Notebooks

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

Toby Jones and Isabella Rossellini in Infamous, 2006.

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Truman Capote’s next act

Truman Capote often seemed more comfortable pretending to be characters rather than being himself. Recent television and film portrayals, however, mean he can now be assessed cooll..

Alexander Larman January 31, 2024

A meeting of the US National Security Council during the Six-Day War, June 1967.

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How LBJ forged the US-Israel alliance

The special relationship between the United States and Israel was cemented by the support offered by Lyndon B. Johnson throughout the sixties.

Ronan Mainprize January 22, 2024

The border between Iran and Pakistan in Taftan, Baluchistan. Credit: Xinhua / Alamy Stock Photo

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Iran and Pakistan’s shared crisis in Baluchistan

Pakistan and Iran are both engaged in a struggle against separatist militants in the shared region of Baluchistan. Recent airstrikes in each other's territory have brought the nati..

Suzanne Raine January 18, 2024

Still from Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.

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The haunting presence of Stanley Kubrick

Twenty-five years after his death, Stanley Kubrick remains the most influential director in English-language cinema, yet his influence will be felt less and less if the industry co..

Alexander Larman January 17, 2024

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Conservatism and the sceptical enlightenment

The descendants of the enlightenment who usually think of themselves as ‘progressive’ are really a regression to religious dogmatism. It is the conservative political thinkers who ..

Lincoln Allison January 9, 2024