Reviews

Review

A dynasty of human frailty

The Capetian dynasty of France is presented in a new light through the captivating stories of its rogue’s gallery of killers, weaklings, fools, tyrants, fanatics and lechers.

Nicholas Morton April 11, 2024

Review

There are few winners in the wars for the Middle East

In the wake of the Arab Spring, the Middle East has become an arena for fierce and often violent competition among great powers, regional actors and militant groups.

Afshon Ostovar April 8, 2024

Review

A wild Winterreise

Hans Zender's reimagining of Schubert's masterpiece captures the song cycle's latent modernism.

Benjamin Poore April 8, 2024

Review

The creative industrial complex

At a time when society is divided and all aspects of life are deeply politicised, art should be the final refuge of neutrality.

Alexandra Wilson April 4, 2024

Review

The sublime hubris of Tropical Modernism

Tropical Modernism symbolised the ill-judged policies of rapid, state-led economic development that followed decolonisation.

Wessie du Toit April 4, 2024

Review

How China made it

The story of how the United States and China became so economically intertwined that they cannot break apart is at the heart of one of the most pressing issues in international pol..

Michael Sheridan April 3, 2024

Review

Kind of Blue’s quiet mystery

James Kaplan's new study of jazz is a tribute to serendipity; that the right people find each other at the right time and create something too special for words.

Max Mitchell March 27, 2024

Review

How America misread Saddam

For decades, Saddam Hussein had confused and misled the United States. After 9/11, the fear of further terror attacks and the misperception of Iraq's support for al-Qaeda set in mo..

Philip Zelikow March 27, 2024

Review

Janáček’s small-town world

The Czech composer's opera Jenůfa sums up the claustrophobic horrors of village life.

Benjamin Poore March 25, 2024