Richard Fidler

Richard Fidler is best known as the presenter of Conversations on ABC Radio, an in-depth, hour-long interview program that over the years has put him in the company of the world’s most prominent radio presenters. The program is the most popular podcast in Australia, with nearly four million downloads a month.

He’s the author of two best-selling non-fiction books: Ghost Empire, which draws on his lifelong love of history and a journey with his son to tell the story of Constantinople; and Saga Land, co-written with Kári Gíslason, which grew from a radio program exploring the modern echos of Iceland’s traditional sagas, and was awarded the 2018 Indie Book Award for non-fiction.

In another life Richard was a member of Australian comedy trio The Doug Anthony Allstars (DAAS), which played to audiences all over the world.

Quote

The arc of its lifespan is an awesome thing, touching the ancient world at one end and the Age of Discovery at the other. While western Europe struggled through the miseries of the Dark Ages, Constantinople blazed with light as a bastion of Roman law, Greek culture and Christian spiritualism.

— The Ghost Empire

Book Reviews

Fidler's story leaves its readers with a sense of faith in the renewing, illuminating, social powers of historical narrative. The tale of the Ghost Empire has bridged the gap between a father and son, enriching the contemporary world with the echoes of the past.

— The Sydney Morning Herald on The Ghost Empire

Fidler has a knack for such cutting, weighty observation, at once light yet loaded with meaning and emotion. We already know he is an interviewer of great empathy; now we know he mirrors that skill on the page, too.

— The Australian on The Ghost Empire

理查德?費德勒，澳大利亞廣播公司著名主持人。經過多年積累，他主持的一小時深度訪談節目《對話》，使他晉升澳大利亞廣播公司全球最知名主持人之列。《對話》也是澳大利亞最知名的播客節目，每月下載量近四百萬次。

費德勒著有兩本非虛構暢銷書。其中《幽靈帝國拜占庭》源于他長期以來對歷史的熱愛；書中通過一段與兒子的旅行經歷，講述了君士坦丁堡的故事。而他與卡里?吉斯森（Kári Gíslason）合作創作的《史詩之地》（Saga Land），則始于一檔探索冰島傳統史詩現代演繹的電臺節目。《史詩之地》獲2018年澳大利亞“獨立圖書獎非虛構作品獎”。

在主持人與作家的身份之外，費德勒還曾是喜劇三人組“道格?安東尼-全明星”(Doug Anthony Allstars, DAAS)的一員。“道格?安東尼-全明星”的表演足跡遍布世界各地。

引言

君士坦丁堡本身的生命曲線非常奇妙，它一頭銜接著古代，一頭銜接著地理大發現。正當西歐在黑暗的中世紀苦難中掙扎時，君士坦丁堡卻因融合了羅馬法、希臘文化和基督精神主義而灼灼生輝。

——《幽靈帝國拜占庭》理查德?費德勒，梅冬陳譯

書評

費德勒的故事讓讀者對歷史性敘事產生信任感：這些敘事的社會力量非但不過時，且具啟發性。《幽靈帝國拜占庭》的故事彌合了一個父親同兒子之間的距離，也用歷史的回聲豐富了我們當今的世界。

——《悉尼先驅晨報》評《幽靈帝國拜占庭》

費德勒擅于敏銳、深刻地觀察事物，文字初讀輕巧，但實際滿載意義與情感。眾所周知他是一位擁有強大共情能力的主持人，現在我們發現他在文字上也擁有這種才華。

——《澳大利亞人》 評《幽靈帝國拜占庭》