Bøger af Arthur Koestler

Darkness at Noon is set in an unnamed country ruled by a totalitarian government. Rubashov, once a powerful player in the regime, finds the tables turned on him when he is arrested and tried for treason. His reflections on his previous life and his experiences in prison form the heart of this moving and though-provoking masterpiece.

Dialogue With Death is a non-fiction book written by Arthur Koestler, first published in 1942. The book is a personal account of Koestler's imprisonment in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The author was arrested by Franco's forces and imprisoned in a jail in Seville. He was then transferred to a prison in Malaga, where he was sentenced to death. The book chronicles Koestler's experiences in prison, his interactions with his fellow prisoners, and his conversations with the prison doctor, who was also a former executioner. Throughout the book, Koestler reflects on the nature of death, morality, and the human condition. He explores the psychological impact of imprisonment and the fear of death, as well as the political and social factors that led to the Spanish Civil War. The book is a powerful and moving account of one man's struggle to come to terms with his own mortality and the horrors of war. Dialogue With Death is considered a classic of 20th-century literature and is widely regarded as one of the best books about the Spanish Civil War. It has been translated into numerous languages and has inspired many other writers and artists. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a powerful reminder of the importance of freedom and justice.This is a new release of the original 1942 edition.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Den fremstående partifunktionær og revolutionshelt Rubashov fængsles med falske anklager om kontrarevolutionær virksomhed mod partiet og dets leder, som blot omtales som nummer et, men der lades ingen tvivl om, at der er tale om Stalin og Moskvaprocesserne i 1936-38, hvor 700.000 mennesker blev henrettet i groteske skueprocesser.I de fascinerende forhør, der foretages af en ældre kammerat til Rubashov og senere af en yngre, afstumpet og brutal partisoldat, brydes argumenterne om partiloyalitet og mål, der berettiger til brug af ethvert middel, kontra det enkelte menneskes betydning og værdighed. Rubashov selv er i tvivl og ender med at tilstå de åbenlyst falske anklager mod både sig selv og andre af hensyn til den ideologi, han har kæmpet for i hele sit liv – uanset de grufulde og tilsyneladende meningsløse ofre.Bogen er en af de vigtigste politiske romaner i det 20. århundrede, idet den åbnede vestens øjne for Stalins rædselsregime, om end en stor del af venstrefløjen i de vestlige lande afviste skildringerne som usandheder. Den er oversat til 32 sprog og er nr. 8 på listen over de 100 bedste engelsksprogede romaner i det 20. århundrede hos Modern Library."Mørke midt på dagen er en isnende oplevelse, der sætter sig spor i sjælen. Læs den og få genopfrisket, hvorfor personlig samvittighed og borgerlige moralbegreber er det eneste værn, når de abstrakte mål tager magten." – Claus Agø Hansen, Fyens Stiftstidende"Det er en roman af den slags, der transcenderer almindelige begrænsninger … skrevet med en så dramatisk kraft, med sådan en varme og med så overbevisende enkelhed … Den magiske virkning af Mørke midt på dagen er dens pragtfulde tragiske ironi." – The New York Times Book Review, 1941"En sjælden og smukt udført roman." – New York Herald Tribune"Dens hovedtema vil formentlig altid virke aktuelt, fordi enhver politisk overbevisning med tiden uundgåeligt må stille sig selv spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt ædle mål kan retfærdiggøre onde midler." – Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker"En bemærkelsesværdig bog, en dyster fascinerende fortolkning af den russiske revolutions logik, faktisk af alle revolutionære diktaturer og på samme tid et intenst og subtilt intellektualiseret drama." – Times Literary Supplement"Mørke midt på dagen er skrevet ud fra frygtelig erfaring. Fra kendskab til de mænd, hvis trængsler i sind og krop, han beskriver. Foruden dens vigtige sociologiske betydning er den skrevet med en subtilitet og en økonomisering, der klassificerer den som stor litteratur. ... En af de få bøger, der er skrevet i denne epoke, og som vil overleve den." – New Statesman

Arrow in the Blue is the first volume of Arthur Koestler's autobiography. In the years before 1931, Arthur Koestler lived a tumultuous and varied existence. The second volume of Arthur Koestler's autobiography is The Invisible Writing.

Nach einem Putsch im Juli 1936 brach in Spanien der Bürgerkrieg aus, der bei vielen Intellektuellen überall in der Welt Solidarität mit der bedrohten Republik auslöste. Arthur Koestler ging zu jenen Zeiten direkt zu Anfang des Konfliktes als Kriegsberichterstatter nach Spanien. Den Fall Málagas im Februar 1937 erlebte er mit und wird gefangen genommen. Noch bevor er als Gefangener nach Sevilla verlegt wird, werden während seiner Isolierhaft, die nur fünf Tage dauerte, fünftausend Menschen erschossen. In dem Oliver Besthorn gelesenen Bericht, der als "ungewöhnliches menschliches Dokument" gilt, erzählt Koestler von dem Schicksal von Abertausenden Inhaftierten des Spanischen Bürgerkrieges.Arthur Koestler wurde 1905 in Budapest als Sohn einer deutschsprachigen jüdischen Familie geboren. 1919 zog er mit seiner Familie nach Wien, wo er ab 1992 auch Ingenieurwissenschaften, gleichzeitig mit Philosophie und Literaturwissenschaft studierte. Wegen seiner Zuneigung zum Zionismus in jener Zeit brach er das Studium jedoch ab und ging nach Palästina in einen Kibbuz, von wo er dem Ullstein-Verlag in Berlin Reportagen schickte. 1937 ging er nach Spanien als Kriegsberichterstatter des Bürgerkriegs, wo er und zum Tode verurteilt, jedoch durch einen Gefangenenaustauschs der Briten wieder freigelassen. Ab diesem Zeitpunkt lebte er in England bis zu seinem Freitod 1983.

This book traces the history of the ancient Khazar Empire, a major but almost forgotten power in Eastern Europe, which in the Dark Ages converted to Judaism. Khazaria was finally wiped out by the forces of Ghengis Khan, but evidence indicates that the Khazars themselves migrated to Poland and formed the cradle of Western Jewry.

Originally published: London: Hutchinson, 1976.

Arthur Koestler's extraordinary history of humanity's changing vision of the universeIn 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.

A new edition of Arthur Koestler's gripping tale of arrest, imprisonment, and subsequent escape to London from Nazi-occupied France.

This was the third novel of Arthur Koestler's trilogy on ends and means - the other two are THE GLADIATORS and DARKNESS AT NOON - and the first he wrote in English. The central theme is the conflict between morality and expediency, and in this novel Koestler worked it out in terms of individual psychology.

The second volume of the remarkable autobiography of Arthur Koestler, author of Darkness at Noon. Taken together, Arthur Koestler's volumes of autobiography constitute an unrivalled study of a twentieth-century life.

Arthur Koestler's first novel, set in the late Roman Republic, tells the story of the revolt of Spartacus and man's search for Utopia.