The story of the transport, known as "Kasztner's Train" that carried 1, 676 Jewish men women and children from Budapest and its environs out of immediate danger, and eventually to freedom is one of the most compelling and thought-provoking episodes of the Holocaust. The Jews of Hungary were the last remaining large group of Jews left in Europe. Although subjected to anti-Jewish decrees and acts of violence, they remained mostly intact. That changed in March 1944 when the Nazis, afraid that...

During World War II, Robert St. John of NBC, broadcast from London opposite CBS's Edward R. Murrow. Afterward, St. John would become a noted writer and commentator on world affairs, as well as a prominent and vocal supporter of the state of Israel. In Merchant of Words: The Life of Robert St. John, Terry Fred Horowitz not only documents St. John’s accomplishments and adventures but takes readers behind the scenes with St. John, who, for over three quarters of a century, served as a firstha...

Historical recordings of actors from the beginning of the recording era. CD 1: Historical Shakespeare performances by Ainley, John Barrymore, Bourchier, Casson, Forbes-Robertson, John Geilgud (1920s and 1940s). CD 2: A miscellany. Some startling historical performances in a wide range of works from Edith Evans, Charles Laughton, Noel Coward, Sarah Bernhardt, Fred Terry, Laurel and Hardy, Edwin Booth, Bransby Williams, Jean Cocteau, Feodor Chaliapin and others.

Over the course of his 60 years, Christopher Hitchens has been a citizen of both the United States and the United Kingdom. He has been both a socialist opposed to the war in Vietnam and a supporter of the U.S. war against Islamic extremism in Iraq. He has been both a foreign correspondent in some of the world's most dangerous places and a legendary bon vivant with an unquenchable thirst for alcohol and literature. He is a fervent atheist, raised as a Christian, by a mother whose Jewish her...

"All first-rate criticism first defines what we are confronting," the late, great jazz critic Whitney Balliett once wrote. By that measure, the essays of Christopher Hitchens are in the first tier. For nearly four decades, Hitchens has been telling us, in pitch-perfect prose, what we confront when we grapple with first principles-the principles of reason and tolerance and skepticism that define and inform the foundations of our civilization-principles that, to endure, must be defended anew...

Shortlisted for the 2012 Orwell Prize'As soon as we abandon our own reason', wrote Bertrand Russell, 'and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our troubles.'For over forty years, Christopher Hitchens has proclaimed truth where others have spun falsehood and written, with passionate commitment, on matters that others fear to broach. This volume of essays encompasses Hitchens' writing over the past decade ...

The first and best compendium of facts weirder than fiction, of intriguing information and must-talk-about trivia has spawned many imitators – but none as addictive or successful.For nearly three decades the editors researched curious facts, unusual statistics and the incredible stories behind them. The most entertaining and informative of these have been brought together in this edition.

  "Peter Worthington's journey through history has been Homeric. He writes the way journalists were meant to write, with immediacy, clarity and courage." ~ William F. Buckley Jr. Outspoken and colourful, legendary Canadian journalist Peter Worthington stirred controversy for nearly 60 years until his death in May, 2013. In this absorbing account of his career as a journalist, newspaper editor, and political activist, Worthington chal...

A selection of Robert Fisk's finest 'Comment' pieces from the Saturday ‘Independent’.Robert Fisk has amassed a devoted readership over the years, with his insightful, witty and always outspoken articles on international politics and mankind’s war-torn recent history. He is best known for his writing about the Middle East, its wars, dictators and international relations, but these ‘Comment’ articles cover an array of topics, from his soldier grandfather to handwriting to the titanic...

Three of the most provocative and thought-provoking works of the great Christopher Hitchens, now available in one volume.god Is Not GreatThis provocative international bestseller is the ultimate case against religion. In a series of acute readings of the major religious texts, Christopher Hitchens demonstrates the ways in which religion is man-made, dangerously sexually repressive and distorts the very origins of the cosmos. Above all, Hitchens argues that t...

Some samples: 1) When the United States was fighting the war in Vietnam, a sergeant wrote famed photographer Yousuf Karsh and requested a copy of a portrait that he had taken of Eleanor Roosevelt. Mr. Karsh wondered why a young man would be interested in a portrait of a woman who had been First Lady before he was born, so he wrote the soldier. As it turned out, the soldier was not young, but instead he was a career soldier who had been wounded in the Korean War. Ms. Roosevelt had visited h...

The author of the The Children’s Blizzard delivers an epic work of twentieth century history through the riveting story of one extraordinary Jewish familyIn tracing the roots of this family—his own family—Laskin captures the epic sweep of the twentieth century. A modern-day scribe, Laskin honors the traditions, the lives, and the choices of his ancestors: revolutionaries and entrepreneurs, scholars and farmers, tycoons and truck drivers. The Family