(book, that is): “It’s Iraq. The Sunnis, Shias and Kurds are at each other’s throats, only cooperating long enough to attack the foreign army that is occupying their country. The army is tasked with nation-building, and is running into serious difficulty. The man in charge is… no, not America’s Paul Bremer, but General Sir Aylmer Haldane. The year is 1920.

Published in 1922, Haldane’s book, Insurrection in Mesopotamia 1920, long ago vanished into the dusty fastnesses of antiquarian booksellers. But not any more. We hear that Sir Aylmer is required reading in Washington these days. Evidently, the Pentagon and state department are snapping up all available copies – the price on the web has hit $250 and is rising. Why?” —Guardian.UK