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Fallen Idols

History Is Not Erased When Statues Are Pulled Down. It Is Made.

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Fallen Idols

By: Alex von Tunzelmann
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
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About this listen

A hugely entertaining and informative narrative on one of the key arguments raging across the globe - how does one honestly celebrate a country's past without knocking down celebrated heroes?

In 2020, statues across the world were pulled down in an extraordinary wave of global iconoclasm. From the United States and the United Kingdom to Canada, South Africa, the Caribbean, India, Bangladesh and New Zealand, Black Lives Matter protests defaced and hauled down statues of slaveholders, Confederates and imperialists. Edward Colston was hurled into the harbour in Bristol, England. Robert E. Lee was covered in graffiti in Richmond, Virginia. Christopher Columbus was toppled in Minnesota, beheaded in Massachusetts and thrown into a lake in Virginia. King Leopold II of the Belgians was set on fire in Antwerp and doused in red paint in Ghent. Winston Churchill was daubed with the word racist in London.

Statues are one of the most visible - and controversial - forms of historical storytelling. The stories we tell about history are vital to how we, as societies, understand our past and create our future. So whose stories do we tell? Who or what defines us? What if we don't all agree? How is history made, and why?

Fallen Idols looks at 12 statues in modern history. It looks at why they were put up, the stories they were supposed to tell, why those stories were challenged, and how they came down.

History is not erased when statues are pulled down. If anything, it is made.

©2021 Alex von Tunzelmann (P)2021 Headline Publishing Group Limited
Architecture Social Sciences World England Winston Churchill Royalty Massachusetts King
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Critic reviews

"Alex von Tunzelmann is one of the most gifted historians writing today. Brilliant and trenchant, witty and wise, Fallen Idols is a book you will adore, devour, and talk about to everyone you know. Hesitate no longer; buy this book." (Suzannah Lipscomb, author, award-winning historian and broadcaster)

"Like all the best historians, von Tunzelmann uses the past to explain what the hell is going on today. She does so with a flair, her signature mix of scholarship and succinctness that is so compelling. If you want to make sense of the statues debate, and the coming culture war over our history, this is where you need to start." (Dan Snow)

"A timely, sparkling and often hilarious book." (Michael Wood)

What listeners say about Fallen Idols

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Non-fiction, topical, enjoyable, provocative. Recommended

I would have given this book 5 stars except for its opinion-leading style. The facts & tales herein are great: really readable & often good fun. And they make their own points - so they don’t need the author’s marker pen turning them into a kind of essay. Having said that Von Tunzelmann sets up & knocks down 4 common arguments from the statue-toppling national debate - and is very thought-provoking in the process

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    5 out of 5 stars
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thoroughly excellent

this well researched book delves into the world of iconoclasm and the statues which are subject to it.
I recommend this book, which will make you think deeply about one of the most pressing issues of the day.

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Enjoyable

A very interesting book focussing on a number of statues which have been taken down for varying reasons over the previous decades and centuries.
The author is openly bias towards the idea that statues can and should be pulled down, as many of them have been in recent years. She occasionally has a sneering attitude to those who may have a different view and uses the book to pick apart what she describes as the four key arguments put forward by people who feel that public destruction of statues shouldn’t be allowed. The tone in some places felt a little immature as a result, so worth considering if this would affect your enjoyment of the book, based on your own personal views - do not expect an unbiased analysis of this issue - but overall a really enjoyable listen. The narration is excellent.

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Exemplary writing and narration

The chapters are a perfect length for dipping in and out, although the narrative is so well constructed that you probably won't want to.

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