The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945 has long been regarded as a historical watershed – but did it mark the start of a new era or the culmination of longer-term trends?

Philip Snow examines the question.

Philip Snow - Death from the Clouds

Philip Snow: Death from the Clouds - Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and the Surrender of Japan by Richard Overy

literaryreview.co.uk

Coleridge was fifty-four lines into ‘Kubla Khan’ before a knock on the door disturbed him. He blamed his unfinished poem on ‘a person on business from Porlock’.

Who was this arch-interrupter? Joanna Kavenna goes looking for the person from Porlock.

Joanna Kavenna - Do Not Disturb

Joanna Kavenna: Do Not Disturb

literaryreview.co.uk

Russia’s recent efforts to destabilise the Baltic states have increased enthusiasm for the EU in these places. With Euroscepticism growing in countries like France and Germany, @owenmatth wonders whether Europe’s salvation will come from its periphery.

Owen Matthews - Sea of Troubles

Owen Matthews: Sea of Troubles - Baltic: The Future of Europe by Oliver Moody

literaryreview.co.uk