At Christmas, 1939, a few months into the new World War, London bookshops were very busy. The war was bringing in a public eager to learn about weapons, planes, and the nature of the country that was once again the enemy. Confidence was high and curiosity, as much as fear, prevailed. Among recent titles, "I Married a German" had gone through five editions, and the Lewis Carroll-inspired illustrated satire "Adolf in Blunderland"-featuring Hitler as a mustachioed child and a Jewish mouse who has been in a concentration camp-sold out in days. Publishers, proudly demonstrating how different the English were from the book-burning Germans, had issued a newly translated version of "Mein Kampf," unabridged, which was selling fast; royalties were diverted to the Red Cross, which sent books to British prisoners of war. It was only the next summer, after the wholly unexpected collapse of France, when bombs began to fall and politicians warned that a German invasion was imminent when even Churchill questioned "if this long island story of ours is to end at last" that people confessed they were finding it difficult to read.
Denne historien er fra February 26, 2024-utgaven av The New Yorker.
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Denne historien er fra February 26, 2024-utgaven av The New Yorker.
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FAMILY STYLE
\"La Maison,\" on Apple TV+.
CLOSE QUARTERS
Jen Silverman's \"The Roommate\" and Celine Song's \"Family.\"
IMMATERIAL GIRL
Sophie is gone. Her music lives on.
MERELY PLAYERS
Race, politics, and the theatre collide in Alan Hollinghurst's
MOVE TO TRASH
Is it time for a new Constitution?
RHYTHM COLLECTOR
Eblis Álvarez's Meridian Brothers unites the many strands of Latin music.
Ambrose
Lily wants to live in the old days. Her mom, Debra, says, No, you don’t, because in the old days all women did was cook and sew and die in childbirth, but Lily still wishes she could travel back in time.
THE ESCAPE ARTIST
The Italian priest who helps women in the Mafia flee the criminal underworld.
UNCOMMITTED
Among the Gaza protest voters in Michigan.
SENSORY OVERLOAD
A wild Danish restaurant combines avant-garde dining with immersive theatre.