“Nothing is really secret.”

Exactly 100 years after her great-granduncle’s letters and manuscripts were ordered into hiding, on December 21st 1924, Nin Brudermann brings these high secrecy documents, entangling family history with pre-WWI power machinations and intrigues, into public circulation. Through a highly personal lens, Clash of Giants reinterprets the chain of micro-events that led to World War I and the ensuing reconfiguration of world powers.

Treating a book like a split screen, Brudermann revisits her 2019 eponymous film about the same topic and also tells the subjective story of her own multi-year research. Ample literary, philosophical, and historical quotes intersperse her personal narrative, which departs from childhood queries and culminates with a reflection on current global politics.

A conversation with Jason Fine delves into the theory underpinning Clash of Giants. Jimena Canales’s thoughts on Cleopatra’s nose and Adam Kleinman’s analysis of the film, place the multiple voices in a wider critical framework.