Presents an unorthodox account of the onset of World War I based on speculations about alternative outcomes. Considers reasons that historians are reluctant to imagine counter-factuals and argues that this lack of imagination may cause them to overlook some of the historical causes they seek. (DMM)

Traces the historical sources of "Some Plant Olive Trees," a utopian novel by Emma Gelders Sterne, which offers a fictional account of the Vine and Olive colony, one of the most colorful yet least known utopian communities of the nineteenth century. (AYC)

Offers personal observations about the personality, political positions, and literary criticisms of Raymond Williams. Discusses the influences of Williams's Welsh cultural heritage, his religious beliefs, his political activism as a student at Cambridge University, and his criticisms of Orwell, Lawrence, and other contemporaries. (DMM)

Reviews the shortcomings of the European university of the 1930s as described by Ortega y Gasset in "The Mission of the University." Considers Ortega's recommendations for educational and political reform within the context of his concepts of life, culture, science, historical crisis, and vocation. Addresses his objectives for teaching…