Arthur Koestler Libri

Nicolaj Salmanovic Rubasciov è un commissario politico dell'Unione Societica durante la dittatura di Stalin. Il suo compito è quello di scoprire e interrogare gli avversari del regime. Un giorno però Rubasciov cade in disgrazia a sarà lui a subire tutti gli aberranti trattamenti a cui sottoponeva le sue vittime. In occasione del suo centenario la Mondadori ripropone in tiratura limitata una scelta di opere che hanno segnato la storia della collana "Medusa", riprendendone l'originale veste grafica ed editoriale.

Nell'Urss dei tardi anni Trenta, durante l'imperversare delle "purghe" staliniane, l'ex commissario del popolo e rivoluzionario della prima ora Rubasciov è rinchiuso in carcere in attesa di un processo per atti rivoluzionari. Si trova così ad essere vittima di un meccanismo che nella sua indefettibile fedeltà al Partito egli stesso ha infinite volte attivato, tradendo compagni e amici, rinnegando ogni principio morale, pur di eliminare ogni eventuale ostacolo alla sopravvivenza del comunismo. Di fronte agli estenuanti interrogatori cui è sottoposto, accusato di crimini mai commessi, si rende conto che ciò che gli inquisitori vogliono non è accertare la verità, ma semplicemente ottenere da lui una confessione che giustifichi una condanna già pronunciata. Scritto nel 1940, il romanzo è uno dei più lucidi e toccanti atti d'accusa contro i meccanismi perversi del totalitarismo e i guasti irreparabili dell'ideologia.

Arrow in the Blue is the first volume of Arthur Koestler's autobiography. It covers the first 26 years of his life and ends with his joining the Communist Party in 1931, an event he felt to be second only in importance to his birth in shaping his destiny.In the years before 1931, Arthur Koestler lived a tumultuous and varied existence. He was a member of the duelling fraternity at the University if Vienna; a collective farm worker in Galilee; a tramp and street vendor in Haifa; the editor of a weekly paper in Cairo; the foreign correspondent of the biggest continental newspaper chain in Paris and the Middle East; a science editor in Berlin; and a member of the North Pole expedition of the Graf Zeppelin.Written with enormous zest, joie de vivre and frankness, Arrow in the Blue is a fascinating self-portrait of a remarkable young man at the heart of the events that shaped the twentieth century.The second volume of Arthur Koestler's autobiography is The Invisible Writing.

This book explores the history of the ancient Khazar Empire, a significant yet often overlooked power in Eastern Europe that converted to Judaism during the Dark Ages. The Khazars, who thrived from the 7th to 11th century, were ultimately destroyed by Genghis Khan's forces, but evidence suggests they migrated to Poland, contributing to the roots of Western Jewry. While the Khazars may seem distant to contemporary readers, their legacy has surprising relevance today. At the time of Charlemagne's reign in the West, the Khazars controlled a vast territory from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, playing a crucial role in halting the Muslim advance against Byzantium. This positioned them precariously between the Eastern Roman Empire and the followers of Mohammed. Koestler characterizes the Khazars as the Third World of their era, as they resisted the pressures to convert to Christianity from the West and Islam from the East by choosing Judaism instead. He speculates on the fate of the Khazars and their influence on the racial and social heritage of modern Jewry, presenting detailed research that challenges conventional understandings of anti-Semitism.

Arthur Koestler's extraordinary history of humanity's changing vision of the universe In this masterly synthesis, Arthur Koestler cuts through the sterile distinction between 'sciences' and 'humanities' to bring to life the whole history of cosmology from the Babylonians to Newton. He shows how the tragic split between science and religion arose and how, in particular, the modern world-view replaced the medieval world-view in the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. He also provides vivid and judicious pen-portraits of a string of great scientists and makes clear the role that political bias and unconscious prejudice played in their creativity.

In this penetrating selection of essays and reviews, Arthur Koestler roves from Indian politics to the paranormal, from materialism to mysticism. Whether he is addressing a learned society on education or psychiatry, discussing ESP, reporting the Fischer-Spassky chess championship or taking a step into the 1980s, Koestler is always controversial, forthright and stimulating — above all, compulsively readable. [Taken from the back cover]

The author examines the idea that we are at our most creative when rational thought is suspended-for example, in dreams and trancelike states.

The book explores the historical foundations of the State of Israel through a unique lens, emphasizing the influence of irrational forces and emotional biases alongside traditional politico-economic factors. It is divided into three parts: "Background," which surveys key developments; "Close-up," focusing on specific events; and "Perspective," offering broader insights. The author aims to provide a balanced view by highlighting psychological elements in history, presenting a "psycho-somatic" understanding of this significant modern episode.

The book is the first of a trilogy, including Darkness at Noon , and Arrival and Departure , which address idealism going wrong. This is a common theme in Koestler's work and life. Koestler uses his portrayal of the original slave revolt to examine the experience of the 20thcentury political left in Europe following the rise of a Communist government in the Soviet Union. He published it on the brink of World War II. Originally written in German, the novel was translated into English for other audiences and was published in 1939. In 1998 the British critic Geoffrey Wheatcroft wrote of the novel: "In The Gladiators , Koestler used Spartacus's revolt around 65BC to explore the search for the just city, the inevitable compromises of revolution, the conflict of ends and means, the question of whether and when it is justifiable to sacrifice lives for an abstract ideal.