Arthur Koestler

Author profile

born

September 05, 1905 in Budapest, Hungary

died

March 01, 1983

gender

male

genre

Literature & Fiction, Politics, Philosophy

influences

Communism

About this author

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Arthur Koestler CBE [*Kösztler Artúr] was a prolific writer of essays, novels and autobiographies.

He was born into a Hungarian Jewish family in Budapest but, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. His early career was in journalism. In 1931 he joined the Communist Party of Germany but, disillusioned, he resigned from it in 1938 and in 1940 published a devastating anti-Communist novel, Darkness at Noon, which propelled him to instant international fame.

Over the next forty-three years he espoused many causes, wrote novels and biographies, and numerous essays. In 1968 he was awarded the prestigious and valuable Sonning Prize "For outstanding contribution to European culture", and in 1972 he was made a "Commander of the Bri...more

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Books by Arthur Koestler

Average rating: 3.97 · 6,995 ratings · 547 reviews · 50 distinct works

	Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler, Daphne Hardy (translator) 3.99 avg rating — 5,282 ratings — published 1940	My rating:
	The Sleepwalkers: A History of Man's Changing Vision of the Universe by Arthur Koestler, Herbert Butterfield (Introduction) 4.23 avg rating — 178 ratings — published 1959 — 9 editions	My rating:
	The Ghost in the Machine 3.93 avg rating — 135 ratings — 6 editions	My rating:
	The Thirteenth Tribe: The Khazar Empire and Its Heritage 3.70 avg rating — 105 ratings — 9 editions	My rating:
	The Act of Creation 4.20 avg rating — 93 ratings — published 1964 — 7 editions	My rating:
	The Roots of Coincidence 3.96 avg rating — 69 ratings — published 1972 — 6 editions	My rating:
	Arrival and Departure 3.71 avg rating — 80 ratings — published 1943 — 9 editions	My rating:
	Scum of the Earth 4.38 avg rating — 53 ratings — published 1941 — 7 editions	My rating:
	The Case of the Midwife Toad 3.88 avg rating — 52 ratings — published 1971 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Dialogue With Death 3.80 avg rating — 60 ratings — published 1942 — 21 editions	My rating:

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Quotes by Arthur Koestler

“The principal mark of genius is not perfection but originality, the opening of new frontiers.”
― Arthur Koestler

tags: creativity

10 people liked it

“Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.”
― Arthur Koestler

9 people liked it

“Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion. ”
― Arthur Koestler

7 people liked it

See all Arthur Koestler's quotes »

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Arthur Koestler

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Arthur Koestler

Quotes by Arthur Koestler

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Books by Arthur Koestler