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Thomas E. Ricks - Churchill & Orwell (2nd Hand Hardback)
SKU B003330
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Synopsis
Subtitled : The Fight For Freedom.
A New York Times Bestseller!
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2017.
. . . "Their paths never crossed, but they admired each other from a distance, and when it came time for George Orwell to write 1984, he named his hero “Winston”. Churchill is on record as having enjoyed the novel so much he read it twice." . . .
A dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell, who preserved democracy from the threats of authoritarianism, from the left and right alike.
Both George Orwell and Winston Churchill came close to death in the mid-1930's, Orwell shot in the neck in a trench line in the Spanish Civil War, and Churchill struck by a car in New York City. If they'd died then, history would scarcely remember them.
At the time, Churchill was a politician on the outs, his loyalty to his class and party suspect. Orwell was a mildly successful novelist, to put it generously. No one would have predicted that by the end of the 20th Century they would be considered two of the most important people in British history for having the vision and courage to campaign tirelessly,
In words and in deeds, against the totalitarian threat from both the left and the right. In a crucial moment, they responded first by seeking the facts of the matter, seeing through the lies and obfuscations, and then they acted on their beliefs.
Together, to an extent not sufficiently appreciated, they kept the West's compass set toward freedom as its due north.
Details
- Format : Standard 2nd Hand Hardback with Dust Jacket
- Condition : Very Good
- Category : Non-Fiction - History & Futurology
- Published : 2017 (Penguin Press - 1st US Edition)
- ISBN : 9781594206139
- SKU : B003330
- PPC : SP600gm
- RRP : $28.00
- Quantity Available : 1 only.
External Reviews
"Ricks does a masterful job of showing the influence and evolution in thought each had from the 1930's until their peak in influence towards the end of WWII. Churchill used his words to rally a nation, and Orwell used his hatred of totalitarianism from bot the left and the right to write essays and two seminal books, Animal Farm, and especially 1984." - Goodreads Review.
"For these British contemporaries, both former war correspondents and soldiers and both prolific writers, there was no more righteous struggle than combatting the de-humanizing effects of 20th century authoritarian regimes. And both came to what was a novel realization in the early 20th century: authoritarianism comes in two ideological versions, right and left. Ricks chronicles how both Churchill and Orwell, through multiple self-inflicted hardships, prepared themselves for the role of outspoken outcast. For all of their talent and acclaim, the two men spent much of their careers in political exile, challenging a comfortable status quo that wooed lesser men into complacency." - The National Book Review.
'Really, very interesting' - John Le Carre.
'An inspiring story highly readable.' - Andrew Roberts, bestselling author of Napoleon the Great and The Storm of War.
'Ricks is an excellent writer; his eye for telling detail brings to life these two remarkable and much-mythologised men.' - Keith Lowe, The Telegraph.
The Author
Thomas E. Ricks is an adviser on national security at the New America Foundation, where he participates in its "Future of War" project. He was previously a fellow at the Centre for a New American Security and is a contributing editor of Foreign Policy magazine, for which he writes the prizewinning blog The Best Defence.
A member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams, he covered U.S. military activities in Somalia, Haiti, Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Kuwait, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He is the author of several books, including The Generals, The Gamble, and the number one New York Times bestseller Fiasco, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His newest book, Churchill and Orwell: The Fight For Freedom, is a New York Times bestseller.