What We Are Reading Today: The Marshall Plan by Benn Steil

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Updated 15 November 2021
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What We Are Reading Today: The Marshall Plan by Benn Steil

The award-winning author of Battle of Bretton Woods reveals the gripping history behind the Marshall Plan — told with verve, insight, and particular resonance for today.

In the wake of World War II, with Britain’s empire collapsing and Stalin on the rise, US officials under new secretary of state George C. Marshall set out with a plan to reconstruct Western Europe as a bulwark against communist authoritarianism.

Focusing on the critical years 1947 to 1949, Benn Steil’s thrilling account brings to life the seminal episodes marking the collapse of postwar US-Soviet relations — the Prague coup, the Berlin blockade, and the division of Germany, according to a review on goodreads.com.

In each case, we see and understand like never before Stalin’s determination to crush the Marshall Plan and undermine American power in Europe.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Doctors by Nature’ by Jaap De Roode

Updated 15 January 2026
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Doctors by Nature’ by Jaap De Roode

Ages before the dawn of modern medicine, wild animals were harnessing the power of nature’s pharmacy to heal themselves. “Doctors by Nature” reveals what researchers are now learning about the medical wonders of the animal world. 

Drawing on illuminating interviews with leading scientists from around the globe as well as Jaap de Roode’s own pioneering research on monarch butterflies, he demonstrates how animals of all kinds—from ants to apes, from bees to bears, and from cats to caterpillars—use various forms of medicine to treat their own ailments and those of their relatives.