A very interesting interview with Bertrand Russell (recorded in 1961 at his house in North Wales), where he talks about his life, and sets out his views on issues ranging from sex life to education to nuclear war. .
Many of the things he says appear unduly pessimistic in retrospect. For example, he predicts that there would not be one person left alive by the end of the century. He repeatedly calls for Britain's withdrawal from NATO, which he sees as just an extension of US imperialism.
Other points seem right on the money (knowing what we know of the Cold War today). For example, he sees ideology as playing a decidedly secondary role to the struggle for power and claims things would have been much the same if the Russian tsars were still around.
He argues that the Russians act the way they do primarily because of fear.
Some real gems inside, like Russell's discussion of his meeting with Lenin in 1920, and his difficult relationship with George Bernard Shaw, whom he rather ridicules for his naive views of Stalinism. A great companion to your morning coffee!
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