Just Finished Reading: Israel’s Forever War – Israel, Palestine and the Last Hopes for Peace by Paul Moorcraft (FP: 2024) [204pp] 

All eyes seem to be on the Middle East and Israel in particular at the moment and rightly so. With the Straight of Hormuz effectively closed and oil prices rising towards the stratosphere it's hard not to take notice. But why did this war actually happen? Whist not directly about the present adventure in the zone this interesting short book does look at some of the recent background to current events primarily inside Israel/Palestine as well as in the region generally. 

Primarily looking at events after the Hamas attack on 7th October 2023 and the following 12 months of Israel's response, the author attempts throughout to be as even handed and as unemotional as possible – quite possibly to the detriment of the narrative. He looks at the Camp David Accords in 1978, the Oslo Accords in 1993 as well as various summits, conferences and initiatives attempting the solve the ‘Palestinian Problem’ and the repeated attempts to achieve a ‘Two State Solution’ which, at least in my opinion, has been a pipe dream, a fantasy, from the earliest days. The author acknowledges the perception/reality of Gaza being an open-air prison as well as Israeli war-crimes perpetrated against the Palestinian people but, from memory, doesn’t use the word Genocide at any point. Maybe he didn’t agree with the definition or maybe he thought it too emotive, I’m not sure. 

He did point out some of the history of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Hamas and how the Israeli government actually encouraged the existence and growth of Hamas as a counterweight to other Palestinian groups – essentially a way to divide and weaken all sides and prevent a unified front against Israeli occupation. Ironically this worked far better than anyone no doubt imagined. 

This is a very difficult topic to look at rationally. Emotions are VERY high on both sides and compromise seems (indeed probably is) impossible. History dies hard especially when SO much blood has been spilt over such a long timescale. Personally, I am not confident at all that anything can be resolved inside the existing Israeli borders. One particular thing that did jump out at me was a brief discussion about Israeli incursions into Southern Lebanon (happening yet again as I write this). The world was very surprised by how well Hezbollah forces did against the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) in 2006 effectively fighting them to a standstill. Hezbollah where trained and equipped by Iran. If US forces go into Iran in the coming days/weeks it probably won’t go as well as expected considering the guys who trained the group that held the IDF at bay will be facing them.  

Overall, I thought this a reasonable if rather short account of recent events in and around Israel. There are some irritating repetitions (I wondered if this was a somewhat rushed publication derived from a number of articles mushed together and not completely edited as it should have been) but it certainly wasn’t a poor/bad attempt at describing things. Its thinness (and proximity to events) did limit proper analysis but that wasn’t what the author was going for I suspect. If you just want a fairly brief and mostly high-level view of current events this could be what you’re looking for. Reasonable.  

[Side note: I do feel guilty about not reading about the Ukraine war yet (its coming). Along with reading up about Israel I guess I’ll also have to shoehorn a book or two about Iran and, probably, Cuba at some point. Wars not only teach Americans geography, but they also add to my TBR and generally I don’t need much help in that department.]  

Just Finished Reading: The Power of Geography – Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of Our World by Tim Marshall (FP: 2021) [364pp] 

This was, essentially, a continuation of the authors previous work on Geopolitics – Prisoners of Geography. Here he is more forward looking although each section still contains a goodly slice of history for the required context. Starting off with Australia (which I remembered him musing over in the previous book) he looks at that continental country in context with its place in the Japan, South Korea, China axis, especially focused on the ongoing problems in the South China Sea. This does look like a potential conflict zone in the years ahead if cooler heads fail to prevail. I doubt if it would take too much pushing to start an actual shooting war – never mind how stupid and pointless that conflict would be. 

Moving onto the ever ‘interesting’ Middle East zone, we looked at both Iran and Saudi Arabia. I’ve read a little (emphasis on little) about Iran, but this author really helped me understand its geography – especially in a strategic sense – much better than I had previously. I can now understand exactly why Iraq had such a hard time invading during their bloody conflict. The section on Saudi looks very much at its economic future as the US in particular slowly removes its reliance on Mid-East oil and its involvement in Mid-East politics. Although this is a good idea in and of itself (for a whole host of reasons) it doesn’t follow that the tensions in that area will diminish greatly never mind vanish overnight. There are certainly enough other ethnic and religious divisions in the region – to say nothing of Israel’s actions – to keep it in the news for decades to come. 

I’ve been aware of the ‘issues’ between Turkey and Greece for a while now, both from my reading about the region and from watching various conflicts (notably Cyprus) play out on my TV. So, it was a real eye-opener to understand exactly why these two countries – NATO allies indeed – are potentially at each other's throats so much. Not only do they have a LONG history of conflict to draw on, but there’s a whole new cause in play right now: the resources of the eastern Mediterranean. How this will play out... is definitely an open question. 

I’d be the first to admit that my knowledge of Africa is practically non-existent. Apart from some knowledge of Ancient Egypt, the North African campaigns of WW2 and a passing knowledge of the Boer War in South Africa I know almost nothing of that great continent. So, it was good to see two sections in this book dedicated to diminishing that oversight. Looking at conditions throughout the Sahel and Ethiopia I now have a much greater appreciation of the area's problems (often caused by those pesky straight borders again) and what they (and, typically, the Chinese) are doing about it. MUCH more on Africa to come! 

Overall, I enjoyed this a great deal and learnt MUCH. This is a valuable addition to his previous work, and I can definitely recommend it to anyone (like me) who is trying to understand why the world is the way it is. More to come.  

Just Finished Reading: Prisoners of Geography – Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics by Tim Marshall (FP: 2015/2019) [300pp] 

I’m sure that I’m not alone in wondering what exactly is going on with the world right now. It seems, at least if you watch the news or spend any time on-line (and especially if you spend any time swimming in the increasingly toxic depths of ‘Social Media’) that things are definitely ‘off’ to say the least. I’d even go so far as to say that it seems, on a good day, that a significant percentage of the humans on this planet have gone (or maybe just have gone public about being) crazy. So, what’s up? I thought reading up on Geopolitics might help – and it did! 

Personally, I’m one of ‘those people’ who just enjoy looking at maps, hunting out strange place names, and wondering what a place is actually like. Studying Geography at school (MANY years ago) I was completely intrigued by the idea that you could understand much about a place by looking at things like navigable rivers (or otherwise), locations and heights of mountains, placement of natural resources, the type of border (natural of the ominous straight-line) and so on. Looking closely the location of major cities, battles, migration paths, agricultural land and much more become ‘obvious’ once you take the physical geography into account. Things like cities are not scattered randomly on a landscape. They exist where they do for practical reasons. So, you can tell, almost at a glance, why some countries are prosperous and others poor. You can see why some countries are often invaded by their neighbours and others seems ‘designed’ for defence. 

Looking across the world, from Russia to the Artic, the author takes 10 locations and shows how their geography shaped their individual histories and how their geography shapes both their present and their futures. But as biology is not destiny neither is geography. A mountain range or a river will often constrain options for any country, but we are rather inventive beings who can literally move mountains, or at least blast holes through them. We can also redirect rivers, build bridges over them, or dam them – sometimes annoying or frightening the governments of countries downstream which could, under the wrong circumstances lead to conflict. 

I did think throughout this very interesting book that there was more than a slight hint of Jared Diamond (not that such is a bad thing), with nods to the direction of river flow and, more importantly, their navigability which gave Europe a head start in development (along with abundant natural resources in the shape of coal. Other zones, notably South America and Africa struggled in this regard coupled with the problems of transporting anything long distances through inhospitable regions (deserts, mountains, jungles etc). The chapter on India/Pakistan was most illuminating especially how India broke apart after the British left and how different ethnic groups ended up where they did – complete (of course) with much suffering and death in the process. I think the chapter I learned most from was that on the Middle East. Despite remembering watching many of the conflicts in that region as well as reading an excellent book on Palestine just recently, I did enjoy discovering much of the background to the wars, displacements and massacres over the decades – caused, in no small part, by the fact that the countries boundaries and indeed the countries themselves are the highly artificial constructs of European Powers after WW1 (I’m looking at YOU Britain and France). We REALLY screwed that region LONG before the present messes play out on our TVs and phones. It’s pretty much a given that wherever you see a straight line on a map you KNOW there’s trouble there!  

As my first dip into Geopolitics for a while I was both impressed and educated by this understandably bestselling book. If, like me, you wonder why conflicts start and persist over time, often in the same place's generation after generation, or have wondered why some countries are rich why others remain poor (often despite being resource rich) this is definitely a source for some answers. Definitely recommended and more to come both on the subject and from the author.  

Just Finished Reading: The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine – A History of Settler Colonial Conquest and Resistance by Rashid Khalidi (FP: 2020) [255pp] 

I’ve been meaning to read something about the region for a while now (that and Ukraine!) and the opportunity to ‘couple’ this with my previous 100 Years War book seemed a good time to do it. From news reports over the years (actually decades!) and some general reading around the topic I think I have a moderately OK knowledge of what's going on in Palestine/Israel zone, but it was nice to have some gaps filled in around the history of the Balfour Declaration and the deals struck by the British with various groups in the Middle East. Essentially, we, the Brits, played off various factions against each other and promised everyone the Earth if they helped us fight the Ottomans during WW1. Naturally when the actual dust had settled, we couldn’t live up to our promises and most everyone was (at the very least) annoyed with us. 

It's a truism that whenever you see straight lines on a map you know it's a region full of conflict. Such is the Middle East, drawn up by the French and the British as they/we carved up the region between them. The British got the Palestine Mandate and they facilitated/encouraged European Jewish immigration into the region fully aware of the Zionist philosophy of many of the settlers. The increase, from a very low number (7% I think), of the Jewish population was managed by the British so as not to destabilise things and, for a while at least, they managed to do this. Things ramped up in the 1930’s for obvious reasons and increased again after WW2 ended. The British left in 1946, essentially finding it too difficult to manage, handing it back to the newly formed United Nations to sort out. Then in 1948 Israel declared independence and took control of large parts of Palestine displacing thousands of Palestinians from their homes - known as the Nakba or Catastrophe. The ongoing crisis in that region dates from these events. 

I think the first thing that impressed me about this often-eye-opening volume was that the author (or members of his immediate family) where ‘in the room’ for at least some of the events outlined. Indeed, the author himself was part of several advisory teams and had direct access to some of the major players including Arafat. The second thing that impressed me was how even handed the author managed to remain even though he and his family had been displaced from his home by Israeli forces as a child. The personal element definitely added a human perspective to the narrative of an unfolding tragedy. Another thing that impressed me was the apportioning of blame. There’s certainly enough blame (on all sides) to go around and, I thought, the author distributed it wisely. The foundational blame was laid at the door of the British – which is more than fair. The major blame is given to the Jewish/Zionist settlers – again more than fair – with a heavy side blame laid at the feet of the Americans. Lessor blame, but still significant, is laid in front of Jordan, Syria and Egypt – and the rest with organisations such as the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation) and Hamas [remember this was published before the October 7th attack and Israel’s response]. 

Despite the author’s knowledge and narrative skill this was a difficult read – especially with the ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people. Rather ironically in the concluding chapter the author muses on possible futures for the zone – from the perspective of 2020 – and states that one possible ‘solution’ for Israel would be just that, except he said that such events were very unlikely due to the cost in lives and the amount of adverse world opinion. How wrong he was on both counts. If you see the images of starving children and a devastated urban area and wonder how this possibly came to be, then this book is a very good place to start. Highly recommended although it might end up depressing you more than a little. More to come on the history of this troubled region. 

[My next scheduled read was the first book of a triple deep dive into Geopolitics. But after reading this I decided I needed something fun and fluffy - so that's coming soon. Then onto Geopolitics!]

Just Finished Reading: Nomads – The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World by Anthony Sattin (FP: 2022) [310pp] 

Go back far enough in our collective human history and we were all nomads. The few of us who existed in that long gone pre-historic age wandered the Earth hunting, fishing and generally getting on with our lives. Gradually, for a number of reasons, a few and then a few more, moved less or less often then, gradually ceased moving around and settled. From that point on the tension between the mobile and the settled has only grown. Of course, as we know, history is written by the victors but in this case there’s an added twist. Nomads, as a rule, leave behind no monuments, few artifacts and even few documents. By their very nature they travel light and have a light impact on the world. The settled, by contrast, have the ability, the numbers and often the wealth to build monuments that outlast their civilisations, leave behind a plethora of objects wherever they live and leave behind contracts, bills of sale and letters to loved ones. It's not surprising therefore that our nomadic ancestors and more their modern descendants have received a poor press when they received the attention a press at all. The author of this intriguing book does what he can (and does it well) to address that issue. 

The problem, as alluded to already, is that much of what we know about ancient, and more recent, nomadic tribes comes from the settled who had direct or indirect contact with them. As you might imagine much of the ‘press’ has been negative – sometimes with good reason but often without. Nomad all too often is synonymous with barbarian – those that lack sophistication or the trappings of civilisation. Unsurprisingly they are looked down upon, exploited, harassed and feared. Yet, throughout our long history, they have produced some awesome artifacts and have ruled over vast lands, empires and trade routes that shaped our entire planets history. Ignoring or sidelining nomadic people is telling only half the story of mankind at best. Despite the fact that the settled ‘civilised’ have triumphed over the nomadic doesn’t mean that they have contributed little (or nothing) of note nor that they can be ‘disappeared’ from the history books without doing real damage to our knowledge or understanding of humanity. 

This was definitely an interesting read, looking as it does from the ‘other side’ of history and focusing on those who move rather than exclusively on those who stand still (geographically speaking). The interaction of the nomad and the city-dweller is an important one and I think this book makes a creditable contribution to understanding that process. I certainly learnt a lot and by the end could more appreciate the value of those who chose to remain with their herds and their horses whilst others moved inside walls. Definitely recommended for anyone interested in a very different way of life. 

Just Finished Reading: A Brief History of The Crusades – Islam and Christianity in the Struggle for World Supremacy by Geoffrey Hindley (FP: 2003) [260pp] 

The continuing occupation of the Holyland was a stain on Christendom and could not be allowed to stand. But how to end it, who would fight and how would they be paid? The questions almost answered themselves – it would end in fire and storm; it would be fought by holy warriors of European kings and it would be paid for by taxation and the promise of washed away sins. So, the First Crusade to liberate Palestine and most especially Jerusalem was proclaimed in 1095 by Pope Urban II and, to almost everyone’s surprise, captured Jerusalem on 15th July 1099 after a number of ‘miraculous’ victories over the forces of Islam. But the idea, the thrust, of Crusade was far from over. Enemies of God – the Christian God that is – were everywhere and had to be opposed everywhere, and what better way to do so than by crusade? 

Naturally things are never that easy. Not only was Christianity itself split between Roman Catholic and Orthodox but each kingdom and principality responsible for providing the force to man the crusades where all too often divided amongst themselves, not only on who should lead the expedition but everything else. Things inevitably came to a head in October of 1187 when Jerusalem fell (again) to Saladin and Pope Gregory VIII proclaimed the Third Crusade (the Second Crusade followed the fall of Christian city of Edessa in modern day Turkey). We tend to think of crusades and crusaders operating exclusively or at least mostly in what we now call the Middle East, but that’s far from actual reality. Crusading happened against Muslim forces in Spain during the Reconquista, against Cathar heretics in Southern France, so-called ‘heathens’ in what would become Prussia and on – essentially anywhere that the Catholic church saw itself under threat. Indeed, the Catholics declared crusade on each other when the church split for a time between Rome and Avignon. One of the things that impressed me about this book was that the author managed to form the wide and twisting history into an understandable narrative that even I could follow! 

Of course, the ultimate irony wasn’t lost on me that, during the lengthy Muslim occupation of Jerusalem and other holy sites, both Jews and Christians had, by and large, easy access to their particular areas of interest. Whilst the Roman Catholics controlled the zone access by other faiths, even other Christian faiths, was often problematic or denied. Generally Islamic authorities, both in the Holyland and in Muslim Spain, cared little for people's personal faith as long as they behaved themselves and didn’t try to convert every passing Muslim. The Catholics, in contrast, abhorred the ‘schismatic’ Orthodox Christians and, when it suited them, taxed, exploited, forcibly ‘converted’, expelled or simply slaughtered their Jewish populations. 

Not being religious myself in any way, shape or form this sort of thing does confound me. As far as I can tell, the Crusades were a massive waste of time, gold and lives for no real point (except ‘control’ over areas considered to be of religious significance) and no real result except death, destruction and misery which continues to this very day. The only two ‘good’ things that eventually came from crusading activity was the fatal undermining of the Catholic church (and a by-product of the sale of indulgences) and the spread of ideas due to looted texts and other items from Muslim cities. I think that both could’ve been achieved with considerably less bloodshed.  

This was an interesting read especially if you’ve ever wondered about the Crusades but didn’t really know where to start. Not only will it give you a good understanding about why they happened (and why they almost all failed – some rather spectacularly!) but will also give you some idea of why the present Middle East is the mess it is today. Recommended. More Brief (and Short) histories to come.  

 Brilliant. LOVE that woman..........

Just Finished Reading: Napoleon in Egypt by Paul Strathern (FP: 2007) [427pp] 

It was a dream he had held dear since youth – to be a modern Alexander. But to do so would demand daring, dash and that admirable quality – luck. In 1798 the still young Napoleon Bonaparte had his chance. The Directory, the cabal who ruled revolutionary France, had agreed to his idea to invade Egypt and thereby threaten England’s prized possession – India. Sailing with 335 ships and 40,000 men (the largest long-distance seaborne force the world had ever seen at that time) he managed to avoid contact with the Royal Navy – by luck as much as anything else – the French army landed near Alexandria largely unopposed. This did not last long and all too soon the casualties mounted.  

The invasion was, in many ways, a strange one. Although Egypt was of strategic importance for both the British and the French, it was nominally at least part of Ottoman territory. The complicating factor was that the Ottoman Empire was an ALLY of France! Napoleon hoped that a diplomatic shuffle could smooth the way and prevent any unfortunate repercussions. He was wrong. Although the Turks took their own time about things they did not fail to take umbrage at being attacked in such an unprovoked manner. So much so that they (at least temporarily) allied with both Britain and Russia – their long-term natural enemy – to assist them in evicting the French. This was helped a great deal by the arrival of the Royal Navy and the consequent Battle of the Nile where the French fleet was effectively destroyed in harbour by the brilliant Nelson making him a very rich man and eventually propelling him to the Lords. Now trapped and in danger of being overwhelmed by the combined forces ranged against him, Napoleon needed all of his tactical and strategic brilliance to keep Egypt under French control. This he managed but at huge cost. Seeing which way things were moving and worried about the changing strategic developments in Europe, Napoleon finally agreed to return to France to both save the Republic and secure his place in history. The rest, as they say, is History. 

I knew something of Napoleon’s adventurous foray into the Middle East from previous reading as well as some knowledge of the famous Battle of the Nile, but I had no real idea of the detail. That gap in my knowledge is certainly much narrower now! This was a quite excellent history of a Napoleonic campaign that is often overlooked and all too often forgotten about. Surprisingly, Bonaparte made a number of fundamental errors during this campaign (although he proved his military genius more than once in compensation) making unfounded assumptions – in particular regarding Turkey/Ottoman reaction to his invasion – and singularly failed to appreciate the culture of the Egyptians and how they would react to Western modern ideas crashing into and clashing with their own. It was definitely a learning experience for him as well as an insight into the man himself and the depth of his ambition (essentially boundless). Another highlight of the year and a must read for anyone interested in the Napoleonic Age. I’m already looking forward to reading his previous work on The Medici (which I already own!).  

[Highest page count of the year so far: 427pp][+16pp]

Just Finished Reading: Persians – The Age of the Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (FP: 2022) [397pp] 

Up until comparatively recently, our knowledge of the Persian world and especially the Greek-Persian War had been almost exclusively from the Greek side. Unsurprisingly, those who write the histories tend to portray themselves in the best of lights and their enemies – well all too often they are seen as decadent aggressive barbarians unworthy of the name civilised. Our views changed with the discovery of thousands of clay tablets which, in the preceding years, have been painstakingly translated and compiled into a history of the region and the Persian empire in their own words. Needless to say, this is VERY different from the Greek accounts so well known in the West. 

Starting in what is now Iran, the Achaemenids eventually founded an empire spanning the whole region and claimed parts of what is now northern Greece and north Africa including most of Egypt. They were mighty and a force to be reckoned with for centuries. They built great cities, produced epic iconic art and waged war with an equally epoch-making intensity. They did not suffer their enemies to remain rivals for long, crushing all opposition, burning cities to the ground and enslaving the survivors. They were most certainly NOT to be messed with. This, of course, did not stop the Greek city states on the coast of what is now Turkey from doing so – much to their regret. It also didn’t stop internal rivalry, most especially at times of power transition. The King of Kings, in order to secure the continuity of the Achaemenids made sure to produce enough sons to pick from to be the designated heir. Unfortunately, with SO many sons to choose from – often in the tens if not more – those who were passed over either had to be placated, exiled FAR away from the centres of power or simply executed/assassinated to ensure a ‘peaceful’ transfer of power. It was, to say the least, messy. If that wasn’t bad enough, even before the next King had been designated (or assumed) there was a constant jostling for position and power in the attempt to ensure that the favoured son in fact ended up as the heir-designate. Poison or simple assassination played their parts here. 

If that wasn’t complicated enough – and to be honest getting my head around some of the family trees in this book is a REAL mind twister – the Achaemenids most definitely kept it in the family in order to maintain a ‘pure’ bloodline. This involved Kings marrying their cousins, sisters, daughters and whoever was ‘best suited’ to maintain the dynasty. My particular ‘favourite’ example was a King (I can’t remember which one as they often had the same names) who married his daughter who was, herself, continuing her affair with her brother throughout. They could certainly give the later Egyptian dynasties a run for their money in that department. 

It was nice to start to rectify my DEEP ignorance of this region and period covered in this excellent book. As you’ll have guessed by now, seeing my reading on Ancient Times, I do tend to concentrate on the Greeks and the Romans probably at least partially due to the fact that there’s just SO much out there on them. I have been trying – OK, mostly by accumulating unread books – to move my knowledge Eastwards and this is an early foray towards that. It was a very good start. If, like me, you’ve often wondered what it was like beyond the edges of the Greek and Roman worlds in Ancient Times I recommend that you give this tome a read. You can thank me later. MUCH more to come from this region. 

[Highest page count of the year so far: 397pp][+14pp]

Just Finished Reading: Divided – Why We’re Living in an Age of Walls by Tim Marshall (FP: 2018) [288pp] 

Walls, be they metaphorical, electronic or physical, seem to be THE topic presently. From the ‘Great Firewall of China’ to the ‘southern Border’ in the US, from the wall separating Israel from the Palestinians to the barriers between India and Pakistan, from the walls being erected on the borders of the European Union and calls for stricter interior controls and the rejection of the free movement of people by the UK in the Brexit vote, talk of walls – the need for more, bigger, wider, deeper – and protests against them has rarely been louder. But why? And why now? 

Walls have a LONG and chequered history. Normally they are built to keep people out, to restrict access to an area or country, to control who comes in. Sometimes they are the opposite – the Berlin Wall being the poster child for this sort of thing – and are designed to keep a population IN. All have failed to one degree or another – although the Berlin Wall was amongst the most successful certainly in modern times. Despite the catalogue of failure, the wall builders rarely give up and instead look for better walls full of gadgets, drones, cameras, and if you’re really serious of keeping people out, men with guns, mines and dogs trained to kill. Yet, people still come, people still get through – or escape. The problem with walls is that there’s often a wall around or through them – be it a ladder, a tunnel, a balloon or simply a bribe at the gate. Most rational wall builders know this. Walls will slow the movement of people, not stop it. Walls are an additional cost – monetary, psychological, emotional – to people looking to relocate. Often the additional cost is worth paying and the cost to be builders to prevent this can be eye-wateringly large. Is it even worth it? 

The issue here, as the author points out, is less practical than emotional. Walls might not make us safe, but they make us feel safer. Or at least that’s the idea. But living inside a wall also makes people feel besieged and under (at least potential) attack. They may feel (at least temporarily) safer but at the cost of increased anxiety. In many ways its completely understandable. We seem to be living in a particularly uncertain time. Ironically, it might have been the falling of one wall – in Berlin – that eventually led to so many of us either cowering behind our new walls or calling for them to be built. The Cold War – however potentially existential it was – provided at least the illusion of stability. Generally speaking, people knew what to expect from their own side and that of the ‘other’. The future, bleak though it might be, was a known quantity. Today we live in a much more complex multi-polar world where the future can be barely imagined (bleak though it is expected to be) much less planned for. The entirely natural instinct is to burrow in, hunker down and protect what you have – in other words, to start building walls or build existing walls all the higher. 

Taking a world tour of wall building – both existing and planned – the author shows (to a surprising extent I thought) the extent to wall building in regional hotspots and along contended and contentious border areas. Most of these walls I’d barely heard of as most talk, at least in the western media is about America’s southern border with Mexico. That is, sadly, not the only one, not the biggest or most expensive or most complex one. With global migration increasing due to conflict, climate pressure and other factors the numbers of people pressing up against walls across the world can only increase. The question for everyone, not just our politicians, is what we can, should, and will do about it. Bigger walls or a more managed and rational process. One way or another we’re going to find out. Definitely recommended, although it might depress you more than a little bit. Much more to come from this author. 

I knew *some* of this background... But this makes a LOT more sense now.

Just Finished Reading: In the Shadows of the American Century – The Rise and Decline of US Global Power by Alfred W McCoy (FP: 2017) [256pp] 

An interesting way to look at modern US history (post-Civil War) is to see it as an Empire in the mould of the British or ancient Athenian empires – not one simply of conquest and domination but almost accidental (in the sense of not entirely deliberate).  Built through the provocation of wars and interventions from the Spanish-American war to the First and especially Second World Wars, America found itself torn from its preferred isolationist comfort zone and thrust onto the world stage as a player par excellence. It was World War 2 that made the US into a global powerhouse and the ‘arsenal of democracy’ (to say nothing of the world's richest nation by far and – briefly – the world’s only Super-power) but it was the subsequent Cold War that made the United States into an Empire in all but name. With the need to contain and, where required, combat the proxies of the ideological opposing force of Communism wherever they were found across the entire planet's surface (or beyond) the build-up of a truly staggering military force, the construction of numerous military bases around hot spots and the building of alliances for mutual defence developed into an Empire almost by default and, it seemed, almost as an afterthought. But built it was and the post-1945 world was named, without irony, the American Century. 

The previous empire (the world spanning British) that the Americans had now overshadowed had its own century running from 1815 to 1914 – going into slow and then accelerating decline after the exhausting Great War – and it was, at least initially, thought that the pax Americana would both outlast and outshine its predecessor. But the going has been far from easy. The Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons far faster than had been anticipated and the US no longer held the monopoly on world destruction. Other countries followed and the nuclear ‘club’ has been slowly expanding ever since. Although the military might of American forces was certainly not to be trifled with – as seen in Korea – the defeat in Vietnam tarnished their reputation for decades until the lightening victory in the first Gulf War. But, as we know, subsequent conflicts in Afghanistan and Gulf War 2 televised as they were for all the world to see showed beyond doubt the America’s predominance on the field of battle was no longer a given. The American Empire must now co-exist with other rising powers, most especially China, and come to terms with being more of a first amongst equals in a multi-polar world. The question is, naturally, just how long can the US retain its present position. Even with recent setbacks, the Chinese economy is due to overtake the US sooner rather than later. Likewise, the Chinese military strength grows by the day. If those two nations ever came to blows the outcome and the winner is up for debate, and it is far from certain that the US would prevail. We are indeed living through interesting times. 

This was, to be honest, a definite highlight of the year for me. The author most certainly ‘knows his stuff’ and manages to bring together almost a century of geopolitical history into a coherent narrative that is both persuasive and a little frightening. It also throws into perspective, at least for me, the present political turmoil that the US is going through. Looking at it through the lens of an Empire in decline it makes perfect sense. Indeed, its exactly what you might have expected to see as the Roman Empire crumbled long before the barbarians arrived at their gates. A fascinating read and highly recommended for anyone wanting to both understand the history of the US and, just possibly, its future. 

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Just Finished Reading: Heart Beguiling Araby – The English Romance with Arabia by Kathryn Tidrick (FP: 1990) [219pp] 

The British have long been fascinated and focused on the Arab peninsula, long before the oil and long before the area became the political nightmare it is today.  It was, according to this deeply interesting slim volume, however based on a delusion if a persistent one. That delusion resided deep with the psyche of the British imperial imagination – that the desert Arabs and particularly the Bedouin were just like them, not noble savages but noble gentlemen in desert garb. This ideal, apparently highly resistant to the experience reality of travellers in the region, was founded on the works of Richard Burton (1821-1890), Gifford Palgrave (1826-1888), Wilfred Scawen Blunt (1840-1922) and Charles M Doughty (1843-1926) who each in their own way added to the myth. So pervasive was this idea in the higher echelons on British society that it informed and directed British foreign policy in the region as some dreamt of expanding the Empire onto that peninsula to the exclusion of all other powers – most especially the Ottoman Empire. When the Ottoman’s sided with Germany in WW1 this was Britain’s opportunity to make the dream come true. The discovery and steadily increasing requirements for oil certainly helped and some British players, most notably a young officer known to history as Lawrence of Arabia, were all too happy to make an imperial Arabia a reality. 

I have long wondered at the British fascination and romance with the desert. The Foreign Office was indeed infamous (at least until recently) for being confirmed Arabists no doubt until (or likely just after) such a position became increasingly untenable with its suspected whiff of antisemitism. Part of that fascination is the romance of desolate places much loved by British travellers and tourists from the 18th century onwards. Part of it, no doubt, was the supposed romance of wild peoples – and especially wild men – who were seemingly more ‘alive’ than their civilised counterparts in the stuffy drawing rooms of England. Part of it was the understandable rejection, at least of a psychic level, of the modern world and the increasing pace of change (laughable looking back from the 21st century but understandable all the same) and the desire to ‘escape’ back into a more idyllic and simpler time. No doubt part of it was childhood readings of the Arabian Nights and the Bible and the seeming ability to ‘drop into’ the pages of formative books. 

Told with a deep understanding of the time and region and with a great deal of knowing humour (I laughed out loud more than once at the authors comments regarding some of the major players) I derived both a great deal of knowledge and a great deal of pleasure on almost every page. If you’ve ever wondered about early European and especially British encounters with Arabia or, like me, wondered what all the fuss was about in the 19th and early 20th centuries in that region then this is definitely the book for you. Much more on that troubled zone to come. 

[Labels Added: 2, Labels Total: 63] 

Just Finished Reading: Kill Chain – Drones and the Rise of High-Tech Assassins by Andrew Cockburn (FP: 2015) [259pp] 

It has always been the dream of militaries around the world to be able to dispel the ‘fog of war’. This conceptual fog is the inability to see ‘over the hill’, around corners and behind enemy lines at will. To be able to see, god-like, the whole battlefield and know, precisely, where every unit (both friendly and enemy) was exactly located would, in most instances, mean that you could win every battle and dominate every encounter – or at least you could if you could deny such an ability to the enemy. Naturally, with the demand for such omnipotent gaze so high we would expect that companies would offer just such an ability to their military masters – for a cost. 

They tried it in earnest first in Vietnam. The US military at the time couldn’t understand how their low-tech enemies both continued to resist and managed the feats of logistics they evidently were capable of. The culprit was the so-called Ho-Chi-Min Trail. But even with the largest and most powerful air force in the world they couldn’t simply bomb a winding jungle trail 24/7 and hope for the best. They needed accurate and timely intel so they could respond ‘Just In Time’ for most effect. Enter the high-tech sensors designed to pick up human smells, human footfall and the rumble of truck engines. Or so the manufacturers promised. But that was a lot of remote data that needed processing so computers (or a sort) were designed and built to process the data and determine exactly what was going on along the Trail and tell the air force exactly where and when to bomb. Or so the manufacturers promised. Of course, it turned out that the sensors, even when they worked and even when they actually landed anywhere near the Trail, couldn’t differentiate between a Viet-Cong and a local peasant or between a truck and a wild pig. Nor could the computer program supposedly designed to do just that. But the air force had its targeting data, so planes flew and bombs, lots of bombs, fell as did Saigon sometime later. 

Not deterred by failure, the manufacturers of high-tech equipment eventually delivered the iconic ‘drone’ which was, in their minds at least, the all-seeing eye that could provide ‘real-time’ intel and, in later iterations, launch instant precision strikes. The military dream had finally been achieved – they could view any battlefield anywhere on the planet and, with the touch of a button or a word over a phone bring down hell (or at least a Hellfire missile) on a helpless enemy. Or so the manufacturers promised. Unfortunately, things were never that straight forward. For one thing the drones couldn’t really take off or land in strong winds, or actually in light winds. Their light construction meant that they were easily damaged and needed constant maintenance. Their sensors, supposedly god-like, were nothing of the sort and, at the height they usually operated at, couldn’t easily distinguish between types of vehicles or identify people on the ground by age, gender or whether or not they were carrying a weapon. This naturally meant that any strike had a high chance of collateral damage – AKA dead women, children and innocent bystanders. Also naturally, the military LOVED their new toys and demanded more of them with longer ranges, higher payloads and longer loiter times. All of which the manufacturers promised to provide – at ever increasing costs.  

I’ve never been a fan of drones and the more I read about them the less I like them. Not only are they a very questionable weapon system for a whole host of reasons they have been used, in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen, as essentially tools of targeted assassination which isn’t, as far as I’m aware, what they were originally designed for. The ethical problems with this approach are huge and the result are, as we are now only too aware, questionable at best. If you ever wondered how we arrived at this situation this is most definitely a book for you. Told with an apparent deep, often inside, knowledge of the equipment, the companies that make them and the organisations that buy them this is a totally fascinating (if at times almost blood-boiling) of why ‘drone strike’ and ‘hellfire missile’ have become common terms in the media and beyond. Drones are definitely here to stay (as we’re presently seeing in Ukraine) and as their advertised abilities grow so will their usage around the world. Watch the Skies and pray for cloud. Recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: The Big Lie – The Inside Story of Psychological Warfare by John Baker White (FP: 1955) [240pp] 

Firstly, this isn’t about what you might think at first glance – if you noticed the sub-title and the publication date! This is actually about the modern invention and growth of what was initially called Political Warfare during World War 2. The name was changed after 1941 to Psychological Warfare to bring it in line with the American view of things and, presumably, to stop any confusion between the Allies. 

The author was part of a team of journalists and others in various media who were initially tasked to use their skills to confuse the Axis Powers about British capabilities (Fun Fact – the British pretty much didn’t have any capabilities around the time of the Dunkirk evacuation). It was their job to convince, or at least make the enemy ponder, regarding the ability of Britain to resist any possible invasion. The ‘Lie’ put around was that the Brits had the capability of setting the sea on fire thereby making any amphibious landing ‘tricky’ at best. Years later the author leant that the Germans believed the ruse and it was one factor (amongst many) that was used to postpone Operation Sealion indefinitely. The other two ‘Big Lies’ were even more important – first to persuade the Axis Powers that, after clearing North Africa, the next blow would fall on Greece and not, as everyone expected, Sicily. Any ‘invasion’ of Sicily was to be viewed as a diversion rather than the main attack. The biggest lie of all was also probably the most important PsyOp of all time – convincing Hitler that the long-anticipated invasion of Europe would NOT happen in the obvious place: Normandy. Instead, the attack would take place at the Pas-de-Calais despite the German general’s (correct) assurance that a landing there was untenable. 

But rather than the headline grabbing BIG Lies (of which more later) I was more interested in the little stuff and the fieldcraft required to bring it off successfully. I liked the idea that British PsyOp agents would be ‘indiscrete’ in all the wrong places to spread false rumours as well as wear fake badges on their uniforms to confuse observers about what units were based where. One of the most interesting aspects of the whole thing (for me) was the use of the BBC to broadcast into Occupied Europe (of which more later). Not only did they broadcast propaganda and messages to the various Underground organisations [including the fascinating story of how the V for Victory symbol became the familiar drumbeat equated with the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony played before every BBC broadcast] but they also included accurate Axis casualty and prisoner reports (to ensure that the Axis military were listening) as well as a rather clever use of bomb damage assessment photographs. Whenever a German city was bombed the photographs were combed for proof of damaged or destroyed landmarks, theatres, restaurants and local pubs. This the BBC broadcast to lower the morale of soldiers from those towns and, as a side effect, sent German counter intelligence units mad looking for local spies! 

I’ve had the slim hardback on my shelves for decades but only picked it up to read recently when I decided to go through my older units looking for anything I might have missed. I’m really glad I finally got around to reading it. It certainly gave a ground-floor insight into a much-overlooked aspect of WW2. Recommended if you can source a copy.    

Just Finished Reading: The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon (FP: 1961) [255pp] 

This is one of those books that seem to be referenced everywhere I looked. I’d heard of it over the years but until recently hadn’t really thought of hunting it down to read. Funnily, as is sometimes the case with me, my idea of what the book was actually about was off by quite a bit. I had thought that this was, essentially, a look at global poverty from an anthropological point of view. Well, it turned out to be something very different indeed!  

The author was a French West Indian born in Martinique so had first-hand experience of French colonial activities. Moving to Algeria in the early 1950’s he became chef de service at the Blida-Joinville Psychiatric Hospital until his deportation in 1957. Again being witness to French colonial practices – and abuses – he joined the FLN (Front de Libération Nationale) in 1954 and worked actively for Algerian independence from the French. Being at the heart of things deeply informed this impressive narrative. Fanon dissects colonialism, and not just that of the French, with surgical precision. He understands just how colonialism works and how it corrupts not only the people it is supposedly ‘administering’ but also those in charge – both the colonists themselves and their local proxies. What this analysis shows is exactly why colonies are purposefully underdeveloped (except in certain areas of interest to the colonists and home country interests) and how the few local ‘intelligentsia’ are corrupted or perverted by intimate contact with the colonising power. Over time, because of the nature of the colonising process, opposition arises within the local population and, at some point, these local ‘leaders’ choose sides. Unfortunately, those who choose their own people over the colonists who trained and educated them (to the extent that required of them to perform their colonial duties) have by this education and training become divorced from their own culture and find it incredibly difficult to function as native leaders of a native revolt. Worse is to come. If the revolt is successful and the colonising forces finally admit defeat, those now in charge – having been drawn from the tiny minority of educated local elites – all too often try to enforce their interpretation of the colonial ideas on a reluctant and restless population all too ready, still, to throw off these very ideas that have been imposed upon them. Needless to say, along with the inevitable interference from the colonising home country, this generally does not go well. 

I have often wondered why post-colonised countries around the world either spectacularly fail economically or fall rapidly into dictatorship of a single man, a single ethnic group or single tribe. This book enlightened me on this subject. After reading this incisive work I will never look at the post-colonial world in quite the same way again. For that alone it was definitely worth a read. Those of a more delicate disposition are recommended to skip/skim the last section ‘Colonial War and Mental Disorders’ which contains case studies of survivors of torture or witnesses to atrocities. This will not detract from the rest of the book and seemed, to me at least, like a bolt on to the main narrative function of the book. Recommended. 

Translated from the French by Constance Farrington.     

Just Finished Reading: Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age by Peter Green (FP: 2007) [184pp] 

It was, he knew, his destiny. His military campaigns would not only overshadow those of his father but would inscribe his name deep into history like no one before him or since. What Alexander cared less about was how, or indeed if, his empire continued without him. Creation was his task, to conquer lands that his ancestors or contemporaries had barely been aware of. This he did but did not live to see the greatest empire the world has ever seen fall into infighting almost before his body was cold. Indeed, one of his own generals stole his body enroute to Macedonia and had it interred with great ceremony in Alexandria on the Nile. In the decades that followed fighting broke out between the Alexander’s rival captains for control of parts of the empire he left behind. None was individually capable of holding anything but pieces and soon the parts became mini-empires in their own regard. The most stable of them over the coming centuries was the Ptolemy Dynesty in Egypt. Incredibly rich and, by extension, incredibly powerful Ptolemy and his decedents became one of the power centres of the whole Mediterranean world. The other players were Alexander’s home country of Macedonia (and greater Greece), Carthage and the upstart Roman Republic. Each vied for power and control and, at least at first, the Romans were largely ignored which allowed them to consolidate their position on the Italian peninsula and to eject all other threats to their domination there. With the Hellenes still very much in control of the eastern Mediterranean it was only a matter of time before they came into conflict with Roman ambition. Splintered into rival factions and susceptible of being played off against each other – with Roman assistance – the Romans managed to win several encounters and forge strong alliances with Greek communities.  

But it was with the Punic Wars that Rome became a powerhouse in the region. Once Carthage had been defeated it was time to turn east again and to subsume Greece into the Roman sphere of influence after it was discovered that the Greeks had sought to exploit Rome’s troubles in North Africa and Spain. Once Greece was largely absorbed (or at least no longer a credible threat) Rome set about a period of consolidation leaving the last remaining Hellene area – Egypt – to its own devices. The Egyptians, know which way the sand was blowing at this point, offered friendly relations and support. Naturally having a very powerful ‘associative power’ so close was both a danger and an opportunity. Unfortunately, it was an opportunity for those looking to take power in the Republic and it wasn’t long before such a person – Marc Antony – made his move against the Republic using Egypt and the Ptolemy Dynesty as his powerbase. In a war between Egypt and Rome only one could emerge victorious. We all know who that was and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31BC ended the Hellenistic Age and ushered into existence the Roman Empire. 

Despite its short length this interesting book crammed a LOT of detail into the centuries long Hellenistic Age begun by Alexander and ended by Rome. Naturally the author could only really cover the grand sweep of ancient history with short bursts of more detailed explanation. If you are unfamiliar with the period or are looking for an overview and ideas for further reading this is definitely the book for you. I shall be looking to cover much more of this period in future reading. Recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: The Revenge of History – The Battle for the 21^st Century by Seumas Milne (FP: 2012) [277pp]

This is a bit of an odd one. I picked it up expecting (indeed hoping) that it was an analysis of how the late 20^th and start of the 21 centuries got us into this mess. Although there were elements of that it turned out to be, at least for me, rather disappointing on that note. This isn’t to say that the book was bad or defective in some way – it wasn’t. It’s just that it wasn’t what I wanted it to be.

Running from 1999 to 2011 this was a look at the political, economic and military events of the period from 9/11 to the Arab Uprising. There was one aspect that took me a little while to get my head around from the very start. Rather than looking backwards from 2012 when it was published each section (and sub-section) is contemporary with the events described. Although I don’t think it actually says anywhere, either in the preamble or the blurb on the back, the book is (or seems to be) a collection of the author’s articles presumably printed at the time in The Guardian newspaper. Whilst that is a valid way of doing things – especially if you hadn’t read them before – it does I think significantly reduce the authors opportunities to analyse events with the benefit of hindsight that he obviously had prior to publication of the book rather than prior to publication of the articles themselves. What might have been more interesting would be if the author had commented on his own work with that hindsight from an almost god-like position of ‘knowing’ what was coming next. A little ‘post-modern’ I know but I think it would have worked and would have given some interesting and valuable insights into things.

For those who are unaware, The Guardian is/was the premier left-leaning newspaper in the UK and, before I stopped buying all newspapers some years ago, I read it for many years from my student days and through my first 20 years of employment from then. So naturally I found myself in agreement with almost every word in this book. Unfortunately that was one of the things that ‘disappointed’ me (*I know*!) and I must admit I did find myself a little bored from time to time. I also clearly remember much of what’s covered here because I’m fairly switched on politically (as you may have realised – lol) and I was paying attention at the time these events were unfolding around me. If this applies to you as much as me I can’t see you deriving much from reading this book. If, however, you were *not* paying attention (for any of a whole host of reasons) or want to see the first part of the 21^st century through a pair of lefty eyes then you might get quite an education. Reasonable but I’m really looking for something a bit more analytical.  

Just Finished Reading: Wars of National Liberation by Daniel Moran (FP: 2001) [237pp]

The First World War started it, or at least the END of the War started it – that and President Wilson’s 14 Points and the universal political acid of ‘Self-Determination’. When the major European empires fell (or at the very least shuddered) the colonised around the world looked forward with hope to their independence. For many only disappointment lay ahead as the colonies of the vanquished were, by and large, handed over to the victors to run – most with the fiction of ‘Mandate’ status and the ‘eventual’ move to independence when they had achieved the requisite level of ‘maturity’ – judged by the Empire running things naturally. But what the First World War started the Second finished – by 1945 the Age of Empires was, effectively, over. Unfortunately that realisation wasn’t shared by everyone.

Exhausted by a second global conflict in 30 years the British finally agreed to, slowly, let go of Empire. In a few places it needed a nudge or two but eventually they did get out of the Imperial business. France took a while longer to realise that the jig was definitely up and fought nasty conflicts in North Africa and South East Asia (leaving the Americans to messily finish things off in the 1970’s). Covering many of these conflicts – most of which we are all too familiar with – this surprisingly good if short book looks at wars across the world as local forces fought off their colonial masters and others to achieve the long hoped for state of independence. Naturally things were not often straight forward and the ultimate objectives both messy and bloody. The post-war world after 1945 was the world of superpowers in proxy conflicts and both sides used the wars of national liberation to kick the other side whenever possible or politically acceptable.

The list of wars is a fairly extensive one despite the 237 page size restraints. From the Chinese war against the Japanese occupation and the subsequent Civil War, to the Korean War, to the French in Indo-China, to the French (again) in Algeria, to several European powers in Africa, to Cuba and conflicts throughout South America, to Israeli independence in the war of 1948 and finally the debacle that was Vietnam. A lot of ground is covered quickly but both the text and the many photographs and maps are detailed enough to make sense of what was going on. Obviously this slim volume will not make you an expert on this most important of themes in the post-1945 age but it will give you an enhanced appreciation of what was going on in so many places across the globe and what many of them had in common. Recommended.    

Just Finished Reading: The Nile – Downriver through Egypt’s Past and Present by Toby Wilkinson (FP: 2014)

Travelling at the pace of the river itself from the great dam at Aswan to Cairo and the Nile delta the author has chosen an ideal introduction to the great river and the country it gave birth to, for without the life giving properties of the Nile the millennia long occupation of Egypt would simply not have been possible. Not only does the Nile provide for extensive irrigation on both of its shores allowing the growth of much needed crops but periodic floods inundate the fields to replenish nutrients taken out by them each season. Generally each years surge is enough for one more growing season but some years the surge is insufficient and hunger follows. If the following year is also bad their follows famine and political strife. If the surge is too strong the floods devastate rather than replenish and chaos ensues. It is no wonder that the river itself was worshiped and so much of the early Egyptian religion centred on it and the creatures that inhabited its waters.

This periodic uncertainty ended with the control of the Aswan dam built with Soviet assistance during the Cold War. Other monuments to greatness are far, far older as the author outlines during his journey stopping off at iconic locations such as Luxor, Thebes, Abydos and Cairo. Although Egypt never cornered the market in monumental architecture it certainly wasn’t for the lack of trying. Temples, tombs and obelisks not only wow recent visitors but have been humbling both tourists and conquerors for centuries – so much so that they often removed items that had been in situ since before the Christian era. The Roman Empire, Napoleon and later the British during its mandate were notorious for their ‘acquisitions’ of antiquities many of which still grace the streets of Rome, Paris and London. I actually saw an obelisk in Rome that had been stolen by the Romans around two thousand years ago and was erected on one side of a main gate into the city. When it was stolen all of those centuries ago is was already three thousand years old. Antiquity never felt so old! I’ve also seen similar obelisks in Paris and London that must have amazed their citizens and certainly impressed me with the engineering obstacles overcome to get them to their new homes.

Naturally Egypt is awash in history and there’s no way a 300 page book can do it any justice. But what the author manages to do – in spades – is to bring out the majesty, the antiquity and the importance of a country that has been so important in global culture. Egypt has always fascinated the world and the craze for its artefacts, art and architecture has swept across the globe more than once – I actually have multiple mini-statues in my house of Egyptian gods (I am a CAT person after all!) – and its culture has had a profound effect on western civilisation for centuries. This delightful book really brings that alive. Full of interesting characters – from the ancient world to 19th century Europe – this is the kind of work that spawns 100 research paths into people and places that could keep you metaphorically digging in the sand for years. I have hardly touched upon the details in this book which is packed with little stories and insights and betrays a real love for the country on the part of the author. After reading this I can see why he admires the river and the country it brought to prominence so much. Definitely recommended for anyone with any interest at all in the ancient world or just one of the world’s most fascinating places. Much more on Egypt to come.