Journalism

The Kremlin always falls prey to pride and paranoia

       During the 1962 Missile Crisis, on the evening of 23 October a curious episode took place in Moscow.  A few hours after President Kennedy announced the discovery of nuclear weapons in Cuba, the Soviet leader or vozhd Nikita Khrushchev determined to show the world that he was unafraid.  He… Read More

WE NEED TO TOUGHEN UP FOR THE PAIN AHEAD

The British people must accept that coronavirus is not going away any time soon and we shall just have to work with it. Read More

Max on Samuel Pepys’ brilliant take on the 1665 London plague

CORONAVIRUS: Max is self-isolating in Berkshire, working on his new book PEDESTAL The Fleet’s Battle To Malta 1942.  You may like to read his essay published in The Times of London last month, about how Samuel Pepys responded to the plague of 1665. Read More

EXPLODING THE DAMBUSTERS MYTH

There were dams; a dog with an embarrassing name; a march that everybody over 40 can hum.  Read More

We can’t get enough of ‘Happy ever after’

The seasonal surge of sentimentality prompts in adults as well as children a yearning for happy endings, Read More

Confessions of a Reviewer

A decade ago, a publisher produced a set of short biographies of Britain’s 20th century prime ministers, which I reviewed unenthusiastically.  Read More

Was Christmas better in the good old days? Don’t believe it

We shall never know the identity of the marketing genius who persuaded the early Christians to couple the pagan feast of the winter solstice with the birth of a child, Read More

No firing will take place after this hour

In a clearing within a Belgian wood on an overcast November morning, raindrops from a recent shower dripped off the trees.  Read More

Our rudeness to European allies is shameful

Half a century ago, when that military circus the Royal Tournament was a national institution, there was a contretemps after a visiting Italian officer discovered that his Bersaglieri must perform in a sand arena. Read More