This year’s Venice Biennale marks a major shift in European cultural politics suggests CLARE CAROLIN
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Crimea scene investigation
JOHN GREEN recommends a history of the Black Sea peninsula, situated at a crossroads between Europe and Asia
DOOMED: William Simpson’s depiction of the Charge of the Light Cavalry Brigade, 25th Oct. 1854. Lord Cardigan leads the charge toward Russian artillery on the left, in the foreground, and on the right flank; Russian cavalry wait in readiness to engage the British or to counterattack.
[The Library of Congress/CC]
ANGUS REID applauds the potential of an ambitious show about Gaza, and encourages it to keep its nerve
MATTHEW HAWKINS considers the opening offering at the National Festival of Korean Dance
ANDY HEDGECOCK welcomes an effective and entertaining overview of those who see erroneous ideas as self-evident truths
KENNY MacASKILL welcomes that rare thing: a readable analysis and explanation of the capitalist economy
The world of fake news, where people don’t believe what they are fed, will lead to a demand for authenticity, suggests PAUL DONOVAN
The Crimea - a History
Neil Kent, Hurst, £16.99
THIS fascinating history through the ages is essential reading for all those wishing to understand the background to the present conflict in Ukraine. In this ongoing war between Ukraine as a Nato proxy and Russia, the Crimea has played a key role.
It shapes the headlines much as it did some 160 years ago, when the Crimean War pitted Britain, France and Turkey against tsarist Russia. Yet few books have been published on the history of this peninsula. For many readers, Crimea seems as remote today as it was when colonised by the ancient Greeks.
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In the first half of a two-part article, PETER MERTENS looks at how Nato’s €800 billion ‘Readiness 2030’ plan serves Washington’s pivot to the Pacific, forcing Europeans to dismantle social security and slash pensions to fund it
GORDON PARSONS steps warily through the pessimistic world view of an influential US conservative