Blaine Harden Bücher

Ein erschütternder Bericht aus der Hölle eines nordkoreanischen StraflagersDas diktatorisch regierte Nordkorea ist fast völlig isoliert, aggressiv und bettelarm. Und es hält rund 150.000 seiner Bürger in Lagern gefangen, die vergleichbar sind mit NS-Konzentrationslagern oder dem Gulag. Da die Lager seit Jahrzehnten existieren, gibt es inzwischen Tausende, die dort aufgewachsen sind. Einer von ihnen ist Shin Dong-hyuk. Blaine Harden erzählt die Geschichte des 1982 im sogenannten Lager 14 geborenen Shin, der bis zu seiner Flucht nie etwas anderes kennengelernt hatte als die grausame und primitive Lagerwelt. Menschlichkeit, Vertrauen, Wärme, Zuneigung und jegliche Errungenschaften der Zivilisation waren ihm unbekannt, Hunger, Misstrauen und brutale Züchtigungen hingegen Alltag. Shins Zeugenbericht gibt einen tiefen Einblick in die unmenschlichen Lebensverhältnisse, die in dieser Lagerhölle herrschen, und schildert das berührende Schicksal eines jungen Mannes, dem wie durch ein Wunder die Flucht in die Freiheit gelang.

The narrative intertwines personal rediscovery with a critical examination of the Columbia River's transformation due to human intervention. Blaine Harden, a journalist, retraces his roots while reflecting on the river's exploitation for economic gain, impacting Native Americans, salmon populations, and environmental health. His journey aboard a freight barge to significant sites like the Grand Coulee Dam unveils the complex history of a once-wild river now tamed for jobs and resources. This updated edition includes a new foreword and afterword, enhancing its relevance.

The narrative focuses on Kim Il Sung's ascent to power and centers around a courageous young North Korean fighter pilot who challenges his authority. Blaine Harden weaves a compelling tale that explores themes of defiance and resilience against a backdrop of political turmoil, highlighting the personal struggles and risks faced by those who oppose oppressive regimes.

"The story of Kim Il Sung's rise to power, and the brave North Korean fighter pilot who escaped the prison state and delivered the first MiG-15 into American hands"--

Camp 14 is a political labor camp in North Korea where inmates work long hours in harsh conditions until they die or are executed. No one has ever escaped from such camps—except Shin Dong-hyuk. This is his story.

Original edition has subtitle: the dark reign and ruin of an American spymaster.

"The New York Times bestselling author of Escape From Camp 14 returns with the riveting and revealing story of one of the most persistent "alternative facts" in American history: the story of a missionary, a tribe, a massacre, and a myth that shaped the American West In 1836, two missionaries and their wives were among the first Americans to cross the Rockies by covered wagon on what would become the Oregon Trail. Dr. Marcus Whitman and Reverend Henry Spalding were headed to present-day Washington state and Idaho, where they aimed to convert members of the Cayuse and Nez Perce tribes. Both would fail spectacularly as missionaries. But Spalding would succeed as a propagandist, inventing a story that recast his friend as a hero, and helped to fuel the massive westward migration that would eventually lead to the devastation of those they had purportedly set out to save. As Spalding told it, after uncovering a British and Catholic plot to steal the Oregon Territory from the United States, Whitman undertook a heroic solo ride across the country to alert the President. In fact, he had traveled to Washington to save his own job. Soon after his return, Whitman, his wife, and eleven others were massacred by a group of Cayuse. Though they had ample reason--Whitman supported the explosion of white migration that was encroaching on their territory, and seemed to blame for a deadly measles outbreak--the Cayuse were portrayed as murderous savages. Five were executed. This fascinating, impeccably researched narrative traces the ripple effect of these events across the century that followed. While the Cayuse eventually lost the vast majority of their territory, thanks to the efforts of Spalding and others who turned the story to their own purposes, Whitman was celebrated well into the middle of the 20th century for having "saved Oregon." Accounts of his heroic exploits appeared in congressional documents, The New York Times, and Life magazine, and became a central founding myth of the Pacific Northwest. Exposing the hucksterism and self-interest at the root of American myth-making, Murder at the Mission reminds us of the cost of American expansion, and of the problems that can arise when history is told only by the victors"-- Provided by publisher