1999, ISBN: 9780684867205

New York. 1999. December 1999. Free Press. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Dustjacket. 0684867206. 646 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Tom Stvan. keywords: Biography Politics Histor… Mehr…

New York. 1999. December 1999. Free Press. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Dustjacket. 0684867206. 646 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Tom Stvan. keywords: Biography Politics History Eastern Europe England . FROM THE PUBLISHER - David Cesarani paints an explosive portrait of Koestler that bridges the gulf separating public and private life, contrasting the work of a genius against the backdrop of his tormented soul and brutal private life. A central European Jew born in 1905, Koestler was molded by his times. Uprooted by war and revolution and hounded by prejudice, he struggled to make sense of a world on the edge of apocalypse. His search for meaning, identity and belonging swept him up in the raging ideological torrents of his times - Zionism, Communism, anti-Communism and both hard scientific and esoteric mystical pursuits - and culminated in an idiosyncratic and deeply personal ideological position that has confused and eluded critics and commentators. Equally restless in his personal relationships, Koestler made and broke friendships and marriages. His violent affairs with women were legendary, but until now the shocking details of his private life were hidden from view by loyal friends and obscured by the Olympian prose of his autobiographical writing. Cesarani is the first to make unrestricted use of Koestler's private papers. He also draws on previously secret documents held by the KGB and the FBI, which expose the depth of Koestler's involvement in the Communist Party and, later, his relations with the CIA. Once a Communist, Koestler eventually rejected Marxism and led the intellectual counterattack that culminated in the fall of the Berlin Wall. His speculations on human nature and the future of mankind in the atomic age were stamped upon a generation that lived in the shadow of the bomb. But alongside his brilliance and charm was a darker side, fully plumbed here for the first time, which led ultimately to the tragic dual suicide with his third wife, Cynthia, in 1983. inventory #27339 ISBN: 0684867206., 0<

1983, ISBN: 9780684867205

A cultural and intellectual icon of the twentieth century, Arthur Koestler commanded the world's attention when he laid bare the horrors of Soviet-style totalitarianism in the acclaimed n… Mehr…

A cultural and intellectual icon of the twentieth century, Arthur Koestler commanded the world's attention when he laid bare the horrors of Soviet-style totalitarianism in the acclaimed novel, Darkness at Noon. Now historian David Cesarani makes use of unprecedented and unrestricted access to Koestler's private papers -- as well as KGB and FBI documents newly available since the collapse of the Soviet Union -- to present along-awaited reevaluation of both the public and private man.Once a communist, Koestler led the intellectual counterattack that, according to Cesarani, culminated in the fall of the Berlin Wall. In addition, his writings on science introduced millions to revolutionary theories of evolution and the workings of the mind. But behind his brilliance there was a rumored dark side -- one that is carefully substantiated by Cesarani, who presents proof of beatings and rapes, as well as a complete account of Koestler's tragic dual suicide with his third wife in 1983.With research hailed as "impressively thorough, " The Times (London), Cesarani "documents a disquieting chapter of history and the success of a determined pressure group in British politics" (Sunday Telegraph). Arthur Koestler: The Homeless Mind is the most complete -- and most controversial -- biography of this intellectual titan of the twentieth century. Media >, [PU: Scribners]<