Memoir in Two Voices

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Near the end of his second term as president of France, Franois Mitterrand decided to talk openly about his life, both personal and political. President for fourteen years, longer than anyone else in the history of the French Republic, Mitterrand was interested not in constructing an elaborate memorial to himself in words but in leaving behind a living testament. He therefore turned to someone whom he knew and trusted, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, a close friend of many years, to join him in a vibrant, vigorous exchange.
The topics they discuss in these pages are childhood, faith, war, power, writing, and those momentshowever and whenever they arrivethat shape and sometimes define us as people. Mitterrand and Wiesel's dialogue is spontaneous, thoughtful, lyrical, blunt, far-reaching, and candid, whether it involves controversial moments in Mitterrand's political career, Wiesel's memories of Auschwitz, the importance of family and religion in their lives, or simply their favorite books and walks. Here is an unobstructed view into the lives and times of two of the greatest figures of conscience of our century, an inspiring memoir in two voices.

Author Bio

Francois Mitterrand was the twenty-first president of the French Republic and ex officio co-prince of Andorra. He served from 1981 until 1995. He was the leader of the Socialist Party and is thus far the first and only elected president from the political left in the Fifth Republic. Elie Wiesel is a Romanian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of fifty-seven books, and is also the Advisory Board chairman of the Algemeiner Journal newspaper. His latest novels include A Mad Desire to Dance (2009) and The Sonderberg Case (2010), and he continues to be a strong human rights activist.