Historian Adam Hochschild traces the patriotic fervor that catapulted Great Britain into war during the summer of 1914 — as well as the small, but determined British pacifist movement — in his historical narrative To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918.
Poet Billy Collins revels in his love of words, while debut novelist Cara Hoffman brings poetry to a murder mystery. In nonfiction, historian Adam Hochschild takes a fresh look at WWI, former CIA operative Robert Baer tells the story of his marriage to another spy, and Alexandra Styron comes to terms with her famous novelist father, William Styron.
2011 was a terrific year for fiction — both from first-time novelists and much-decorated veterans. Maureen Corrigan's recommendations range from Karen Russell's dazzling debut, to David Foster Wallace's posthumously published novel, to what may be the Sept. 11 novel.
Historian Adam Hochschild traces the patriotic fervor that catapulted Great Britain into war during the summer of 1914 — as well as the small, but determined British pacifist movement — in his historical narrative To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918.
Adam Hochschild's pensive narrative history, To End All Wars, focuses on those who fought — and also on those who refused. Hochschild is a master at chronicling how prevailing cultural opinion is formed and, less frequently, how it's challenged.
by NPR Staff
In 1914, thousands of soldiers eagerly boarded trains across Europe to fight in World War I; they thought it would be a quick and easy battle. Five years later, more than 8 million troops were dead and countless families were split apart. Author Adam Hochschild explores those divisions in his book To End All Wars.
Two hundred years ago, Great Britain outlawed the African slave trade throughout its massive empire. Events are being held all month to mark the bicentennial. Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves, offers his insights.
The slave trade was abolished in the British colonies 200 years ago this year. The film Amazing Grace commemorates the event. Writer Adam Hochschild discusses the birth of the abolitionist movement in Great Britain.
Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan lists her favorite books of 2005, including novels by Mary Gaitskill and Kazuo Ishiguro, and memoirs by Joan Didion and J.R. Moehringer.
by Adam Hochschild
Author Adam Hochschild works with a clear cast of villains and heroes in this history of the abolitionist movement in Britain.
Tony Cox and Adam Hochschild
Certain events in history people just know — in Great Britain, its well-known that the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. In America, Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation in 1863, ending slavery. But few know that seminal event came decades after Britain had already cut its ties to the slave trade. NPR's Tony Cox talks with Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves, about that moment in British history and the impact it had on the emancipation movement in America.
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