2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival

2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival

By Edinburgh International Book FestivalArts
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2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival episodes

  • Iain Mcwhirter (2014 event)

    His book Road to Referendum is a clear-minded history of Scotland’s journey towards its historic vote in September, and Iain Macwhirter argues that after the poll, constitutional change is inevitable. If so, where will the negotiations between Holyrood and Westminster start, and how are they likely to end? In this event, recorded live at the 2104 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Macwhirter outlines his view of the steps he believes both countries will take.

    57 min
  • Diana Gabaldon (2014 event)

    The Outlander books by Arizona-based author Diana Gabaldon have achieved sales figures that would make your eyes water. Little wonder that Doune Castle was recently besieged by fans keen to see the TV version being filmed. The latest instalment, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, is partly set in 1778, featuring a world in flux. Listen to Gabaldon discussing her epic series in this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.

    1 hr 1 min
  • Bonnie Greer (2014 event)

    Best known in the UK as a dispassionate commentator on BBC Newsnight Review and Question Time, even when sitting beside the leader of the BNP, Bonnie Greer has now written the first volume of her memoirs, A Parallel Life. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book festival, she talks to journalist and broadcaster Ruth Wishart about her tough upbringing and how it feels to be the key character in a real-life rags to riches story.

    57 min
  • Blake Morrison (2014 event)

    Best known for As If, his landmark book about the killing of James Bulger, Blake Morrison is also a poet and novelist. He joined us to read from a new publication, This Poem. Bankers’ bonuses, phone hacking, super-injunctions and Jimmy Savile: these are just some of the topics he addresses, in verse that is at once terrifyingly honest and full of wisdom about the state of contemporary Britain. Recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.

    57 min
  • William Fotheringham (2014 event)

    Long before Bradley Wiggins took the world by storm, British cycling already had a hero. Tom Simpson was world champion and the first Briton to wear yellow in the Tour de France. In 1967 he died during a stage of the Tour while climbing the monstrous Mont Ventoux. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Guardian writer William Fotheringham discusses Put Me Back on My Bike - his superb account of Simpson’s life and death.

    57 min
  • Gerry Hassan & Lesley Riddoch (2014 event)

    As the vote on Scotland’s future looms into view, commentators are turning their attention to what might happen next. Gerry Hassan’s Caledonian Dreaming questions some of the key myths Scotland tells about itself, while Lesley Riddoch’s Blossom wonders whether swapping a London elite for an Edinburgh one will make much difference to Scots' lives. Might Scotland flourish if we look elsewhere? Recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.

    56 min
  • David Peace (2014 event)

    Yorkshire-born David Peace’s writing took an exciting turn with GB84, his ambitious novelisation of events during the miners’ strike. Later, Peace turned to football, first with The Damned United, a re-imagining of Brian Clough’s brief tenure at Leeds United, and then with Red or Dead, based on Liverpool manager Bill Shankly. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Peace discusses his work with The Scotsman’s own great Yorkshireman, David Robinson.

    54 min
  • Charlie Adlard & Robbie Morrison (2014 event)

    Graphic novel dream team Charlie Adlard and Robbie Morrison came to Edinburgh to talk about White Death, a frank graphic novel account of two dead bodies discovered almost 100 years on which highlights how snow was used as a military weapon. In this event, filmed live at 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, they discuss how it’s possible to expose difficult historical truths through the medium of comics.

    1 hr
  • The Principle of Religion (2014 event)

    As part of a series of events exploring key ideas that have shaped humanity, this event – recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International book Festival – discusses the idea and impact of religious belief. Richard Sennett is joined by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, New York University professor of anthropology Angela Zito and former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway.

    52 min
  • Irma Kurtz (2014 event)

    For four decades, the Cosmo Agony Aunt has been helping to solve readers’ problems, encompassing everything from eating disorders to bad behaviour in the office. In My Life in Agony, In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Irma Kurtz looks back on the social changes that informed her advice and reflects on the chaos of her own life as an American single mother living in the UK.

    57 min

About 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival

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Whether it’s exploring the disappearing art of letter writing and the power of the spoken word, or listening to those who hear inner voices or participating in a series of dialogues on the future of…