Jonathan Freedland

Escape Artist

In April 1944 a teenager named Rudolf Vrba was planning a daring and unprecedented escape from Auschwitz. After hiding in a pile of timber planks for three days while 3,000 SS men and their bloodhounds searched for him, Vrba and his fellow escapee Fred Wetzler would eventually cross Nazi-occupied Poland on foot, as penniless fugitives. Their mission: to tell the world the truth of the Final Solution. Vrba would produce from memory a breathtaking report of more than thirty pages revealing the true nature and scale of Auschwitz - a report that would find its way to Roosevelt, Churchill and the Pope, eventually saving over 200,000 Jewish lives. A thrilling history with enormous historical implications, THE ESCAPE ARTIST is the extraordinary story of a complex man who would seek escape again and again: first from Auschwitz, then from his past, even from his own name. In telling his story, Jonathan Freedland - the journalist, broadcaster and acclaimed, multi-million copy selling author of the Sam Bourne novels - ensures that Rudolf Vrba's heroic mission will also escape oblivion.

The Escape Artist

An award-winning journalist delivers a chilling and unique thriller, in which a daring reporter's investigation into her sister's death draws her into the crosshairs of enemies determined to keep their secrets safe—at any cost. The United States and China have struck a shocking bargain: In return for forgiving trillions in debt, the People’s Republic of China—now the world’s dominant global superpower—has established a permanent military presence on US soil. Years of decline have left America economically vulnerable, and evidence of China’s cultural and political dominance is everywhere. Journalist Madison Webb is obsessed with exposing the lies and corruption that have corroded her once great society. When her sister is savagely murdered, the police insist it’s an isolated crime. But Madison suspects the cops are hiding something. Digging for answers, she discovers her sister’s death may be one of many . . . and part of a dangerous conspiracy. Even though her life is on the line, Madison refuses to give up on the story. And sooner or later, she will have to confront the consequences of exposing the powerful forces intent on hiding the truth.

A Thriller

The 3rd Woman

Trzydzieści sześć dusz

On a switchback ride through the USA, riding pillion with America's founding fathers, Jonathan Freedland searches out the qualities that made America the land at the end of his childhood rainbow, the place his grandfather and he conspired to run off to because of its open promise and unbounded potential. Noisy, crass, greedy, riddled with crime, riven by race, obsessed by money: America, exporter of junk to the UK. Or is it? From Lesbianville in New Hampshire to Tent City in Arizona, from the high kitsch celebration of Liberace to the Bible Belt austerity of Iowa, from the paranoid militia of rural Montana to Florida's Condo Canyon, this is a journey to the heart of modern America -- to Normal, Illinois. On his travels Freedland reveals how Americans control of their own lives, shape their own communities and vibrantly assert their rights. And there's even a twist: the spirit that inspires the American secret is actually our own -- a British revolutionary fervour mislaid across the Atlantic. This what has made America the diverse, freedom-loving, self-sufficient, independent icon to the world: the place where socialism never took hold because it is inherent in the founding vision,

The Case for a British Republic

Bring Home the Revolution

Het fascinerende verhaal van Rudolf Vrba, de man die uit Auschwitz ontsnapte en de waarheid aan het licht bracht ‘Het levensverhaal van Rudolf Vrba vertelt niet alleen de waarheid, het toont ook de onwil en het onvermogen van mensen om het te accepteren. Het verleden is niet voorbij, en dit goed onderbouwde en meeslepende boek van Jonathan Freedland is daar het onweerlegbare bewijs van.’ Roxane van Iperen ‘Een meeslepend, hartverscheurend en uiteindelijk bevrijdend boek. […] Een moderne klassieker.’ Simon Schama April 1944. In het diepste geheim bereidt de 19-jarige Rudolf Vrba voor wat nog niemand is gelukt: ontsnappen uit Auschwitz. Drie dagen houdt hij zich schuil, terwijl duizenden SS’ers met speurhonden naar hem zoeken. Vervolgens doorkruist hij te voet het door de nazi’s bezette Polen. Zijn missie: de wereld op de hoogte brengen van de waarheid over de vernietigingskampen. Vrba schreef een adembenemend verslag waarin hij de gruwelijke praktijken uit Auschwitz onthulde. Het zou Roosevelt, Churchill en de paus bereiken en uiteindelijk het leven redden van ruim 200.000 Joden. De meesterontsnapper van Auschwitz vertelt het buitengewone levensverhaal van een man die keer op keer wist te ontsnappen: uit Auschwitz, van zijn verleden en zelfs van zijn eigen naam. Over De meesterontsnapper van Auschwitz: ‘Een briljant en hartverscheurend boek, met universele en actuele lessen over de kracht van informatie – en desinformatie. Kun je massamoord voorkomen door de waarheid te vertellen?’ Yuval Noah Harari ‘Een nieuwe klassieker binnen de Holocaust-literatuur. […] Ik kon het maar niet wegleggen.’ Antony Beevor ‘Overweldigend, spannend en ontroerend. [...] Freedland geeft Rudolf Vrba zijn rechtmatige plek in de geschiedenis.’ Simon Sebag Montefiore ‘Origineel, nauwkeurig en zeer indrukwekkend – en een in essentie uiterst tragisch verhaal.’ Philippe Sands ‘Dit boek doet recht aan zijn held en kan niet genoeg geprezen worden. Wat een prestatie.’ Philip Pullman ‘Een onmisbaar, onverstoorbaar en meedogenloos boek.’ Howard Jacobson

Rudolf Vrba, de man die uit Auschwitz ontsnapte om de wereld te informeren

De meesterontsnapper van Auschwitz

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 'Excellent . . . thrilling . . . Freedland's book is rich in the kind of details that haunt you long after you have turned the last page' Sunday Times 'A brilliant and heart-wrenching book, with universal and timely lessons about the power of information - and misinformation' Yuval Noah Harari 'A magnificent book. I could scarcely breathe at some points. What a tribute to its extraordinary hero, and it's such an important and necessary story to read . . . I can't praise it too highly. What an achievement' Philip Pullman 'An utterly gripping narrative, incorporating a restrained though harrowing picture of life in Auschwitz and a kind of heroic adventure story' Guardian 'Meticulously researched . . . shocking but thrilling, and ultimately overwhelmingly inspiring' Daily Mail 'An immediate classic of Holocaust literature . . . I literally could not put it down' Antony Beevor 'Awe inspiring, exciting and poignant, this is a thrilling read . . . a book that I couldn't put down' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'Immersive, shattering, and, ultimately redemptive book . . . an immediate modern classic' Simon Schama 'Original, meticulous and utterly compelling - and ultimately a deeply tragic tale' Philippe Sands 'A must-read stand out piece of history . . . This is Freedland at his finest' Emily Maitlis 'An indispensable, unflinching, bone-hard book' Howard Jacobson Anne Frank. Primo Levi. Oskar Schindler . . . Rudolf Vrba. In April 1944 nineteen-year-old Rudolf Vrba and fellow inmate Fred Wetzler became the first Jews ever to break out of Auschwitz. Under electrified fences and past armed watchtowers, evading thousands of SS men and slavering dogs, they trekked across marshlands, mountains and rivers to freedom. Vrba's mission: to reveal to the world the truth of the Holocaust. In the death factory of Auschwitz, Vrba had become an eyewitness to almost every chilling stage of the Nazis' process of industrialised murder. The more he saw, the more determined he became to warn the Jews of Europe what fate awaited them. A brilliant student of science and mathematics, he committed each detail to memory, risking everything to collect the first data of the Final Solution. After his escape, that information would form a priceless thirty-two-page report that would reach Roosevelt, Churchill and the pope and eventually save over 200,000 lives. But the escape from Auschwitz was not his last. After the war, he kept running - from his past, from his home country, from his adopted country, even from his own name. Few knew of the truly extraordinary deed he had done. Now, at last, Rudolf Vrba's heroism can be known - and he can take his place alongside those whose stories define history's darkest chapter.

The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World

“Awe-inspiring, exciting and poignant, this is a thrilling read, a piece of redemptive storytelling and a work of important Holocaust historical research.”—Simon Sebag Montefiore A complex hero. A forgotten story. The first witness to reveal the full truth of the Holocaust . . . Award-winning journalist and bestselling novelist Jonathan Freedland tells the incredible story of Rudolf Vrba—the first Jew to break out of Auschwitz, a man determined to warn the world and pass on a truth too few were willing to hear—elevating him to his rightful place in the annals of World War II alongside Anne Frank, Primo Levi, and Oskar Schindler and casting a new light on the Holocaust and its aftermath. People won’t believe what they can’t imagine . . . In April 1944, Rudolf Vrba became the first Jew to break out of Auschwitz—one of only four who ever pulled off that near-impossible feat. He did it to reveal the truth of the death camp to the world—and to warn the last Jews of Europe what fate awaited them at the end of the railway line. Against all odds, he and his fellow escapee, Fred Wetzler, climbed mountains, crossed rivers and narrowly missed German bullets until they had smuggled out the first full account of Auschwitz the world had ever seen—a forensically detailed report that would eventually reach Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and the Pope. And yet too few heeded the warning that Vrba—then just nineteen years old—had risked everything to deliver. Some could not believe it. Others thought it easier to keep quiet. Vrba helped save 200,000 Jewish lives—but he never stopped believing it could have been so many more. This is the story of a brilliant yet troubled man—a gifted “escape artist” who even as a teenager understand that the difference between truth and lies can be the difference between life and death, a man who deserves to take his place alongside Anne Frank, Oskar Schindler and Primo Levi as one of the handful of individuals whose stories define our understanding of the Holocaust.

Surveying the political cultures of the UK and the US, this book questions why America has such a strong influence over the United Kingdom. It seeks to select the American influences that will genuinely enhance life in the UK, rather than diminish it.

The first two murders went unnoticed. The third will change everything. . . . She can't save her sister. Journalist Madison Webb is obsessed with exposing lies and corruption. But she never thought she'd be investigating her own sister's murder. She can't trust the police. Madison refuses to accept the official line that Abigail's death was an isolated crime. She uncovers evidence that suggests her sister was the third victim in a series of killings hushed up as part of a major conspiracy. She can expose the truth. In a United States that now bows before the People's Republic of China, corruption is rife—the government dictates what the "truth" is. With her life on the line, Madison must give up her quest for justice—or face the consequences. . . .

Andrzej Szulc

Marcin Stopa

Piotr Lewiński

Elżbieta Zychowicz

Reader's Digest Przegląd

Wybraniec

Jonathan Freedland looks on as his eight-day-old son is about to be circumcised and admitted into the 'Covenant of Abraham'. So begins a search for the meaning of his son's inheritance - and an epic journey into the nature of this, the world's oldest civilisation. What has Freedland done by enlisting his son into the Jewish people? What gift - or burden - has he given him? Freedland digs deep into his own family's past, telling the story of three remarkable people, each of whom came up with radically different answers to a quintessentially modern dilemma- how to live as a minority in the modern world. Rich in both human drama and reflection, Jacob's Gift is the story of this quest, and a delightful meditation on belonging.

Jonathan Freedland

About

Books

Join the club