Louis Fischer (1) (1896–1970)

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3527867.html

The Oscar for Best Original Screenplay was not completely fairly awarded in the case of Gandhi, as the screenplay was not particularly original. The film is pretty strongly based on Louis Fischer's 1950 biography.

Written soon after Gandhi's death, it is largely positive but does not gloss over some of the negative aspects of Gandhi's beliefs and behaviour. He was a terrible parent to his sons, emotionally distant and borderline abusive. He was also an anti-vaxxer who believed that all illness could be healed by meditation and diet. He lost touch with his own political movement towards the end. One also has to wonder what Kasturba really thought; we don't hear much from her between their marriage as horny young teenagers to her death sixty years later.

However, Fischer as a journalist does very well at explaining the situation of both South Africa and colonial India to the general reader, and making it clear just how important Gandhi was to the political developments of both. In particular, he stresses Gandhi's commitment to non-violence even more than the film does. And I think it's fair to say that without a Gandhi-like figure, India would certainly have become independent, probably somewhat sooner, but at a much greater cost of lives lost in conflict.

I was also interested to learn that Gandhi's family were always political - his grandfather served as prime minister of Porbandar, the small state where he was born, and his father was successively prime minister there and in three other states, Rajkot, Wandaner and Bikaner. The book does get a little unmoored at the end when Fischer appears in his own narrative and gives us verbatim notes of his (many, long) conversations with Gandhi, but in general I found it readable enough.… (mehr)

KIRKUS REVIEW
Louis Fischer has added yet another to his already impressive list of social, political, economic and historical studies of areas of the world currently in varying stages of development. It is expectedly exhaustive, and in addition to a detailed discussion of today's problems in this disputed area, the author traces carefully and dispassionately the history of the states of Indonesia from their discovery of the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and other Western European opportunists. The Story of Indonesia is a bitter indictment of twentieth century Dutch policy and leaves the supposition that Dutch colonial policy is open to much question. The Dutch, however, are not the only ones to come in for some heavy criticism, for Mr. Fischer also deplores American and British attitudes during the crisis which resulted in total withdrawal from Indonesia by the Dutch. Americans, generally, have little knowledge of the Indonesian states and Mr. Fischer's book is a valuable contribution which should clarify many misconceptions and misunderstandings. His personal relationships with many Indonesian leaders to whom he had had access provides an insight into the personalities of what proves to be an enigmatic people.… (mehr)