Best Selling Books by Adam Hochschild

The 25th Anniversary Edition, with a foreword by Barbara Kingsolver "An enthralling story . . . A work of history that reads like a novel." — Christian Science Monitor “As Hochschild’s brilliant book demonstrates, the great Congo scandal prefigured our own times . . . This book must be read and reread.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist * A New York Times Notable Book In the late nineteenth century, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium carried out a brutal plundering of the territory surrounding the Congo River. Ultimately slashing the area’s population by ten million, he still managed to shrewdly cultivate his reputation as a great humanitarian. A tale far richer than any novelist could invent, King Leopold’s Ghost is the horrifying account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions. It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who defied Leopold: African rebel leaders who fought against hopeless odds and a brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and young idealists who went to Africa for work or adventure but unexpectedly found themselves witnesses to a holocaust and participants in the twentieth century’s first great human rights movement.

In this riveting and suspenseful New York Times best-selling book, Adam Hochschild brings WWI to life as never before... World War I was supposed to be the “war to end all wars.” Over four long years, nations around the globe were sucked into the tempest, and millions of men died on the battlefields. To this day, the war stands as one of history’s most senseless spasms of carnage, defying rational explanation. To End All Wars focuses on the long-ignored moral drama of the war’s critics, alongside its generals and heroes. Many of these dissenters were thrown in jail for their opposition to the war, from a future Nobel Prize winner to an editor behind bars who distributed a clandestine newspaper on toilet paper. These critics were sometimes intimately connected to their enemy hawks: one of Britain’s most prominent women pacifist campaigners had a brother who was commander in chief on the Western Front. Two well-known sisters split so bitterly over the war that they ended up publishing newspapers that attacked each other. Hochschild forces us to confront the big questions: Why did so many nations get so swept up in the violence? Why couldn’t cooler heads prevail? And can we ever avoid repeating history?

National Bestseller • One of the year''s most acclaimed works of nonfiction A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, Chicago Tribune, Kirkus, New York Post, Fast Company From legendary historian Adam Hochschild, a "masterly" (New York Times) reassessment of the overlooked but startlingly resonant period between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when the foundations of American democracy were threatened by war, pandemic, and violence fueled by battles over race, immigration, and the rights of labor The nation was on the brink. Mobs burned Black churches to the ground. Courts threw thousands of people into prison for opinions they voiced—in one notable case, only in private. Self-appointed vigilantes executed tens of thousands of citizens’ arrests. Some seventy-five newspapers and magazines were banned from the mail and forced to close. When the government stepped in, it was often to fan the flames. This was America during and after the Great War: a brief but appalling era blighted by lynchings, censorship, and the sadistic, sometimes fatal abuse of conscientious objectors in military prisons—a time whose toxic currents of racism, nativism, red-baiting, and contempt for the rule of law then flowed directly through the intervening decades to poison our own. It was a tumultuous period defined by a diverse and colorful cast of characters, some of whom fueled the injustice while others fought against it: from the sphinxlike Woodrow Wilson, to the fiery antiwar advocates Kate Richards O’Hare and Emma Goldman, to labor champion Eugene Debs, to a little-known but ambitious bureaucrat named J. Edgar Hoover, and to an outspoken leftwing agitator—who was in fact Hoover’s star undercover agent. It is a time that we have mostly forgotten about, until now. In American Midnight, award-winning historian Adam Hochschild brings alive the horrifying yet inspiring four years following the U.S. entry into the First World War, spotlighting forgotten repression while celebrating an unforgettable set of Americans who strove to fix their fractured country—and showing how their struggles still guide us today.

For some 30 years, Adam Hochschild''s voice has been one of the most distinctive in American journalism. With grace and wit, he has brought to a startling variety of subjects a combination of adventurous reporting and personal honesty. Hochschild''s readers can count on an unobtrusive erudition, a sense of justice, and an irrepressible curiosity about life. Admirers of Hochschild''s Half the Way Home: A Memoir of Father and Son will find in these articles the same warm autobiographical voice that made that book so memorable: He revisits his time as a civil rights worker in Mississippi, as a New England prep school student, and as a teenager seeing apartheid firsthand in South Africa. But readers will find much more as well: profiles of an adoptive Gypsy and of a governor general''s son turned revolutionary, essays about Ernest Hemingway and John F. Kennedy, a journey to one of the most remote corners of the Amazon rain forest, and a remarkable evocation of two of Hochschild''s personal heroes—who, in hillside trenches at the height of the Russian Civil War, faced each other across a battlefield.

In this rich collection, bestselling author Adam Hochschild has selected and updated over two dozen essays and pieces of reporting from his long career. Threaded through them all is his concern for social justice and the people who have fought for it. The articles here range from a California gun show to a Finnish prison, from a Congolese center for rape victims to the ruins of gulag camps in the Soviet Arctic, from a stroll through construction sites with an ecologically pioneering architect in India to a day on the campaign trail with Nelson Mandela. Hochschild also talks about the writers he loves, from Mark Twain to John McPhee, and explores such far-reaching topics as why so much history is badly written, what bookshelves tell us about their owners, and his front-row seat for the shocking revelation in the 1960s that the CIA had been secretly controlling dozens of supposedly independent organizations. With the skills of a journalist, the knowledge of a historian, and the heart of an activist, Hochschild shares the stories of people who took a stand against despotism, spoke out against unjust wars and government surveillance, and dared to dream of a better and more just world.

A New York Times Notable Book: “An extraordinarily moving portrait of the complexities and confusions of familial love” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times). From the author of King Leopold’s Ghost, Half the Way Home is a compelling memoir about a complicated father-son relationship. Adam Hochschild never used the words “Dad” or “Daddy,” just “Father.” The only son of Harold Hochschild—the head of a multinational mining corporation—Adam always felt as though his father remained purposefully at a distance—a demanding, immovable pillar to be respected and sometimes feared. Here, in lyrical prose, Hochschild recounts his privileged upbringing at his family’s estate in the Adirondacks, his coming-of-age in the tumultuous 1960s, and his enduringly conflicted relationship with his father. But as a boy grows into a man, times change and perspectives shift, and a chance for reconciliation emerges from the space between. Hailed by Studs Terkel as “an exquisite memoir of a boy growing up,” Half the Way Home is ultimately the story of a father and his son, and the unexpected peace finally made between them. “It is a primer on the upper class and on class itself, a series of meditations on the burden of wealth to the liberal consciousness and even a commentary on what it means to be a Jew in America. . . . This is a fine and moving book” (People).

Until glasnost, nobody in the USSR could speak or write about the genocide which occured under Stalin''s regime. In this book the author speaks to many people coming to terms with repressed memories as a result of the mass abuse of human rights.

This is the story of a handful of men, led by Thomas Clarkson, who defied the slave trade and ignited the first great human rights movement. Beginning in 1788, a group of Abolitionists moved the cause of anti-slavery from the floor of Parliament to the homes of 300,000 people boycotting Caribbean sugar, and gave a platform to freed slaves.

Publisher Description

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. A sweeping history of the Spanish Civil War, told through a dozen characters, including Hemingway and George Orwell: A tale of idealism, heartbreaking suffering, and a noble cause that failed. For three crucial years in the 1930s, the Spanish Civil War dominated headlines in America and around the world, as volunteers flooded to Spain to help its democratic government fight off a fascist uprising led by Francisco Franco and aided by Hitler and Mussolini. Today we''re accustomed to remembering the war through Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls and Robert Capa’s photographs. But Adam Hochschild has discovered some less familiar yet far more compelling characters who reveal the full tragedy and importance of the war: a fiery nineteen-year-old Kentucky woman who went to wartime Spain on her honeymoon, a Swarthmore College senior who was the first American casualty in the battle for Madrid, a pair of fiercely partisan, rivalrous New York Times reporters who covered the war from opposites sides, and a swashbuckling Texas oilman with Nazi sympathies who sold Franco almost all his oil — at reduced prices, and on credit. It was in many ways the opening battle of World War II, and we still have much to learn from it. Spain in Our Hearts is Adam Hochschild at his very best. “With all due respect to Orwell, Spain in Our Hearts should supplant Homage to Catalonia as the best introduction to the conflict written in English. A humane and moving book."—New Republic “Excellent and involving . . . What makes [Hochschild’s] book so intimate and moving is its human scale.” — Dwight Garner, New York Times

Prologue: Tumult at Carnegie Hall -- Tsar and queen -- Magic land -- City of the world -- Missionary to the slums -- Cinderella of the sweatshops -- Distant thunder -- Island paradise -- A tall, shamblefooted man -- By ballot or bullet -- A key to the gates of heaven -- Not the rose I thought she was -- I didn''t raise my boy to be a soldier -- Let the guilty be shot at once -- All my life I have been preparing to meet this -- Waves against a cliff -- The springtime of revolution? -- No peaceful tent in no man''s land -- Love is always justified.

Photographs taken by Guy Tillim between December 2002 and September 2003 convey not only the tragedy of the land and people of today''s République démocratique du Congo, but evoke the ghosts of the Congo Free State when King Leopold II''s conquest and pillaging of the land and enslavement of its people reduced the population by nearly half. The Congo became the focus for one of the earliest human rights movements in the late 19th-early 20th century. The photographs and essay by Adam Hochschild suggest that Leopold''s spirit lived and live on in familiar forms.

«Questo studio senza paragoni rivela in che modo l''Europa e gli Stati Uniti contribuirono all''olocausto del popolo congolese compiuto da re Leopoldo II.» Nadine Gordimer «Tutto il ritmo e l''azione di un grande romanzo. » Robert Harris «Un''approfondita ricostruzione della crudeltà e dell''avidità che furono il motore dell’avventura europea in Africa. » Mario Vargas Llosa Sul finire del xix secolo, mentre le grandi potenze europee si spartiscono il continente africano, re Leopoldo ii del Belgio si impossessa di un vasto e inesplorato territorio lungo il fiume Congo. E mentre a livello internazionale si costruisce una reputazione di grande filantropo, dà in realtà inizio a una delle più brutali colonizzazioni della storia riducendo in schiavitù la popolazione locale, saccheggiandone le ricchezze e portando avanti un genocidio che costa la vita a oltre dieci milioni di persone. Gli spettri del Congo è il racconto di un uomo dalla crudeltà megalomane e mostruosa, ma è anche il ritratto commovente di quanti hanno avuto il coraggio di combatterlo. Porta infatti alla luce le gesta eroiche di missionari, viaggiatori, idealisti diventati testimoni del terribile olocausto: da Edmund Morel, il giovane dipendente di una compagnia di navigazione diventato guida del movimento internazionale di protesta, a George Williams e William Sheppard, i due coraggiosi afroamericani che a rischio di enormi pericoli hanno mostrato al mondo le prove di quanto stava succedendo in quella regione dell’Africa. Con grande forza Adam Hochschild pone nuovamente sotto gli sguardi e le coscienze dell’Occidente una tragedia troppo a lungo dimenticata, che scava alle origini del razzismo e del colonialismo di oggi.

En el tránsito del siglo xix al xx, cuando las potencias europeas se repartían África, el rey Leopoldo II de Bélgica llevó a cabo un brutal saqueo del territorio que rodeaba el río Congo. Aunque acabó reduciendo en diez millones de personas la población de la zona, consiguió cultivar con astucia su fama de persona muy humanitaria. El fantasma del rey Leopoldo, relato de una riqueza mucho mayor de lo que cualquier novelista podría inventar, es la descripción horripilante de un megalomaníaco de proporciones monstruosas. Y es también el retrato conmovedor de quienes desafiaron a Leopoldo: los dirigentes rebeldes africanos que lucharon a la desesperada y un puñado de valientes misioneros, viajeros y jóvenes idealistas que fueron a África en busca de trabajo o aventura pero acabaron siendo inesperadamente testigos de un holocausto y participantes en el primer movimiento del siglo xx a favor de los derechos humanos.

In einem spannenden Epos lässt Hochschild diesen Krieg, dessen Echo bis in unsere Zeit nachhallt, anschaulich, lebensnah und erschütternd wie nie zuvor lebendig werden. Er richtet seinen Blick auf das Kriegsgeschehen und die diplomatischen Verwicklungen der großen Mächte. Im Zentrum der Darstellung stehen nicht nur die prominenten Befürworter des Krieges (u.?a. Rudyard Kipling, H. G. Wells, Conan Doyle und John Galsworthy); viele, wenig beachtete Kritiker und Gegner aus allen Schichten kommen zu Wort. Zahlreiche meisterhafte Porträts von Kaiser Wilhelm II., Kaiser Franz Joseph, den Romanows und der -Generäle wie von Hindenburg, von Moltke, Ludendorff, French, Haig, Milner und des jungen Churchill runden das Panorama ab. Hunderte von Soldatenfriedhöfen säumen die Felder in Belgien und Frankreich; dort kamen Millionen Soldaten in dem Krieg ums Leben, der allen Kriegen ein Ende machen sollte. Gelingt es uns, die Wiederholung dieser Geschichte zu vermeiden?

Un libro fundamental para entender el alcance internacional de la Guerra Civil Española. ¿Qué motiva a alguien para luchar por un país que no es el suyo? Desde los primeros compases de la Guerra Civil Española, esta se convirtió en una cuestión política internacional. Hitler y Mussolini enviaron aviones, tropas y suministros a los generales golpistas empeñados en derrocar al gobierno electo de España. Ante esta situación, millones de personas en todo el mundo sintieron que el fascismo que asolaba Europa debía ser detenido en España. Más de 35.000 voluntarios de decenas de países ayudaron a defender la República española. Hochschild, el aclamado autor de El fantasma del rey Leopoldo, evoca este período tumultuoso a través de las vidas de los estadounidenses involucrados en la guerra, entre los que se encontraban ciudadanos anónimos e intelectuales de la talla de Ernest Hemingway. España en el corazón muestra cómo las atrocidades de la guerra calaron en el espíritu de los voluntarios y se reflejaron en sus palabras. Este libro muestra cómo un grupo de personas lidió con la guerra y la interpretó para sus contemporáneos; y cómo, en especial el periodismo y la correspondencia entre personas influyentes, modelaron la dirección y el resultado de la contienda. "Los hombres de mi generación hemos tenido a España en nuestros corazones", escribía Camus en L''Espagne Libre, dando título a este elegante compendio de diarios de soldados, memorias periodísticas, reportajes, estrategias de batalla y cartas de amor tempestuosas.

Op 22 mei 1787 besluiten twaalf bevlogen mannen in een Londense drukkerij een protest te organiseren voor de afschaffing van de slavernij. Directe aanleiding was het nieuws dat honderddrieëndertig zieke slaven over boord waren gezet zodat de eigenaar de verzekeringspremie kon innen. Het zou het begin zijn van de eerste mensenrechtencampagne in de westerse wereld. Aan de hand van de dagboeken van een journalist en de logboeken van een kapitein van een slavenschip laat Adam Hochschild zien hoe een aantal spraakmakende gebeurtenissen de publieke opinie deed omslaan en hoe de tegenstanders erin slaagden een protest te ontketenen dat wereldwijd uiteindelijk tot afschaffing van de slavernij zou leiden.

Van de Eerste Wereldoorlog zijn de begraafplaatsen en loopgraven in Noord-Frankrijk en België de trieste, stille getuigen. In Verzet en eendracht brengt Adam Hochschild de persoonlijke verhalen achter deze gruwelijke oorlog tot leven. Hij portretteert de oorlogshelden, maar vertelt ook de lang genegeerde drama’s van de tegenstanders, onder wie een toekomstige Nobelprijswinnaar en een redacteur die een krant op wc-papier uitgaf voor zijn medegevangenen die vanwege hun verzet achter de tralies zaten. Hochschild geeft een veelzijdig beeld van een oorlog die aan alle oorlogen een einde had moeten maken. Door de beschrijvingen van de levens van de historische personen leest Verzet en eendracht als een roman.

Un relato emocionante de la primera campaña popular en favor de los derechohumanos, que dio la libertad a cientos de miles de esclavos en todo el mundo, por el autor de El fantasma del rey Leopoldo.En 1787, doce hombres se reunieron en una imprenta londinense para acometer una tarea aparentemente impracticable: acabar con la esclavitud en el mayor imperio de la Tierra. De paso serían los primeros en aplicar la mayoría de los instrumentos a los que recurren hoy día los ciudadanos activistas, desde los carteles y los envíos masivos de correo hasta los boicots y las chapas de solapa. Este grupo de personas de gran talento aunaba el odio a la injusticia con una rara habilidad para promocionar su causa. Al cabo de cinco años, más de 300.000 británicos se negaban a consumir el principal producto de origen esclavo (el azúcar), la clase elegante de Londres se adornaba con insignias antiesclavistas creadas por Josiah Wedgwood, y la Cámara de los Comunes había aprobado la primera ley que prohibía la trata de esclavos.Sin embargo, la Cámara de los Lores, donde los partidarios de la esclavitud eran más poderosos, votaron en contra del proyecto de ley.Enterrad las cadenas rebosa en descripciones de situaciones evocadoras, gran dramatismo y matizados retratos de héroes escasamente encomiados y malvados pintorescos. Una vez más, Adam Hochschild presta por fin a un hecho histórico decisivo y poco reconocido toda la atención que se merece.Adam Hochschild (Nueva York, 1942) ha escrito para The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, New York Review of Books, New York Times Magazine, Nation y otras publicaciones. Fue también cofundador de la revista Mother Jones. Es autor de diversos libros, entre los que destacan Half the Way Home: A Memoir of Father and Son y sobre todo El fantasma del rey Leopoldo (Península).

Dans les années 1880, le roi Léopold II de Belgique s''empare à titre personnel de l''immense bassin du fleuve Congo, afin de faire main basse sur ses prodigieuses richesses. Réduite en esclavage, la population est soumise au travail forcé, subit tortures et mutilations, au point qu''on estime à dix millions le nombre de victimes africaines du monarque et de ses serviteurs. Au début du XXe siècle, des voix s''élèvent contre ces atrocités. Edmund Dene Morel et à sa suite une poignée de chefs rebelles, de voyageurs, de missionnaires et d''idéalistes vont donner naissance au premier mouvement international de défense des droits de l''homme et l''emporter sur le souverain mégalomane.

Le 1er juillet 1916 débutait la bataille de la Somme, la bataille la plus sanglante de la Grande Guerre, avec près de 20 000 morts dès le premier jour. Joe Sacco a voulu raconter cette terrible journée dans une fresque de plus de 7 mètres de long. Ce livre panorama est accompagné d''un livret écrit par l''historien américain Adam Hochschild qui explique heure par heure le déroulement de cette journée historique. Il est rédigé en français et en allemand.