YANIS Varoufakis's Twitter biography says it all. "Economics professor, quietly writing obscure academic texts for years, until thrust onto the public scene by Europe's inane handling of an inevitable crisis," it reads.
Today Varoufakis, the former finance minister in Greece, is a familiar presence in newspapers and on TV, the author of several influential and bestselling books, and the co-founder of DiEM25, a pan-European, cross-border movement of democrats. He has more than 900,000 followers on Twitter, too.
Today at the Edinburgh International Book Festival he stages the first two of four events on the theme of Killing Democracy?.
Along with Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina he will discuss totalitarianism and Pussy Riot's own, fearless work; then, in the company of Shami Chakrabarti, he will talk about democracy, liberty, internationalism and radical Europeanism. Tomorrow evening he will touch on the theme of Giving Democracy a New Life in the wake of such "horrors" as Trump, Brexit, and the financial crisis of 2008. Twenty-four hours later he will get together with Jeremy Corbyn to mull over socialism.
On his website Varoufakis says his aim in the four events "will be to explore the ways in which the demos can be put back into our democracies."
Also today, Alan Taylor will talk about his long friendship with Muriel Spark, a friendship reflected in his memoir, Appointment in Arezzo, a book described as "beguiling, fascinating" by none other than William Boyd last year.
On Thursday The Herald's literary editor, Rosemary Goring, will explore Spark's much-loved 1963 novel, The Girls of Slender Means. "I'll be leading a discussion and analysis of The Girls of Slender Means, one of Spark's most popular novels," Rosemary said. "It's an astonishing book: frivolous and frothy on the surface, but spiritually enquiring and deeply disturbing on closer reading. The group attending the event doesn't necessarily need to know the book, though I expect quite a few will.
"The trickiest issue will be how to avoid plot spoilers for those who have not yet read it,” she added. “Thankfully, Spark usually gives the game away in the opening pages, so that the surprises she delivers make a bigger impression than if they were completely out of the blue."
Tomorrow's appearances include Ruby Wax, on her new book, How to be Human: The Manual; Chris Hoy, on the latest instalments of Flying Fergus, his entertaining series of books for children; Sir Tom Devine, Scotland's leading historian, in a lecture based on his new, co-edited book, New Scots: Scotland's Immigrant Communities Since 1945.
Author Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary, and vice-chair of the Clinton Foundation, will tomorrow lunchtime talk about some of the inspirational women who figure in her two new picture-books for children. On Monday morning she will be in conversation with Sally Magnusson, honouring women who have shaped global history and talking about her charity work on behalf of the rights of girls and women everywhere.
Also on Monday, Ali Smith will discuss her seasonal quartet of books - Autumn and Winter have been published to acclaim – with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
On Tuesday, Scotland's Makar, Jackie Kay, whose most recent work was a collection of poems, Bantam, will take to the stage in an event chaired by Rush Wishart; Professor Sue Black, the forensic anthropologist, will be in conversation with Val McDermid; and Rodric Braithwaite and Taylor Dowling will discuss their respective non-fiction books about Cold War nuclear paranoia.
Other highlights for the week ahead include:
Wednesday 22: Susan Calman on her book, The Kindness Quest; former Home Secretary Alan Johnson, on Orwell and truth and lies; and LibDem deputy leader Jo Swinson on her book, Equal Power.
Thursday 23: actor Jim Broadbent on his graphic novel, Dull Margaret, co-written with the comic artist Dix; and Robert Peston on his book, WTF (chaired by Ruth Wishart).
Friday 24: Susie Orbach on the growing popularity of therapy; Alan Taylor's reading workshop on Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; and the BBC's security correspondent, Gordon Corera, discussing his latest book about the intelligence services, Secret Pigeon Service.
Saturday 25: Fergal Keane talking to Allan Little on the theme of Killing for a Cause; Adam Tooze, an economic historian at Columbia University, on his book, Crashed, about the global financial crisis (favourably reviewed by his colleague, Yanis Varoufakis, only last weekend); Karl Ove Knausgaard, who has mined his personal life and relationships for a startlingly successful series of books; and Brett Anderson, the latest rock star to write a memoir.
https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/
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