the host at the restaurant where we were meeting quickly ushered me up to the second floor. For foreigners, he said—before handing me a wine list. Dubai’s tolerance of alcohol is a more formalized version of Muslim tolerance—and clandestine drinking—of alcohol that dates back to its very inception, despite religious commands to the contrary.
Ships in the Desert
Many of us have likely seen photos of the Aral Sea, and the rusted Soviet-era ships, sitting in the desert with no water in sight. The Aral Sea is now just 10% of its former volume, shrinking down from what was once the fourth-largest body of inland water in the world, after what writer Jeff Fernside calls “one of the worst human-caused environmental catastrophes.” Jeff traveled to the region as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Nine Quarters of Jerusalem
Jerusalem’s Old City is normally understood to be split into four quarters: the Jewish Quarter, the Armenian Quarter, the Christian Quarter, and the Muslim Quarter. Those designations can be found on maps, on guidebooks, on news articles, and countless other pieces of writing about the city.
Helen Pfeifer, "Empire of Salons: Conquest and Community in Early…
It’s the sixteenth century, and the Ottoman Empire has just defeated the Mamluk Sultanate, conquering Damascus and Cairo, important centers of Arab learning and culture. But how did these two groups–Arabs and “Rumis”, a term used to refer to those living in Anatolia, interact? How did Arabs deal with these powerful upstarts–and how did Rumis try to work with their learned, yet defeated, subjects?
Sherzod Muminov, "Eleven Winters of Discontent: The Siberian…
At the end of the Second World War, about 600,000 Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner after the Soviet Union swept through Manchuria in the very final days of the war. Instead of returning them to Japan, the Soviet Union held them in prison camps in the Russian Far East for over a decade. The last group was released in 1956, eleven years after the Japanese surrender.
Art After Hours @ NSW Art Gallery
Art After Hours Enjoy an evening of culture at The Art Gallery of NSW with their 'Art After Hours' program. Working in a hectic job and city can take its toll. Ease up and unwind as you take a short stroll through the spectacular Domain park lands to the iconic Art Gallery of NSW for a relaxed cultural evening. Conveniently run each Wednesday evening to break up your hectic week Art After Hours provides weekly programs of music, performances, films and talks.
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