THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

A history of the fight for freedom movement over the centuries, from 5th century Athens to the Arab Spring and the recent terror attack on Paris.

The fight for freedom – waged by warriors, democrats, politicians, slaves, civil rights leaders, free-thinkers and ordinary human beings – has stirred passions for thousands of years.

This moving narrative recounts the exploits of leaders such as Spartacus, Boadicea, Lincoln and Gandhi, through to heroes of the modern age – Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. Their enemies have been despots – for example Persia’s Emperor Xerxes, Stalin and Hitler – but sometimes also religions, ideologies, and even liberation movement leaders who became new tyrants.

Concise and accessible, this book introduces a subject at the forefront of human concerns, and examines its triumphs and the failures. The struggle never ends, and at crucial times it has brought the best out of human beings. Despite setbacks and controversies, the fight for freedom is a heart-warming story of human endeavour that has enriched mankind.

Marcus Ferrar is a former Reuters correspondent who covered Eastern Europe during the Cold War, living in East Berlin and Prague. He is the author of several books about Germany, Eastern Europe, Communism and World War Two: ‘A Foot in Both Camps: A German Past for Better and for Worse’, ‘Slovenia 1945: Memories of Death and Survival after World War II’ and ‘The Budapest House’.