Richard Bath and Tommy Macpherson (2011 event)

Rugby writer Richard Bath has tackled a very different kind of battle in aiding Sir Tommy Macpherson with his memoir, Behind Enemy Lines. Britain’s most decorated living war hero with three Military Crosses, three Croix de Guerre, a Légion d'Honneur and a papal knighthood, Macpherson has now revealed so much more about his wartime acts. Aged 21, he persuaded 23,000 SS soldiers to surrender, and almost single-handedly stopped Tito’s Yugoslavia annexing the whole of north-east Italy. Listen to his astonishing story in this live recording of his sold-out 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival event.

Loading the player... if your browser supports audio and video it should appear in a few moments.
Download MP3

Book Festival News

Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival
Monday 26 August

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Listen to more

Andrew O'Hagan (2010 event) Andrew O'Hagan (2010 event) August 2010 saw writer Andrew O’Hagan bring to the Book Festival an unforgettable tale of Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and a dog called Maf. Listen to O’Hagan in this audio recording of his special live event in Charlotte Square gardens, where he was… Gina Miller (2018 Event) Gina Miller (2018 Event) Gina Miller came to prominence when she successfully took the British government to the Supreme Court, challenging its authority to trigger Article 50, the formal notification to leave the EU, without parliamentary approval. Guyana-born Miller became the… Anne Donovan reading Not Scotland Anne Donovan reading Not Scotland Prize-winning short story writer and novelist reads her story on the theme of Elsewhere… Paul Durcan (2012 event) Paul Durcan (2012 event) 'If there were a prize for best reader of one’s own poems, Paul Durcan would probably win it hands down,' proclaimed the… Jennifer Rohn & Neal Stephenson (2012 event) Jennifer Rohn & Neal Stephenson (2012 event) Science fiction writing is readily dismissed as mindless escapism but in fact it is a hugely influential and creative genre… Yiyun Li reading A Tale of Two Cities Yiyun Li reading A Tale of Two Cities The brilliant young Chinese-American writer reads her short story on the theme of Elsewhere… Louise Doughty & Stuart Turton at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Louise Doughty & Stuart Turton at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Meet two British writers of cleverly conceived and suspenseful stories, Louise Doughty and Stuart Turton, who come together to talk about their new novels at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019. The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle, Turton’s 20… Jo Swinson (2018 Event) Jo Swinson (2018 Event) As deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats and a former Government minister, Jo Swinson has seen all too clearly how power can be concentrated in the hands of men right across the business, cultural and political spectrum. Equal Power is the East… Neil Griffiths & Richard Powers (2018 Event) Neil Griffiths & Richard Powers (2018 Event) Considered by many to be one of America’s great literary voices, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard Powers presents The Overstory, his seductive and beguiling novel of interlocking stories (now also shortlisted for the 201… Chigozie Obioma & Simon Sylvester (2015 Event) Chigozie Obioma & Simon Sylvester (2015 Event) Chigozie Obioma’s thrillingly assured debut novel The Fishermen is set in small-town Nigeria, while Simon Sylvester’s seductive debut The Visitors unfolds on a remote Scottish island. Yet despite their disparate locations, these stories are…