CONTENTS Features

ISSUE 7

An illustration in Harper’s Weekly in 1867 shows black men voting for the first time after Union victory in the American Civil War. In our special section this issue, we explore the legacy of the war

I B R A R Y

I D G E M A N A R T L

B R

J On the cover

AMERICA SPECIAL

18 The airbrushed revolution J

BY ADAM IP SMITH Could understanding the true nature of the American Civil War help heal divisions within the United States? 26 Why is the United States haunted by its past? Experts discuss the historical events that continue to bedevil modern America 28 The 1992 LA riots J

BY BENJAMIN HOUSTON How the legacy of the worst civil disturbance in American history still casts a dark shadow on US society 25 years later

40 In search of the real Aztecs J

BY CAROLINE DODDS PENNOCK Brutal, bloodthirsty... and benevolent: why we need to change our view of the civilisation that dominated central Mexico 62 “Heroes” at 40 J

BY DES SHAW What David Bowie’s seminal 1977 album tells us about the culture of the Cold Warera Berlin in which it was recorded 68 The Nazis’ quest for the supernatural J

BY ERIC KURLANDER The paganism, Nordic myths, and occult beliefs that informed Third Reich ideology

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