Vampires, werewolves and Sami sorcerers
Animism, divination and shape-shifting witchcraft continued to be powerful forces in the Baltic long after the conversion of Europe to Christianity
The horror of Hungary in the second world war
Having suffered heavy casualties fighting the Soviets as part of the Axis alliance, the country was then occupied by the Nazis, which led to wholesale carnage during the siege of Budapest in 1945
Does bitcoin fit the definition of good money?
Three philosophers readily acknowledge the cryptocurrency’s shortcomings, but emphasise its one important function – as a means of challenging autocratic regimes
The Orban acolyte who became his fiercest critic
All sorts of people are grateful to Peter Magyar for bounding into the arena of Hungarian public life. Journalists, chiefly.…
What will we do when all our jobs are done for us?
The philosopher Nick Bostrom speculates imaginatively about the travails of extreme leisure, but we don’t get any guru-like nuggets
What became of Thomas Becket’s bones?
Alice Roberts’s examinations of violent deaths in the past take her to the site of Becket’s murder in Canterbury cathedral and the later destruction of his shrine by Henry VIII
Milan Kundera feels the unbearable weight of disappointment
In two essays, from 1967 and 1983, he expresses the sense of abandonment felt in Central Europe – and his own dismay at the superficiality of western culture
Like it or not, cryptocurrency is here to stay
There was a time when you could read a book to keep up to date about a subject. Well, that’s…
Out of nowhere: Viktor Orbán’s new challenger
Will Hungary’s surprise opposition leader out-Orbán Orbán?
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was lucky to escape retribution in 1945
They rather like bad boys, the French. Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894-1961) is one, in a tradition that stretches from François Villon…
Tortured youths: how childhood misery often makes for genius
Greatness. Genius. Can you bottle it? Is there a formula? Inspired by his Radio 4 series Great Lives, Matthew Parris…
There’s no single trick to making money — just resist a noble calling
‘Beauty is pain,’ the model Gigi Hadid asserts. She’s one of the successful, rich people quizzed by William Leith in…
One insider’s view of the thorny subject of immigration
Probably this happens to every generation: the moment when you can’t believe what’s going on; when events seem too preposterous…
Every day is mother’s day for writers: most have strong feelings about their mothers, though not always of love
You attempt to write a review with a stiff dose of objectivity, but it’s hard not to start with a…
The problem with Hungary
The name of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is on the lips of most left-wing, liberal politicians and intellectuals…
Flights of fancy
Levitation. We all know what it is: the ‘disregard for gravity’, as Peter Adey puts it in his new book,…
György Spiro’s Captivity fails to captivate Tibor Fischer
It’s been a long time coming for György Spiró. However much Hungarian writers complain about the isolation forced upon them…
John Gray’s great tour-guide of ideas: from the Garden of Eden to secret rendition
You can’t accuse John Gray of dodging the big questions, or indeed the big answers. His new book The Soul…
Accusations of racism have lost all meaning
Tibor Fischer 23 April 2022 9:00 am
The War on the West is Douglas Murray’s latest blast against loony left wokery, chiefly in the areas of race…