Book review – History
The Great Game in Arabia
How do you write a new book about T.E. Lawrence, especially when the man himself described his escapades, or a…
Lords and protectors
There are still some sizeable holes in early modern English history and one of them is what we know —…
Plucky little Denmark
Of all the statistics generated by the Holocaust, perhaps some of the most disturbing in the questions they give rise…
Sins of the fathers
I have a confession to make. I really enjoyed this book. It’s been a while since I admitted something of…
A romantic dream
‘On the night of 15 April 1897, a small, elegant steamer is en route from Egypt’s Port Said to Jaffa.’…
Soldier, statesman, sovereign
Alan Rush admires the humane, enlightened Faisal I, who fought with T.E. Lawrence and devoted his life to Arab rights, independence and unity
The great pamphlet war
What is the origin of left and right in politics? The traditional answer is that these ideas derive from the…
The great land grab
The highly profitable — and intrinsically selfish — system of land ownership that replaced medieval feudal tenure had profound moral consequences that continue to this day, says John Adamson
An elephant in our midst
On 15 September 1885, the world’s most famous elephant, Jumbo, was killed by a train. Jumbo, the star attraction at…
The game of consequences
No one alive now has any adult experience of the first world war, but still it shows no sign of…
Myths of the modern-day pharoahs
Jonathan Rugman is foreign affairs correspondent for Channel 4 News.
Addicted to gambling and reform
A book about one of the London clubs, published to mark its 250th anniversary, might be regarded as of extremely…
The perils of partition
John Keay’s excellent new book on the modern history of South Asia plunges the reader head first into some wildly…
Playing fast and loose
Simon Blow recalls the wealth, recklessness and beauty of his family’s better days
The magnificent Seventh
The horrors of the Leningrad siege — the 900 Days of Harrison Salisbury’s classic — have been pretty well picked…
Hiding in plain sight
A building bearing testimony to the power of eternal Russia; a timeless symbol of the Russian state; a monument to…
Ho, ho, oh no
In January 1976 New York’s late-lamented National Lampoon produced a bicentennial calendar as a contribution to the general rejoicing. For…
Pirates on parade
Hear the word ‘pirate’ and what picture springs to your mind? I see a richly-bearded geezer in a tricorne hat…
Shame and blame
At the recent Austin Film Festival, at every ruminative panel or round-table discussion I attended, I slapped my copy of…
Je ne regrette rien
Verdi’s La Traviata is the story of a courtesan who is redeemed when she gives up the man she loves…
