Notebooks

Notebooks are snapshots from our writers, reflecting on current affairs and underappreciated aspects of culture and history.

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Arnold Schönberg and the artist’s right to be awkward

Uncompromising, single-minded and difficult, the great composer, who was born 150 years ago this year, remains an inspiration to those who believe that art demands absolute commitm..

Richard Bratby October 15, 2024

Alex Salmond poses for photographs with a copy of the SNP's 1999 election manifesto at the former Royal High School building in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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Alex Salmond, the nearly man who almost broke up Britain

For all his flaws, the former leader of the SNP was a giant figure in Scottish and British politics.

Allan Massie October 14, 2024

Israeli troops patrolling near Bint Jbeil in Southern Lebanon during the 1982 Lebanon War.

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Learning the lessons of the 1982 Lebanon War

As a new ground war begins in Lebanon, it would be good for Israel if history did not repeat itself.

Emily Whalen October 11, 2024

Tactical training for the tank forces of the Ukrainian Army.

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The wages of Putin’s war

Calling the Russia-Ukraine war ‘existential' may rally the public to think harder about a more dangerous world.

Sergey Radchenko October 11, 2024

A Russian icebreaker at the geographical North Pole.

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The deep historical roots of Russia’s militarisation of the Arctic

Even as it wages war in Ukraine, Russia expands its arsenal in the Northern Fleet, and deploys nuclear submarines, radar stations, airfields, and missile facilities. It prepares fo..

Paul Josephson October 9, 2024

The Joseph Conrad monument in Gdynia, Poland.

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The life and deaths of Joseph Conrad

A century on from Conrad’s death, his stories – the character-driven yarns set on high seas, the politically-charged dramas – still have the power to captivate, thrill, illuminate ..

Malcolm Forbes October 7, 2024

A veiled Iranian woman walks past a mural of Ayatollah Khomeini on a wall of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran

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Tehran’s endgame

A year on from 7 October and Iran is displacing Palestine as the focus of regional war. The regime in Tehran may set the conditions for its own endgame.

John Raine October 7, 2024

Ayatollah Khamenei during the Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran, October 2024.

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Iran misfires, again

Iran's missile strikes against Israel on 1 October compound a recent history of strategic missteps motivated by deep insecurity.

Ali Ansari October 4, 2024

A performance of La Boheme in Beijing, 2008.

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Puccini’s battle of darkness and light

An exceptional artist is able to handle contrasts of light and shade and few did this better than Giacomo Puccini, a composer who took delight in the artistry of combining shades.

Alexandra Wilson October 4, 2024