Great to be here under blue skies

So glad you’re on Bluesky @ssebagmontefiore.bsky.social!

Andor: How the 'gangster' years of the young Joseph Stalin inspired the gritty Star Wars series It may be set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but Tony Gilroy's series takes a key plot from a bank heist masterminded by Stalin in 1907.

Just finished watching the excellent Andor, long read on its connection wjth Josef Stalin
(& @ssebagmontefiore.bsky.social )
#andor
www.bbc.com/culture/arti...

Simon Sebag-Montefiore is here! ssebagmontefiore.bsky.social

Great to be on blue sky

I think Simon Sebag Montefiore pretty well nails some of this thinking (which reminds me of earlier left apologia for Stalin and Mao): archive.ph/2023.10.28-0...

Simon Sebag Montefiore: History Is Not Over ‘We’re coming out of what I would call the 75-year peace,’ argues the historian. ‘There’s never been a period like this in world history.’

Simon Sebag Montefiore: History Is Not Over
open.substack.com/pub/bariweis...

Poem by Clive James about Asma Asad.

I don't usually comment on current events on social media: partly a hangover from not being allowed to, partly because I can't think of a worse medium in which to discuss politics.

But this poem by Clive James retweeted on X by Simon Sebag-Montefiore about Asma Asad is worth breaking the rule for.

"Party-mindedness" was "an almost mystical concept," explained Kopelev. "The indispensable prerequisites were iron discipline and faithful observance of all the rituals of Party life." As one veteran Communist put it, a Bolshevik was not someone who believed merely in Marxism but "someone who had absolute faith in the Party no matter what ... A person with the ability to adapt his morality and conscience in such a way that he can unreservedly accept the dogma that the Party is never wrong-- even though it's wrong all the time." Stalin did not exaggerate when he boasted: "We Bolsheviks are people of a special cut."

Quote from Stalin The Court of The Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Sounds like MAGA to me.

A screenshot from Bookshop.org of the cover for The World: A Family History of Humanity by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

I’m slowing making my way through this absolute UNIT of a book. It’s BRILLIANT, although I admit to taking breaks from it to read lighter fare (you know like East of Eden😉, ok and some Jim Butcher Codex Alera too). I’m a little less than a quarter of the way through, and I really recommend it!

A conflict built on centuries of myth-making ‘Forever wars’ do not exist but bringing peace to the Holy Land is complicated by so much of its history being wilfully misunderstood

A conflict built on centuries of myth-making

‘Forever wars’ do not exist but bringing peace to the Holy Land is complicated by so much of its history being wilfully misunderstood
Simon Sebag Montefiore

www.thetimes.com/world/israel...

8) "Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar" by Simon Sebag Montefiore

This was a long one, took me almost 3 years on and off to finish it. I had a problem keeping the Russian names straight sometimes, but that's a me issue

Simon Sebag Montefiore - BOTD
💙📚 #LiteratureSky

‎Leading: Simon Sebag Montefiore: The impact of conflicting histories in the Israel-Hamas and Russ... ‎Show Leading, Ep Simon Sebag Montefiore: The impact of conflicting histories in the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars - 26 Nov 2023

Pod with insights of both Israeli-Hamaswar AND russian attack on Ukraine, featuring Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Just goes to show you the importance of knowing the background history... world class!

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...

This is a must-read thread from Simon Sebag-Montefiore, the renowned British historian, on Syria. It is long, but worth the read.
1. x.com/simonmontefi...
2. x.com/simonmontefi...
3a. x.com/simonmontefi...
3b. x.com/simonmontefi...
[He is not on BS and the tweets are not linked so no ThreadReader)

Buchcover: Simon Sebag Montefiore Stalin Am Hof des roten Zaren

Das Buch schildert, wie totalitäre Herrschaft funktioniert. Jede Familie der Hofschranzen war von Stalins Terror betroffen und doch hinderten sie ihn nicht daran oder stürzten ihn.

Thk u

On World Book Day I can recommend a World book by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Das heutige Buch: *Jerusalem. Die Biografie* von Simon Sebag Montefiore. Spontan gekauft und noch ungelesen.

Poste ein Buch aus deinem Regal. Ob gelesen oder ungelesen, ausgeliehen, geschenkt bekommen oder gekauft, Papier oder Hörbuch oder eBook (bei letzteren Screenshot oder Cover posten).

Beschreibung im Alt-Text.

Es lebe die #Büchervielfalt.

#bücher #regalbuch
#BuchChallenge #germanbooksky
#euleliest

Brilliant article about the downfall of Assad by Simon Sebag #Montefiore.
He quotes Clive James poem about Assad’s British born wife Asma:

www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...

The Decolonization Narrative Is Dangerous and False It does not accurately describe either the foundation of Israel or the tragedy of the Palestinians.

An excellent article "The Decolonization Narrative is Dangerous and False" by Simon Sebag Montefiore in The Atlantic. Here's a free link to it: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Sam Harris | #393 - Is History Repeating Itself? Sam Harris speaks with Simon Sebag Montefiore about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the history of the Jews, and the rise of global antisemitism.

"Sam Harris speaks with Simon Sebag Montefiore about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the history of the Jews, and the rise of global antisemitism."

Front cover of Montefiore's "Jerusalem"

Israel has been in the news a lot for obvious reasons - this masterful history by Simon Sebag Montefiore is both a compelling telling of the city's contested history over the last 3000 plus years, and a plea for some kind of two-state solution

Cosmo Jarvis ("Shōgun") jouera le dictateur Joseph Staline dans un futur biopic basé sur livre de Simon Sebag Montefiore "Young Stalin" 🎬

Géla Babluani ("Money") à la réalisation 🎥

🙏🙏🙏🙏

As corroborating evidence I submit the office of author Simon Sebag Montefiore whose recent book The World is genius.

BBC Four - Rome: A History of the Eternal City, The Rebirth of God's City Charting Rome's rise from the neglect of the 14th century into the seat of the papacy.

8pm TODAY on @BBCFOUR

Rome: A History of the Eternal City
Ep 3 of 3, The Rebirth of God's City

Simon Sebag Montefiore charts #Rome's rise from the abandonment & neglect of the C14th into the everlasting seat of the papacy recognised today

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

Book cover. In the court of the red tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky
#books
#bookchallenge

Day 14

Yesterday. #London. Marble Arch Synagogue. In conversation with Simon Sebag Montefiore. Thanks to Hexagon Society. Thanks to the 600 plus attendees who came to say : no, #antisemitism is not just another “opinion”.