On History: Tariq Ali and Oliver Stone in Conversation

Description

In working together on two challenging new documentaries - South of the Border and the forthcoming Untold History of the United States - Oliver Stone, the filmmaker, engaged with author and filmmaker Tariq Ali in a hard-hitting conversation on the politics of history. Their dialogue brings to light a number of forgotten - or buried - episodes of history. From the U.S. intervention against the Russian Revolution to the connections between Presidents and the Saudi royal family, no stone is left unturned and no topic is sacred in this insightful exchange.

OLIVER STONE has won Oscars for directing "Born On The Fourth Of July" and "Platoon", and for writing "Midnight Express". He was nominated for director (JFK) and co-writer (Nixon). He's also received three Golden Globes for directing ("Platoon", "Born On The Fourth Of July" and "JFK"), one for writing ("Midnight Express"). He is director for the forthcoming Showtime 10-hour series "Forgotten History of the United States." Stone wrote a novel, published in 1997 by St. Martin's Press, entitled "A Child's Night Dream", based on Stone's experiences as a young man. He is a contributor of some 200 pages of essays on movies, culture, politics and history to the book "Oliver Stone's USA", edited by Robert Brent Toplin and published by the University Press of Kansas (2000). Stone wrote the afterword for a book of scholarly essays analyzing his film "Alexander" called "Oliver Stone's Alexander: Film, History, and Cultural Studies" (2009). Stone was born September 15, 1946 in New York, New York. Prior to his film career, Stone worked as a schoolteacher in Vietnam, a Merchant Marine sailor, taxi driver, messenger, production assistant, and sales representative. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry in Vietnam in 1967-68. He was wounded twice and decorated with the Bronze Star for Valor. After returning from Vietnam, he completed his undergraduate studies at New York University Film School in 1971. * TARIQ ALI is a writer and filmmaker. He has written more than two dozen books on world history and politics, and seven novels (translated into over a dozen languages) as well as scripts for the stage and screen. He is an editor of New Left Review and lives in London. His website is http://tariqali.org/.

"Oliver Stone and Tariq Ali, two of our most provocative and radical voices, engage in a thought-provoking conversation about history-ripping apart entrenched establishment narratives which have suppressed the alternative visions we desperately need for our radical social movements and a true participatory democracy." -Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher, the Nation "Reading On History is like watching a fascinating and mesmerizing film . . . a must read if you want to understand the world today." -Michael Ratner, president, Center for Constitutional Rights "Oliver Stone asks smart questions about the rise and fall of the United States and its empire in the twentieth century, and Tariq Ali provides smart answers. The result is a provocative book that is sure to incite controversy and stimulate debate." -Jon Wiener, professor of history at the University of California at Irvine "Oliver Stone and Tariq Ali, two of our most provocative and radical voices, engage in a thought-provoking conversation about history ripping apart entrenched establishment narratives which have suppressed the alternative visions we desperately need for our radical social movements and a true participatory democracy." Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher, the Nation "Reading On History is like watching a fascinating and mesmerizing film . . . a must read if you want to understand the world today." Michael Ratner, president, Center for Constitutional Rights "Oliver Stone asks smart questions about the rise and fall of the United States and its empire in the twentieth century, and Tariq Ali provides smart answers. The result is a provocative book that is sure to incite controversy and stimulate debate." Jon Wiener, professor of history at the University of California at Irvine