The War Stalin Wanted
A review of Stalin’s War: A New History of World War II, by Sean McMeekin.
The Shah’s Undoing
A review of The Last Shah: America, Iran, and the Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty, by Ray Takeyh.
On the Death of George Blake
George Blake has just died in Moscow at the age of 98. Had he been of any other nationality than British, he would not have been allowed to die peacefully.
The New Middle East
From Israel to the Gulf States to Iran, the troubled region is changing.
Saudi Arabia & Its Ruthless Quest for Global Power
A review of Blood and Oil: Mohammed bin Salman’s Ruthless Quest for Global Power, by Bradley Hope and Justin Scheck.
Henry Kissinger and the Way of the World
A review of The Inevitability of Tragedy, by Barry Gewen.
Fauda Is Tribal TV
An Israeli series shows anarchy, tyranny, and a war of cultures.
John Stewart: Photographer and Prisoner of War
A remarkable account of a life-and-death ordeal.
Robert Conquest: Sovietologist and Poet
Conquest was clear-eyed in cataloguing the ruthlessness of Communism when other intellectuals were denying it.