Notebooks

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

Widespread damage in Gaza City after bombardment by Israeli forces.

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Sinwar’s death among the ruins

The rubble in Gaza amid which the Hamas leader died may prove to be as politically challenging in the long term as his life and death.

John Raine October 21, 2024

Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico as it approached Florida.

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Geopolitics of the tempest

Who is to blame for natural disasters is an age-old question. Human beings are now deliberately changing the weather, a development likely to have profound implications.

Suzanne Raine October 16, 2024

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On the frontline in Lebanon

Those who go to war will forever carry the harrowing experience with them.

Ahron Bregman October 16, 2024

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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