War
It is time to join the fight against IS in Syria
The Islamic State is as monstrous an enemy as we have seen in recent history. It crucifies and decapitates its…
Charles Moore’s Notes: Jeremy Corbyn, fanatic
When Jeremy Corbyn says it is better to bring people to trial than to shoot them, he is right. So…
Agincourt was neither necessary, nor great. We’re mad to celebrate it
Can anyone explain this sudden enthusiasm for Agincourt, that unexpected victory over the French, now being celebrated, or rather commemorated,…
Atheist and gay, Frederick the Great was more radical than most leaders today
Reacquaintance with Germany is long overdue for most English people. Before 1914 it was at least as familiar as France…
Don McCullin interview: ‘I take more than I bring. That’s not a role I’m proud of’
Jenny McCartney talks to the celebrated photojournalist about war, guilt and Aylan
Late Night Woman’s Hour assumes that all women think about is dating, desire and drinking
Late Night Woman’s Hour has created a Twitter storm with its twice-weekly (Thursdays and Fridays) doses of ‘mischievous and unbridled…
‘Doorways to the unknown’: Clive James’s Latest Readings
In the preface to his great collection of essays The Dyer’s Hand, W.H. Auden claimed: ‘I prefer a critic’s notebooks…
We Are Many reviewed: does anyone think this anti-Iraq War film will change anything?
Big-screen documentaries never change the world. Blackfish has not shortened the queues to see maltreated killer whales leap through hoops…
Rosie Kay’s 5 Soldiers: brutishly physical and powerfully striking
In dance, it’s usually the moment the boys start fighting that challenges your suspension of disbelief. Synchronised fencing (MacMillan’s Romeo…
The other trenches: the Dardanelles, 100 years on
Peter Parker discerns classical allusion amid the horror in two books commemorating the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign
Flying witches, mad old men, cannibals: what was going on in Goya’s head?
It is not impossible to create good art that makes a political point, just highly unusual. Goya’s ‘Third of May’…
Shelling, militiamen and shattered villages: welcome to eastern Ukraine’s ceasefire
Ukraine’s war goes on – in some places now, and soon everywhere
Arabian Motorcycle Adventures review: enthralling and constantly surprising
There were great numbers of young men who had never been in a war and were consequently far from unwilling…
Standing firm is the price of civilisation. Are we still ready to pay it?
Reading Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, as I have recently, you cannot help but be struck by what a perfectly…
Rochester’s special qualities, and the price of Ebola.com
What’s special about Rochester What is special about Rochester and Strood? — Rochester has the second oldest cathedral and school…
Spectator letters: St Augustine and Louise Mensch, war votes and flannel
Faith and flexibility Sir: What a contrast in your two articles on religion last week: one liberal atheist parent (Claire…
Must MPs always vote before we go to war?
Jesse Norman was permitted three minutes for his speech to the Commons in last Friday’s debate. But the contribution from…
The wars that really are about the oil
You can’t understand any of the world’s crises without understanding petropolitics
No, I haven’t seen that beheading video. And it’s not right to share it
It’s time to stand up against the self-righteous sharing of videos of beheading and other gruesome violence
I like the look of this exciting new Islamic State. But why don’t they want Belgium?
There is something attractive about almost the whole of southern Europe being part of an immense and somewhat rigorous caliphate,…
The Spectator's notes: Diana's bed, Boris's dirty trick and Prince Philip's mystery tie
On Friday night, I went to Althorp, childhood home of Diana, Princess of Wales, to speak at its literary festival.…
Do wars always start in years ending ‘14’?
Years of war Imaginative souls have tried to compared the situation in Ukraine with that which preceded the first world…
Soldiers aren't social workers, Mr Cameron. Remember that before taking on hopeless wars
The ghost people, the letter people. The ones we hear about in court but never call by their real name;…
Letters: James Whitaker’s widow answers Toby Young
Absent friends Sir: Alec Marsh (‘Welcome to Big Venice’, 10 August) accurately observes that Londoners are priced out of central…
