Ill Literacy, Episode 140: The Collaborators (Guest: Ian Buruma)

Ill Literacy: Books with Benson

The Heartland Institute's Tim Benson is joined by Ian Buruma, Paul W. Williams Professor of Human Rights and Journalism at Bard College, to discuss his new book, The Collaborators: Three Stories of Deception and Survival in World War II. They chat about the backstory behind the three subjects of the book—Felix Kersten, Yoshiko Kawashima, and Friedrich Weinreb—and why all three have been vilified and mythologized. They also discuss the three subjects’ varying levels of culpability for the crimes committed by the people and regimes they served.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/659322/the-collaborators-by-ian-buruma/

Show Notes:

The Guardian: Matthew Reisz – “The Collaborators by Ian Buruma review – intriguing study of the frenemy within”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/12/the-collaborators-three-stories-of-deception-survival-world-war-ii-by-ian-buruma-review-intriguing-study-of-the-frenemy-within

New York Times: Lesley M.M. Blume – “Amoral Traitors? War Heroes? Survivors? Depends Whom You Ask.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/11/books/review/the-collaborators-ian-buruma.html

The Times: Ben McIntyre – “The Collaborators by Ian Buruma review — three stories of deception and survival in the Second World War”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-collaborators-by-ian-buruma-review-jljr2msmd

Times Literary Supplement: Josh Ireland – “Unholy compromises”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-collaborators-ian-buruma-book-review-josh-ireland/

Wall Street Journal: Diane Cole – “‘The Collaborators’ Review: They Dealt With the Devil”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-collaborators-book-review-world-war-ii-history-they-dealt-with-the-devil-8a1cad6b

Washington Post: Scott Martelle – “For three liars during WWII, deception proves to be both good and evil”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/05/03/world-war-ii-collaborators-book/