An insightful new biography of the central figure in the Dreyfus Affair, focused on the man himself and based on newly accessible documents
On January 5, 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus's cries of innocence were drowned out by a mob shouting 'Death to Judas!' In this book, Maurice Samuels gives listeners new insight into Dreyfus himself-the man at the center of the affair. He tells the story of Dreyfus's early life in Paris, his promising career as a French officer, the false accusation leading to his imprisonment on Devil's Island, the fight to prove his innocence that divided the French nation, and his life of quiet obscurity after World War I.
Samuels's striking perspective is enriched by a newly available archive of more than three thousand documents and objects donated by the Dreyfus family. Unlike many historians, Samuels argues that Dreyfus was not an 'assimilated' Jew. Rather, he epitomized a new model of Jewish identity made possible by the French Revolution, when France became the first European nation to grant Jews full legal equality. This book analyzes Dreyfus's complex relationship to Judaism and to antisemitism over the course of his life-a story that, as global antisemitism rises, echoes still. It also shows the profound effect of the Dreyfus Affair on the lives of Jews around the world.
The incredible story of the first African American military pilot, who went on to become a Paris nightclub impresario, a spy in the French Resistance and an American civil rights pioneer
Eugene Bullard lived one of the most fascinating lives of the twentieth century. The son of a former slave and an indigenous Creek woman, Bullard fled home at the age of eleven to escape the racial hostility of his Georgia community. When his journey led him to Europe, he garnered worldwide fame as a boxer, and later as the first African American fighter pilot in history.
After the war, Bullard returned to Paris a celebrated hero. But little did he know that the dramatic, globe-spanning arc of his life had just begun.
All Blood Runs Red is the inspiring untold story of an American hero, a thought-provoking chronicle of the twentieth century and a portrait of a man who came from nothing and by his own courage, determination, gumption, intelligence and luck forged a legendary life.
The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Saul David's comprehensive history, All The King's Men: The British Soldier from the Restoration to Waterloo, read by the actor Sean Barrett.
'The British soldier,' wrote a Prussian officer who served with Wellington, 'is vigorous, well fed, by nature highly brave and intrepid, trained to the most vigorous discipline, and admirably well armed... These circumstances explain how this army ... has never yet been defeated in the field.'
From the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 to the Downfall of Napoleon in 1815, Britain won a series of major wars against France that enabled her to lay the foundations of a global empire. By Waterloo, she was the paramount maritime and industrial power in the world, and would remain so for much of the nineteenth century.
This is the story of that extraordinary century and a half of martial success and the people who made it possible: the soldier-kings William III and the first two Georges; the generals Marlborough, Wolfe, Moore and Wellington; and the ordinary British redcoats who - despite harsh service conditions that included low pay, poor housing, inadequate food and brutal discipline - rarely let their commanders down in battles as far afield as Blenheim, Plassey, Quebec and Waterloo.
«Zu Fuß?» «Zu Fuß.» «Allein?» «Allein.» - Am 22. Januar 2020 macht sich Christiane Hoffmann in einem Dorf in Niederschlesien auf den Weg. Sie läuft 550 Kilometer nach Westen, es ist der Weg, auf dem ihr Vater im Winter 1945 vor der Roten Armee geflohen ist. Die Flucht und der Verlust der Heimat prägen die Kindheit der Autorin, es bleibt, wie bei so vielen Familien, eine Wunde. Nach dem Tod des Vaters kehrt die Tochter nach Rosenthal zurück, das jetzt Rózyna heißt. Sie sucht nach der Geschichte und ihren Narben. Sie läuft das verfluchte 20. Jahrhundert aus sich heraus.
Deutschland in den 1970er Jahren. Unter dem Tisch sitzen die Kinder. Oben seufzen die Erwachsenen, essen Schnittchen und reden über die verlorene Heimat. Sie übertragen ihre Verletzungen und Alpträume auf die nächste Generation. Was bleibt heute vom Fluchtschicksal? Wie gehen die Familien, wie gehen die Gesellschaften, Deutsche, Polen und Tschechen damit um? Auf ihrer Wanderung sucht Christiane Hoffmann nach der Gegenwart der Vergangenheit. Sie kämpft sich durch Hagelstürme und sumpfige Wälder. Sie sitzt in Kirchen, Küchen und guten Stuben. Sie führt Gespräche - mit anderen Menschen und mit sich selbst. Ihr Buch überführt die Erinnerung an Flucht und Vertreibung ins 21. Jahrhundert und mahnt an die Schrecken des Krieges, es verschränkt die Familiengeschichte mit der Historie, Zeitzeugenberichte mit Begegnungen auf ihrem Weg. Doch es ist vor allem ein sehr persönliches Buch, geschrieben in einer literarischen Sprache, eine Suche nach dem Vater und seiner Geschichte, nach dem, was er verdrängte, um zu überleben.
Wenn nach dem ganzen Weihnachtstrubel alle gemütlich zusammen hocken, werden so manche Geschichten erzählt. Da hoasts dann oft, ' ja früher war alles anders, besser! Aber war die guade alte Zeit wirklich besser? Freilich, da hieß es no ned Zuckerflash wenn die Kinder mal zvui Süßigkeiten gegessen haben ..
Und vielleicht wars a no ned so hektisch in der Vorweihnachtszeit. Schnell no alle Geschenke kaffa' ham ma a alles? ' ham ma koan vergessen? ' Hoffentlich gfallt den Kindern des a' Peter Rosegger beschreibt mit seinem 1902 geschriebenen Werk als ich noch der Waldbauernbub war seine Kindheit aus einer längst vergangenen Zeit. Menschliche Wärme und ein Schuss augenzwinkernder Humor zeugen von seiner großen Liebe zu seiner Heimat in Alpl in der Steiermark. Als ich noch der Bauernbub war darf man als das beliebteste Werk von Peter Rosegger bezeichnen. Ludwig Ganghofers Kurzgeschichte Die Mischung führt uns weg von den Bergen in eine Großstadt. In einer für Ganghofer typischen Art beschreibt er die Gewissensbisse eines kleinen Angestellten. Die drei Kurzgeschichten wurden auf einer liebevollen Weise zu einem stimmigen Hörspiel mit viel Liebe zum Detail adaptiert. Die Sprecher, die Geräusche und die Musik lassen dieses Hörspiel zu einem wahren Hörgenuss werden. Wias damals in der guaden alten Zeit, bei de einfachen Leit zuganga is, davon handeln die Geschichten.
Durch die Zeit reisen mit Bruno Preisendörfer
Als sich Wilhelm I. - von Bismarck dazu gedrängt - 1871 zum Kaiser krönen ließ, war 'sein' Berlin noch 'die einzige europäische Großstadt, in welcher wir tagtäglich an den Ufern stinkender Rinnsteine wandeln' - eine Kanalisation gab es nicht. Als Bismarck 1890 ging, waren 144 Kilometer an Kanälen gebaut und 584 Kilometer an Rohrleitungen verlegt. Was das für die Nasen der Bewohner bedeutete, kann man in diesem Hörbuch erfahren. Ähnlich ging es überall. In unglaublicher Geschwindigkeit wurden Fabriken gebaut, die Bevölkerung vervielfachte sich, das Gefälle zwischen reich und arm wuchs enorm. In Bruno Preisendörfers Zeitreise tafeln wir mit Fontane, gehen mit Marx zur Arbeiterversammlung und mit dem Kaiser zur Krönung.
Amazing Grace is the surprising true story of John Newton, author of the song that has touched millions. A biography that reads like a novel, it reveals Newton's dramatic story of sin and salvation as a slave trader before his ultimate transformation to speaking out against the horror of slavery. His story speaks to the brokenness within us all and our need for God's amazing grace-and reveals the truth behind his song.
Amazing Grace is based on years of research on the life and writings of John Newton. It tells of a prodigal who returns home, and a young love that defies the odds; of a young man whose life is torn by grief and wounded by the cruelty of others, following his descent into deeper suffering and finally into the brutal world of the slave trade. Newton rejects God repeatedly but is rescued by a divine mercy that reaches deeper than he could ever have imagined as he ultimately faces his past and repents.
Newton's story is shocking, and Amazing Grace does not try to airbrush or excuse his faults. There are glaring contradictions in the life of a ship's Captain who retreats to his cabin to study his Bible and write tender love letters to his wife while hundreds of slaves lie in chains in the hold below.
The profound lessons from his life are applicable to us today, helping us to:
- Discover that the need for grace is universal and offers the deepest hope for overcoming hatred
- Be honest about our lives even when we are ashamed and face seemingly unresolvable problems
- Look for grace when life is far from perfect and doesn't match up to our expectations
- Trust that our mistakes and regrets, no matter how deep, can be redeemed in the end
Since the first public singing of "Amazing Grace" almost 250 years ago, every generation has been profoundly moved by the song, and now readers can connect with John Newton's story like never before. In these days of extreme polarization when beliefs about race, church, and politics have all become deeply divisive in society, we need grace more than ever. We need stories like this one that talk honestly about the human condition but even more about the relentless love of God and his forgiveness of sins.
Josephine de Beauharnais began as a kept woman of Paris and became the most powerful woman in France. She was no beauty, her teeth were rotten, and she was six years older than her husband, but one twitch of her skirt could bring running the man who terrorized Europe.
The tale of Napoleon and Josephine is one of the most famous love stories in the world. With Josephine, Napoleon became the greatest man in Europe, the Supreme Emperor. And yet, envisioning Josephine as the calm consort on the sofa obscures many of the most fascinating aspects of her story. How did she rise to such an astonishing position? How did she perfect the art of the beautiful, sweet chameleon—and thus fool so many? France in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century was a country in such extreme flux that everything was accessible—and possible—but it took an incredible woman to seize the opportunities. Ambition and Desire shows how the little girl from Martinique became the Queen of France.
In 1922, three of the Irish Republican Army's top gunmen arrived in New York City seeking vengeance. Their target: 'Cruxy' O'Connor, a young Irishman who kept switching sides as revolution swept his country in the wake of World War I. Cruxy's last betrayal dealt a blow to Ireland's struggle for independence: six of his IRA comrades were killed when he told police the location of their safe house. A year later, the IRA gunned him down before a crowd of horrified New Yorkers.
Based primarily on first-hand accounts, most of them never before published, Ambush at Central Park is a cinematic exploration of the enigma of 'Cruxy' O'Connor.
Author Mark Bulik delved through Irish government archives, newspaper accounts, census data, and unpublished material from the families of the main actors. Together they add to the story of a rebel ambush, a deadly police raid, a dinner laced with poison, a daring prison break, a boatload of tommy guns, an unlikely pair of spies who fall in love, and an assassination plot against the British cabinet.
Here is a forgotten chapter of Irish and New York history: the story of the only officially authorized IRA attack on American soil.
Contains mature themes.
Join The History Journals on an hourly history tour of this pivotal era, focusing on America's entry into the war.
While World War I was once called the "war to end all wars," it wasn't long before America's young men found themselves thrust into another global conflict. On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor changed the course of history. America, previously on the sidelines, now stood shoulder to shoulder with the Allies in the fight against Hitler and the Axis powers.
Explore America's journey into World War II, uncovering the remarkable courage and bravery displayed by Americans on both domestic and foreign fronts. Learn about Hollywood's role in the war effort, the contributions of American women in factories, and the paths taken by American troops who played a pivotal role in making the world safer for future generations.
Embark on this compelling exploration of America's involvement in World War II, a turning point in history.
American Civil Wars takes listeners beyond the battlefields and sectional divides of the U.S. Civil War to view the conflict from outside the national arena of the United States. Contributors position the American conflict squarely in the context of a wider transnational crisis across the Atlantic world, marked by a multitude of civil wars, European invasions and occupations, revolutionary independence movements, and slave uprisings-all taking place in the tumultuous decade of the 1860s. The multiple conflicts described in these essays illustrate how the United States' sectional strife was caught up in a larger, complex struggle in which nations and empires on both sides of the Atlantic vied for the control of the future. These struggles were all part of a vast web, connecting not just Washington and Richmond but also Mexico City, Havana, Santo Domingo, and Rio de Janeiro and-on the other side of the Atlantic-London, Paris, Madrid, and Rome. American Civil Wars creates new connections between the uprisings and civil wars in and outside of American borders and places the United States within a global context of other nations.
Of the 6,600 paratroopers of the 101st 'Screaming Eagles' Airborne Division who parachuted into France in the early hours of 6 June 1944-D-Day-some 3,500 were listed as missing by midnight that same night. Yet it was only the beginning of their 'rendezvous with destiny.'
American Eagles is the remarkable true story of the United States 101st Airborne Division. From their rigorous training in 'Old Jolly' (England) to their first operational jump in Normandy, Charles Whiting tells the story of this 'Band of Brothers', who fought, suffered, and died in the eleven-month campaign that followed. From Normandy and Holland through to the siege of Bastogne and their final triumphant capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest in the Bavarian Alps, we gain a picture of a brave elite division which kept on getting the tough assignments.
Drawing on eyewitness accounts, painstaking research, and his own youthful experiences when his regiment was under the command of 101st Airborne in Holland, Whiting delivers a powerful account of each of the 101st's major operations during the European campaign of 1944/45. He brings to life the full horrors of war while shining a spotlight on the courage and determination of the 'Screaming Eagles' and their role in the destruction of the Nazi regime in World War Two.
