Michael Scammell
Author of Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic
About the Author
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Works by Michael Scammell
Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic (2009) 156 copies, 1 review
Associated Works
To Build a Castle: My Life as a Dissenter (1979) — Translator, some editions — 119 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Scammell, Michael
- Birthdate
- 1935
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Joint Services School for Linguists
University of Nottingham (B.A. ∙ Slavic Studies ∙ 1958)
Columbia University (Ph.D. ∙ Slavic Studies)
Brockenhurst Grammar School - Occupations
- interpreter, British Army
lecturer in English
translator
biographer
professor of Russian Literature
professor of Writing (Nonfiction) and Translation - Organizations
- University of Ljubljana
Hunter College
Writers and Scholars International
International PEN Club
Cornell University
Columbia University (show all 7)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences - Relationships
- Scammell, William (brother)
Nossiff, Rosemary (2nd wife) - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Lyndhurst, Hampshire, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Bodmin, Cornwall, England, UK
Slovenia
New York, USA
London, England, UK - Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
Interesting quote from Johann Hari in a review on Slate:He [Koestler:] said he was cursed with "absolutitis": When a cause didn't offer him absolute salvation, he would discard it in despair and try to find another with the same promise. The one possibility he never explored for long is the only real answer to suffering—incremental democratic reform. Real improvements in human societies almost always come inch-by-inch, without any grand map of a perfect world. If you demand perfection, you show more can only be disappointed; if you demand improvement, you can succeed—and build enough hope to fight another day.
See http://www.slate.com/id/2238790/ show less
See http://www.slate.com/id/2238790/ show less
Lists
Best Biographies (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 7
- Also by
- 7
- Members
- 279
- Popularity
- #83,280
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 2
- ISBNs
- 15