Richard Fidler and his son Joe made a journey to Istanbul. Fired by Richard's passion for the rich history of the dazzling Byzantine Empire - centred around the legendary Constantinople - we are swept into some of the most extraordinary tales in history. The clash of civilizations, the fall of empires, the rise of Christianity, revenge, lust, murder. Turbulent stories from the past are brought vividly to life at the same time as a father navigates the unfolding changes in his relationship with his son.
Beloved ABC broadcaster and bestselling author of Ghost Empire and Saga Land,
Richard Fidler is back with a personally curated history of the magical city
that is Prague. In 1989, Richard Fidler was living in London as part of the
provocative Australian comedy trio The Doug Anthony All Stars when revolution
broke out across Europe. Excited by this galvanising historic, human, moment,
he travelled to Prague, where a decrepit police state was being overthrown by
crowds of ecstatic citizens. His experience of the Velvet Revolution never let
go of him. Thirty years later Fidler returns to Prague to uncover the glorious
and grotesque history of Europe's most instagrammed and uncanny city: a jumble
of gothic towers, baroque palaces and zig-zag lanes that has survived plagues,
pogroms, Nazi terror and Soviet tanks. Founded in the ninth Century, Prague
gave the world the golem, the robot, and the world's biggest statue of Stalin,
a behemoth that killed almost everyone who touched it. Fidler tells the story
of the reclusive emperor who brought the world's most brilliant minds to
Prague Castle to uncover the occult secrets of the universe. He explores the
Black Palace, the wartime headquarters of the Nazi SS, and he meets victims of
the communist secret police. Reaching back into Prague's mythic past, he finds
the city's founder, the pagan priestess Libussa who prophesised: I see a city
whose glory will touch the stars. Following the story of Prague from its
origins in medieval darkness to its uncertain present, Fidler does what he
does so well - curates an absolutely engaging and compelling history of a
place. You will learn things you never knew, with a tour guide who is erudite,
inquisitive, and the best storyteller you could have as your companion.
'I adored this book - a wondrous compendium of Iceland's best sagas' - Hannah Kent A new friendship. An unforgettable journey. A beautiful and bloody history. This is Iceland as you've never read it before ... Broadcaster Richard Fidler and author Kári Gíslason are good friends. They share a deep attachment to the sagas of Iceland - the true stories of the first Viking families who settled on that remote island in the Middle Ages.These are tales of blood feuds, of dangerous women, and people who are compelled to kill the ones they love the most. The sagas are among the greatest stories ever written, but the identity of their authors is largely unknown. Together, Richard and Kári travel across Iceland, to the places where the sagas unfolded a thousand years ago. They cross fields, streams and fjords to immerse themselves in the folklore of this fiercely beautiful island. And there is another mission: to resolve a longstanding family mystery - a gift from Kari's Icelandic father that might connect him to the greatest of the saga authors.
'I adored this book - a wondrous compendium of Iceland's best sagas' - Hannah Kent A new friendship. An unforgettable journey. A beautiful and bloody history. This is Iceland as you've never read it before ... Broadcaster Richard Fidler and author Kari Gislason are good friends. They share a deep attachment to the sagas of Iceland - the true stories of the first Viking families who settled on that remote island in the Middle Ages.These are tales of blood feuds, of dangerous women, and people who are compelled to kill the ones they love the most. The sagas are among the greatest stories ever written, but the identity of their authors is largely unknown. Together, Richard and Kari travel across Iceland, to the places where the sagas unfolded a thousand years ago. They cross fields, streams and fjords to immerse themselves in the folklore of this fiercely beautiful island. And there is another mission: to resolve a longstanding family mystery - a gift from Kari's Icelandic father that might connect him to the greatest of the saga authors. Praise For Fidler & Gislason 'We already know Fidler is an interviewer of great empathy, now we know he mirrors that skill on the page, too.' Andrew McMillan, The Australian 'Kari's descriptions of Iceland are so beautiful that one is tempted to pack up and go there.' Bev Blaauw, Cairns Post
