Conversations with George Weidenfeld
About this book
George Weidenfeld escaped Nazi Vienna and arrived in Britain as a penniless refugee at the age of nineteen. In a series of lively and perceptive 'conversations' with the distinguished biographer and author William Shawcross, George Weidenfeld describes his assimilation into English society, the evolution and success of the book publishing firm of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, and his close association with senior British politicians, including Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and his subsequent elevation to the peerage. But more than that, Conversations indicates the extraordinary breadth of international interests and ideas, combined with his remarkable gift for friendship. It has bought him into contact with many of the most fascinating people of the post-war era. A great publisher, a cultural impresario of legend, a power-broker and sage, George Weidenfeld conducted some wide-ranging and sharply perceptive conversations with William Shawcross over a period of weeks. Reading this book is akin to an invitation to the most glitteringly intellectual dinner-party.