Fallen Idols

The book is about Leonard's life and loves.

The book is about Leonard's life and loves.

On the court and on the field they are the world’s winners, exhibiting a natural grace and prowess their adoring fans can only dream about. Yet so often, off the field our sports heroes lose their per

Over the past three years, the world has witnessed the huge social and media discussions of what figures from the past one should, or should not celebrate and commemorate with a statue. The recent removal of the statue of infamous slave transporter Edward Colston in Bristol still resonates in the UK as debates rage on race, inequality, politics and gender. The conversations, demonstrations and petitions for the removal of statues to men and women whose lives and careers are in question is not a new phenomenon, but one that has been going on for generations.Only with the arrival of online media outlets has it now come to the fore in 'real time'.Fallen Idols will be a nuanced and constructive appraisal of the current issues facing many towns and cities as they struggle to decide how the commemoration and adoration of statues that they hold dear (or despise) can be resolved. Von Tunzelmann focuses on key statues across the USA, the UK, Africa and to the old USSR to show the reader how the

It’s a scandal! How often we use that phrase and what a catalogue of sins it covers. That’s what this book is all about. It is literally a catalogue of sins – committed by some of the most celebrated

The topics covered by this pioneering collection of essays range from peninsular Spanish to Latin American literature, from the eleventh to the twentieth centuries, and from the subject of women as po

★《經濟學人》2021年度書籍★★榮獲沃爾夫森歷史獎（Wolfson History Prize）★推倒他╳的雕像，然後呢？英雄陷落，一場關於權力、種族與歷史記憶的風暴襲捲全球2020年，是世上各處雕像們最驚心動魄一年。從華盛頓、邱吉爾到李將軍，無數「偉人」雕像成了群眾怒火的目標，潑漆、分屍、融成廢鐵……這場全球性的雕像浩劫，起因於佛洛伊德事件，在「黑人的命也是命」的呐喊中，種族議題愈演愈烈。矗立數百年的雕像，為何突然變成了眾矢之的？活人的問題，為什麼要拿手無寸鐵雕像開刀？當我們推倒一座雕像，究竟是為了清算歷史，還是尋求另一種理解過去的方式？　從誕生到倒下，雕像乘載的集體記憶每一座雕像的誕生，都不只是對個人榮耀的頌揚，更是某個時代、某群人意念的凝結。它們象徵權力、信仰或崇拜，成為集體記憶的投射。然而，這些被簡化成英雄象徵的雕像，卻往往掩蓋了複雜而矛盾的歷史。我們記憶中的英雄，或許正是他人心中的苦痛。推倒一座雕像，並不會泯滅歷史，也並非否定過去，而是一種重新解讀的開始。倒下的偶像，講述的不只是它被推翻的原因，更是我們如何看待歷史、看待彼此的深刻問題。倒下之後的故事，該如何書寫歷史這本書以十二座著名雕像為切入點，追溯它們從誕生到倒下的完整故事。雕像不僅是歷史上重要的人物紀念，同時也見證了文明的變遷與掙扎。它們究竟是歷史的標誌，還是時代的債務？拆除雕像本身並不代表著解放，關鍵在於我們如何反思，並開始對過去做出彌補、對現況進行改變。我們不需擔憂人們「改寫」歷史，歷史是一場永恆持續的對話──在過去、現在與未來之間不斷交織、延續。國內外好評推薦▍專文導讀楊孟軒／美國密蘇里大學歷史系副教授▍誠心推薦李雪莉／《報導者》營運長苗博雅／台北市議員楊孟軒／美國密蘇里大學歷史系副教授葉浩／政治大學政治學系副教授　（依姓氏筆畫排序）「馮．藤佐曼並非高高在上地向讀者說教，而是真誠地邀請大家，去了瞭解每座爭議性雕像背後真正的歷史。她希望每個人都能對自己所身處的社會和時代，做些深度的思考。」──楊孟軒（Dominic Meng-Hsuan Yang），密蘇里大學歷史系副教授「深思熟慮且節奏明快……（馮．藤佐曼）有力地論證了，審視紀念性雕像是開放社會重新評估過去價值，並尋求未來新指引不可或缺的一部分……這是一個令人信服且以邏輯為基礎的論點，穿透了圍繞推倒雕像的情感和意識形態干擾，揭示了雕像最初被豎立