John Kampfner

READ JOHN KAMPFNERS NEW BOOK: IN SEARCH OF BERLIN: THE STORY OF A REINVENTED CITY***THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***BOOK OF THE YEAR IN GUARDIAN, ECONOMIST & NEW STATESMANExcellent and provocative... a passionate, timely book.Sunday TimesA fine new book... thoughtful, deeply reported and impeccably even-handed.The TimesEmerging from a collection of city states 150 years ago, no other country has had as turbulent a history as Germany or enjoyed so much prosperity in such a short time frame. Today, as much of the world succumbs to authoritarianism and democracy is undermined from its heart, Germany stands as a bulwark for decency and stability.Mixing personal journey and anecdote with compelling empirical evidence, this is a critical and entertaining exploration of the country many in the West still love to hate. Raising important questions for our post-Brexit landscape, Kampfner asks why, despite its faults, Germany has become a model for others to emulate, while Britain fails to tackle contemporary challenges. Part memoir, part history, part travelogue, Why the Germans Do It Better is a rich and witty portrait of an eternally fascinating country.

A masterful portrait of one of the world's greatest cities... A must-read' PETER FRANKOPAN'Such a delightful read' KATJA HOYER, The Times'Berlin may well be Europe's most enigmatic city and John Kampfner is the ideal guide.' JONATHAN FREEDLAND, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Escape Artist'Gripping' Financial TimesNo other city has had so many lives, survived so many disasters and has reinvented itself so many times. No other city is like Berlin.Ever since John Kampfner was a young journalist in Communist East Berlin, he hasn't been able to get the city out of his mind. It is a place tortured by its past, obsessed with memories, a place where traumas are unleashed and the traumatised have gathered. Over the past four years Kampfner has walked the length and breadth of Berlin, delving into the archives, and talking to historians and writers, architects and archaeologists.He clambers onto a fallen statue of Lenin; he rummages in boxes of early Medieval bones; he learns about the cabaret star so outrageous she was thrown out of the city. Berlin has been a military barracks, industrial powerhouse, centre of learning, hotbed of decadence - and the laboratory for the worst experiment in horror known to man. Now a city of refuge, it is home to 180 nationalities, and more than a quarter of the population has a migrant background.Berlin never stands still. It is never satisfied. But it is now the irresistible capital to which the world is gravitating.In Search of Berlin is an 800-year story, a dialogue between past and present; it is a new way of looking at this turbulent and beguiling city on its never-ending journey of reinvention.

A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023LONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 ONDAATJE PRIZEA masterful portrait of one of the worlds greatest cities... A must-read PETER FRANKOPANSuch a delightful read KATJA HOYER, The TimesBerlin may well be Europes most enigmatic city and John Kampfner is the ideal guide. JONATHAN FREEDLAND, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Escape ArtistGrippingFinancial TimesNo other city has had so many lives, survived so many disasters and has reinvented itself so many times. No other city is like Berlin.Ever since John Kampfner was a young journalist in Communist East Berlin, he hasnt been able to get the city out of his mind. It is a place tortured by its past, obsessed with memories, a place where traumas are unleashed and the traumatised have gathered.Over the past four years Kampfner has walked the length and breadth of Berlin, delving into the archives, and talking to historians and writers, architects and archaeologists. He clambers onto a fallen statue of Lenin; he rummages in boxes of early Medieval bones; he learns about the cabaret star so outrageous she was thrown out of the city.Berlin has been a military barracks, industrial powerhouse, centre of learning, hotbed of decadence - and the laboratory for the worst experiment in horror known to man. Now a city of refuge, it is home to 180 nationalities, and more than a quarter of the population has a migrant background. Berlin never stands still. It is never satisfied. But it is now the irresistible capital to which the world is gravitating.In Search of Berlin is an 800-year story, a dialogue between past and present; it is a new way of looking at this turbulent and beguiling city on its never-ending journey of reinvention.

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Emerging from a collection of city states 150 years ago, no other country has had as turbulent a history as Germany or enjoyed so much prosperity in such a short time frame. Today, as much of the world succumbs to authoritarianism and democracy is undermined from its heart, Germany stands as a bulwark for decency and stability.Mixing personal journey and anecdote with compelling empirical evidence, this is a critical and entertaining exploration of the country many in the West still love to hate. Raising important questions for our post-Brexit landscape, Kampfner asks why, despite its faults, Germany has become a model for others to emulate, while Britain fails to tackle contemporary challenges. Part memoir, part history, part travelogue, Why the Germans Do It Better is a rich and witty portrait of an eternally fascinating country.

No Prime Minister in modern times has led Britain into as many wars as Tony Blair. In seven years in office he has committed soldiers to action in Kosovo, in Operation Desert Fox against Iraq, in Sierra Leone and Afghanistan -- and, most controversially, in the final battle with Saddam Hussein in 2003. It has been a dramatic course of action for a man who, until he won the 1997 General Election, showed only a rudimentary understanding of the workings of foreign policy. Combining page-turning narrative and revelation with an analysis of the philosophy underlying his adventures abroad, BLAIR''S WARS shows how this government has sought to be at the forefront of a new and turbulent world order. Putting the reader into the ''smoke-filled rooms'' of Whitehall and Washington where the real decision-making takes place, John Kampfner draws on his unparalleled contacts within and outside government to provide a compelling account of the tensions, rivalries, deal-making and back-stabbing that have accompanied inexorable acquisition of foreign-policy control.

Surgido de un conjunto de ciudades-estado hace 150 años, ningún otro país ha tenido una historia tan turbulenta como Alemania ni ha disfrutado de tanta prosperidad en tan poco tiempo. Hoy en día, cuando gran parte del mundo sucumbe al autoritarismo y la democracia es socavada desde su corazon, Alemania se erige como baluarte de la decencia y la estabilidad.Mezclando viajes personales y anecdotas con convincentes pruebas empiricas, se trata de una exploracion critica y entretenida del pais que muchos en Occidente todavia aman odiar. Planteando importantes cuestiones para nuestro panorama post-Brexit, Kampfner se pregunta por que, a pesar de sus defectos, Alemania se ha convertido en un modelo a imitar por los demas, mientras que Gran Bretaña no consigue afrontar los retos contemporaneos. En parte memoria, en parte historia, en parte diario de viaje, Por que los alemanes lo hacen mejor es un retrato rico e ingenioso de un pais eternamente fascinante.

Surgido de un conjunto de ciudades-estado hace 150 años, ningún otro país ha tenido una historia tan turbulenta como Alemania ni ha disfrutado de tanta prosperidad en tan poco tiempo. Hoy en día, cuando gran parte del mundo sucumbe al autoritarismo y la democracia es socavada desde su corazon, Alemania se erige como baluarte de la decencia y la estabilidad. Mezclando viajes personales y anecdotas con convincentes pruebas empiricas, se trata de una exploracion critica y entretenida del pais que muchos en Occidente todavia aman odiar. Planteando importantes cuestiones para nuestro panorama post-Brexit, Kampfner se pregunta por que, a pesar de sus defectos, Alemania se ha convertido en un modelo a imitar por los demas, mientras que Gran Bretaña no consigue afrontar los retos contemporaneos. En parte memoria, en parte historia, en parte diario de viaje, ?Por que los alemanes lo hacen mejor? es un retrato rico e ingenioso de un pais eternamente fascinante.

At a time when politics and government feel so broken in so many parts of the world, this is a dose of optimism amid the gloom; stunning examples of people and places where courage has led to real change for the better. Alastair CampbellAt a time when democracies seem paralyzed by fear and populations are turning inward, award-winning journalist John Kampfner travels to ten countries confronting our shared challenges with bravery and imagination.In Japan, he discovers inter-generational care homes ensuring dignity in later life - while Britain ducks the social care question. He visits Viennas century-old housing projects where 60% of residents live in subsidised accommodation without stigma and communities thrive. Taiwans health system achieves 90% patient satisfaction at a fraction of the cost of the NHS. From Moroccan solar panels in the Sahara producing enough clean energy to power two million homes to Finnish classrooms preparing children for an uncertain world that Britains teaching-to-the-test system cannot match - Kampfner introduces us to the people making radical change happen.These arent utopias. But what unites them is a refusal to accept that difficult problems are unsolvable. The countries showing true innovation are often those with their backs against the wall - not wealthy nations assuming they have all the answers. Braver New World is an urgent reminder that solutions exist. The question is whether we have the courage to learn.

Varios gobiernos de todo el mundo han hecho un nuevo pacto con sus pueblos: la represión se limita a unos cuantos ciudadanos que cuestionan abiertamente el statu quo. El resto de la población puede gozar de libertad para vivir mas o menos como desee, y para amasar y gastar dinero. Esa es la diferencia entre las libertades publicas y las libertades privadas. Todos elegimos las distintas libertades que estamos dispuestos a ceder. Todos lo hacemos. Libertad en venta marca una nueva pauta. Plantea la pregunta crucial de por que tantos ciudadanos inteligentes y ambiciosos en todo el mundo se han mostrado dispuestos a sacrificar la libertad de prensa y la libertad de expresion en su afan de enriquecerse. Este libro no se centra en los regimenes tiranicos que gobiernan pistola en mano donde el estado es inequivocamente una fuerza malevola y no hay cabida para el minimo acuerdo. No trata de Zimbabwe ni de Corea del Norte o Birmania. En estos paises no existe un pacto entre el gobierno y el pueblo, sino un mero instinto de supervivencia. Se interesa por el contrario en aquellos paises que, con independencia de sus matices politicos, han aceptado los terminos de la globalizacion e intenta dar solucion a una pregunta clave: ¿por que se cambia con tanta facilidad libertades por seguridad o prosperidad? Los politicos siempre han perseguido por instinto el poder y la forma de conservarlo, por medios honrados o delictivos. Menos comprensibles son las razones por las que muchos tanto en estados autoritarios como democraticos sucumbimos, y por que tan pocos nos preguntamos por que lo hacemos. Sean cuales sean los sistemas en los que vivimos, nuestras prioridades se parecen mas de lo que nunca admitiriamos.

Prólogo de Lluís Bassets «El que está dispuesto a sacrificar libertad a cambio de seguridad no tiene ni merece ninguna de las dos.» Benjamin Franklin. «Me ha sorprendido cómo Libertad en venta identi

Un libro distinto para comprender la sociedad en la que vivimosJohn Kampfner es uno de los autores, locutores y comentarias más respetados e iconoclastas del Reino Unido y se ha convertido en un gran conocido del publico en temas de politica, asuntos internacionales y libertades civiles. Desde 2005 a 2008 fue editor de New Statesman y es colaborador habitual de The Guardian, Independent, Financial Times ademas de otros periodicos.