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The Resource Churchill and Orwell : the fight for freedom, Thomas E. Ricks

Churchill and Orwell : the fight for freedom, Thomas E. Ricks

Creator
Author
Narrator
Contributor
Summary
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Ricks, a dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell, whose farsighted vision and inspired action 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. It's not easy to recall now how lonely a position both men once occupied. By the late 1930's, democracy was discredited in many circles, and authoritarian rulers were everywhere in the ascent. There were some who decried the scourge of communism, but saw in Hitler and Mussolini "men we could do business with," if not in fact saviors. And there were others who saw the Nazi and fascist threat as malign, but tended to view communism as the path to salvation. Churchill and Orwell, on the other hand, had the foresight to see clearly that the issue was human freedom--that whatever its coloration, a government that denied its people basic freedoms was a totalitarian menace and had to be resisted. In the end, Churchill and Orwell proved their age's necessary men. The glorious climax of Churchill and Orwell is the work they both did in the decade of the 1940's to triumph over freedom's enemies. And though Churchill played the larger role in the defeat of Hitler and the Axis, Orwell's reckoning with the menace of authoritarian rule in Animal Farm and 1984 would define the stakes of the Cold War for its 50-year course, and continues to give inspiration to fighters for freedom to this day. Taken together, in Thomas E. Ricks's masterful hands, their lives are a beautiful testament to the power of moral conviction, and to the courage it can take to stay true to it, through thick and thin
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
Unabridged.
Extent
1 online resource (1 sound file (9 hr., 58 min., 32 sec.))
Isbn
9781524776657
Link
Instance
Label
Churchill and Orwell : the fight for freedom
Title
Churchill and Orwell
Title remainder
the fight for freedom
Statement of responsibility
Thomas E. Ricks
Creator
Contributor
Author
Narrator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Ricks, a dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell, whose farsighted vision and inspired action 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. It's not easy to recall now how lonely a position both men once occupied. By the late 1930's, democracy was discredited in many circles, and authoritarian rulers were everywhere in the ascent. There were some who decried the scourge of communism, but saw in Hitler and Mussolini "men we could do business with," if not in fact saviors. And there were others who saw the Nazi and fascist threat as malign, but tended to view communism as the path to salvation. Churchill and Orwell, on the other hand, had the foresight to see clearly that the issue was human freedom--that whatever its coloration, a government that denied its people basic freedoms was a totalitarian menace and had to be resisted. In the end, Churchill and Orwell proved their age's necessary men. The glorious climax of Churchill and Orwell is the work they both did in the decade of the 1940's to triumph over freedom's enemies. And though Churchill played the larger role in the defeat of Hitler and the Axis, Orwell's reckoning with the menace of authoritarian rule in Animal Farm and 1984 would define the stakes of the Cold War for its 50-year course, and continues to give inspiration to fighters for freedom to this day. Taken together, in Thomas E. Ricks's masterful hands, their lives are a beautiful testament to the power of moral conviction, and to the courage it can take to stay true to it, through thick and thin
Accompanying matter
technical information on music
Cataloging source
TEFOD
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Ricks, Thomas E
Dewey number
941.084092/2
Form of composition
not applicable
Format of music
not applicable
LC call number
DA566.9.C5
LC item number
R542 2017ab
Literary text for sound recordings
  • biography
  • history
Music parts
not applicable
PerformerNote
Read by James Lurie
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
  • Lurie, James
  • OverDrive, Inc
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Churchill, Winston
  • Orwell, George
  • Churchill, Winston
  • Orwell, George
  • Prime ministers
  • Authors, English
  • Fascism
  • Communism
  • World politics
  • Great Britain
Transposition and arrangement
not applicable
Label
Churchill and Orwell : the fight for freedom, Thomas E. Ricks
Link
Instantiates
Publication
Antecedent source
unknown
Capture and storage technique
digital storage
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
not applicable
Configuration of playback channels
unknown
Content category
spoken word
Content type code
  • spw
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
  • not applicable
  • unknown
Edition
Unabridged.
Extent
1 online resource (1 sound file (9 hr., 58 min., 32 sec.))
File format
unknown
Form of item
online
Groove width / pitch
not applicable
Isbn
9781524776657
Kind of cutting
not applicable
Kind of disc cylinder or tape
not applicable
Kind of material
unknown
Level of compression
unknown
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
Other physical details
digital.
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
3dc57c4d-9e75-47ce-ae2c-06c1101148a2
Quality assurance targets
not applicable
Reformatting quality
unknown
Sound
sound
Special playback characteristics
digital recording
Specific material designation
  • other
  • remote
Speed
other
System control number
  • (OCoLC)988027107
  • (OCoLC)ocn988027107
  • 1326020
Tape configuration
not applicable
Tape width
not applicable
Label
Churchill and Orwell : the fight for freedom, Thomas E. Ricks
Link
Publication
Antecedent source
unknown
Capture and storage technique
digital storage
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
not applicable
Configuration of playback channels
unknown
Content category
spoken word
Content type code
  • spw
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
  • not applicable
  • unknown
Edition
Unabridged.
Extent
1 online resource (1 sound file (9 hr., 58 min., 32 sec.))
File format
unknown
Form of item
online
Groove width / pitch
not applicable
Isbn
9781524776657
Kind of cutting
not applicable
Kind of disc cylinder or tape
not applicable
Kind of material
unknown
Level of compression
unknown
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
Other physical details
digital.
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
3dc57c4d-9e75-47ce-ae2c-06c1101148a2
Quality assurance targets
not applicable
Reformatting quality
unknown
Sound
sound
Special playback characteristics
digital recording
Specific material designation
  • other
  • remote
Speed
other
System control number
  • (OCoLC)988027107
  • (OCoLC)ocn988027107
  • 1326020
Tape configuration
not applicable
Tape width
not applicable

Subject

Genre

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