What I’m Reading: Tunneling to the Past

Europe|What I’m Reading: Tunneling to the Past

It’s been a portion since I did a “what I’m reading” roundup. (After the newsletter went to erstwhile a week, it became harder to slot them in.) But contiguous I wonderment if you’re feeling similar I am, disquieted astir the authorities of the satellite and anxious to find answers — oregon astatine slightest a mode to flight searching for them — successful books.

Some of that means speechmaking enactment that’s caller to me, including “Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution successful Modern Conflict” by Eli Berman, Joseph H. Felter and Jacob N. Shapiro.

Covering the warfare successful Gaza has inevitably brought reminders of different conflicts, including the U.S. subject operations successful Iraq and Afghanistan. If, arsenic the saying goes, past doesn’t repetition itself but it rhymes, the battles for power of Mosul and Helmand consciousness similar erstwhile couplets successful a long, grim poem that present besides includes Gaza City and Rafah. I picked up this publication arsenic a mode to get a much grounded position connected those past conflicts and others.

One paragraph from an aboriginal section of the publication seems peculiarly relevant. (For context, “asymmetric” wars are those fought betwixt groups that are precise antithetic successful size and capability, often involving guerrilla warfare against a much accepted authorities military):

In asymmetric wars, the conflict is fundamentally not implicit territory but implicit radical due to the fact that the radical clasp captious information, which is existent to a greater grade than successful symmetric conflicts due to the fact that the quality of the stronger broadside to instrumentality vantage of immoderate fixed portion of accusation is ever precise high, and due to the fact that holding territory is not capable to unafraid victory. The stronger enactment successful asymmetric conflicts tin physically prehend territory for a abbreviated clip whenever it chooses to bash so. But holding and administering that territory is different happening altogether — arsenic truthful galore would-be conquerors person learned.

I person besides been drawn to reread a publication that I archetypal looked astatine agelong ago. Not, I think, due to the fact that I’m longing to rediscover the acquainted prose, but due to the fact that I consciousness compelled to spell backmost and interrogate the now-unfamiliar mentation of myself who turned its pages a agelong clip ago.

I archetypal work “The Berlin Novels,” by Christopher Isherwood, the publication that inspired the philharmonic “Cabaret,” successful assemblage aft watching a peculiarly compelling accumulation of the amusement astatine the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. (Oddly enough, erstwhile I looked it up I realized that it was the precursor to the show presently playing connected Broadway, and starred a young Eddie Redmayne, but I had nary thought — astatine the clip helium was conscionable a guy, alternatively than an internationally celebrated star.)

That Fringe production’s staging of “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” a sweet-sounding people opus that is yet revealed arsenic a Nazi anthem, was 1 of the astir intensely memorable experiences I’ve ever had astatine a play. At first, the opus was staged arsenic a delicate melody sung by smiling youths, and I retrieve smiling and wanting to hum on with it, not realizing what crook was coming. Then successful a aboriginal act, formed members embedded successful the assemblage belted it retired successful a overmuch uglier, martial tone.