I’ve been reading up on the Cold War and the Iron Curtain and naturally ended up shortlisting John le Carre’s Karla Trilogy - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honorable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People – for a reread. While James Bond was dashing, sophisticated, and sensual, le Carre’s George Smiley is a senior retired bureaucrat, cuckolded … Continue reading le Carré’s ‘The Karla Trilogy’
It’s a New Year and probably a good time to get started on some new projects. I decided to be a bit more mindful of the content that I consume. So, here we go with the stuff that I watched this month: Rifle Club: The first movie of the year and that too watched on … Continue reading What I Watched – January 2025
When le Carré died in 2020, he was believed to have been the greatest spy novelist of all time. Writing in the heydays of the Cold War, realism was his forte and all his works were marked by a sense of pathos and tragedy. Over the past few years, the British writer Mick Herron has … Continue reading Herron’s Slough House
Kyoto was the first choice as the target for the atomic bomb during World War II. It was an industrial center, had production capabilities of close to four hundred aircraft engines a month, and was an intellectual center of Japan. Hitting it was calculated to deal a body blow to Japanese morale. However, at the … Continue reading The Pacific Theatre in WWII
Australia today has a population of 27 million and a GDP of $1.7 Trillion. Around 8 million people visit it annually and it’s also a highly sought after destination for skilled migrants. Australia started off as a penal colony and the first expedition of white settlers (convicts) set foot in Australia only on 26th January … Continue reading The First Convict-Voyage to Australia
