napalm — Bunk History

illustration including "Napalm Girl" photo and photo of the photographer

The View from Here

Fifty years on, Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph, “Napalm Girl,” still has the power to shock. But can a picture change the world?

by Errol Morris via Air Mail on June 4, 2022

Divestment and the American Political Tradition

From Dow to now.

by Michael Brenes via Warfare And Welfare on May 16, 2024

How One Man Helped Burn Down North Korea

The story of one of the most effective and brutal spymasters in U.S. history, and the beginning of an infamous love affair with napalm.

by Blaine Harden via Politico Magazine on October 2, 2017

Photographer Who Took Iconic Vietnam Photo Looks Back, 40 Years After the War Ended

His photo of Kim Phuc was a transformative moment in a horrible conflict.

by Mark Edward Harris, Nick Ut via The Hive on April 3, 2015

A painting of a desolated, ruined street.

Defeating Death Only with Death

On civilians’ opinion of killing civilians by air during World War II.

by Cormac Ó Gráda via HNN on September 10, 2024

Tornado near Turkey, Texas, in 2009.

The Real History Behind 'Twisters'

For as long as scientists have studied tornadoes, researchers have dreamed of controlling them.

by Kate Carpenter via Made By History on July 19, 2024

Campus police struggle with anti-war demonstrators in Berkeley, California 1967.

The Protests That Anticipated the Gaza Solidarity Encampments

With the Dow sit-ins of the 1960s, students drew attention to links between the campus, war, and imperialism.

by Adam Tomasi via Made By History on May 10, 2024

A drawing of a burning ship engaged in battle at sea.

Burnt Offerings

Aaron Bushnell and the age of immolation.

by Erik Baker via n+1 on February 29, 2024

A Buddhist monk stands next to a banner with a picture of monk Thich Quang Duc who set fire to himself to protest the Vietnam War.

Why Would Anyone Kill Themselves to Stop A War?

Two people in the US have recently taken or risked taking their own lives in an attempt to change US policies on Palestine and call for a cease-fire.

by Ann Wright via Common Dreams on February 26, 2024

"Napalm Girl" Photo from Vietnam War

Myths Distort the Reality Behind a Horrific Photo of the Vietnam War and Exaggerate Its Impact

The ‘Napalm Girl’ photo is much more than powerful evidence of war’s indiscriminate effects on civilians.

by W. Joseph Campbell via The Conversation on June 2, 2022

Plane with an eye in it and a bird's silhouette around.

Did Making the Rules of War Better Make the World Worse?

Why efforts to curb the cruelty of military force may have backfired.

by Dexter Filkins via The New Yorker on September 2, 2021

An American propaganda leaflet dropped ahead of Curtis LeMay’s firebomb campaign over Japan.

Narrative Napalm

Malcolm Gladwell’s apologia for American butchery.

by Noah Kulwin via The Baffler on May 17, 2021

brought to you by

© Bunk History