Reviews (4)

If this is as good as it gets, it is a sad state of affairs
Having been fascinated by this subject since my first visit to Dachau in the 60's I thought this book would be a compilation of the "best and the brightest" but I was very wrong. There are a couple decent sections written by some fairly good academics, but some of them, especially the chapter written by Barbara Green, are just plain ridiculous in their analysis and conclusions. Her conclusion that Stalin's murder of millions of Ukrainians was not "genocide" is just silly. Not only that, her reading list is very incomplete in that it did not include eye witness accounts of how systematic the death sentence of starvation was actually carried out. The chapter by Stannard which compares the settlement of the USA over several centuries in an era long gone with Hitler's attempted extermination of the Jews and Gypsies is ludicrous. While he may make some interesting arguments, he ignores the reality of the cultures existing in the "New World" where human sacrifice was rampant, slavery and war-making were the norm, long before the Europeans showed up. Not a word about that in his analysis. He also equates the massive deaths of Indians by infectious diseases brought to the new world with the deaths in the Nazi concentration camps, which would mean that the AIDS epidemic which started in Africa makes all Africans the biggest perpetrators of genocidal death in the history of mankind according to his logic.
While this book is one of hundreds on the topic, it is not one that is worth the investment of time or money if you are interested in the subject.

Worth it for Stannard
This is a fine collection taken as a whole, but the standout essay is certainly David Stannard's "Uniqueness as Denial."Indeed, it is one of the finest and bravest essays I have ever read, although absolutely merciless in its polemic against "uniqueness" theories.

Isbn: 0813339510
Sales Rank: 357890
Subjects:  1. Clinical Psychology    2. Criminal Psychology    3. Criminology    4. Discrimination & Racism    5. Genocide    6. Hate crimes    7. Political Terrorism    8. Psychological aspects    9. Social Psychology    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Terrorism    13. Violence in Society   

Editorial Review

Although mass atrocities are not unique to the 20th century, organized response to such violence has taken new forms, some of which offer hope of some small redress to the victims of war and genocide. In the groundbreaking and timely Between Vengeance and Forgiveness, Harvard Law School professor Martha Minow explores the benefits and drawbacks of a variety of forms of settlement.

Reviews (3)

Profound book
This work shows why explorations of the nature of human nature are not just the stuff of ivory towers. It adds an evolutionary psychology element to previous discussions of genocide with good effect. So one gets some of the ideas of Tooby, Cosmides, Sober and Wilson's "Unto others", Pinker, etc. in the picture. It is also well written and engages the reader emotionally. The evolutionary psychology, though, is only one fundamental factor among many. The author's point is to show all of the various factors that influence a potential actor in genocide, and the situational influences dealt with by social psychology loom large.

Nevertheless, there is an interesting lack of self-awareness of the use of a repeated concept. It is very common to refer to someone who commits an evil act as being inhuman. That dehumanizes the perpetrator. But as Mr. Waller so beautifully explains, it is well within ordinary human nature to have the potential to commit acts of extraordinary evil. So it may be evil, but it is not inhuman. Furthermore, the book explains that dehumanizing others is part of the process that can lead to genocide. In trying to characterize these evil acts, the author uses some of the same dehumanizing mental constructs that lead to such evil acts. Ironic, no?

But that is a minor point. It is quite customary to refer to evil acts as being inhuman. The book is excellent, if sobering.

Impressive.
This book explains all the communication and psycological strategies used by terrorists. Knowing them, a state can create a set of laws that stops them, and therefore limit the capacity of progress of terror. The work of Mr. Waller is just impressive.

Reviews (4)

Reform the state and citizenship
Mahmood Mamdani is Professor of Government and Director of the Institute of African Studies at Columbia University. His reputation as an expert in African history, politics and international relations has made him an important voice in contemporary debates about the changing role of Africa in a global context. Mamdani proposes that Burundi and Rwanda need to reform the state and citizenship within their own borders so that power recognizes equal citizenship rights for all based on a single criterion: residence. Without a reform in power, one that recognizes both the importance of a majority in politics and the need for fearful minorities to participate in the exercise of power, Mamdani maintains there can be no sustained reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi.

Reviewed by David S. Fick, Author of Africa: Continent of Economic Opportunities, STE Publishers, Johannesburg SA, May 2005, www.ste.co.za

A good account of Rwandan history from within.
Well written, very good explanation why it happened on such a massive scale.
Most of us have a kind of feelling that "history" happened in the past and somewhere far away. This books tells how history is made today, giving the insight into the regional context of the confict (Congo)...

Editorial Review

Reviews (96)

Elections without freedom is not a democracy.
As a political scientist, I used to teach democracy. The basic 'minimalist' definition says, democracy, to put it briefly, is free elections plus concomittant political rights and civil liberty. What he calls 'illiberal democracy' has to be called authoritarianism. If the book is titled 'the rise of authoritarianism' then all the democracy-bashing goes in vain. Yes, elections without rights breed dictators, but this is NOT a democracy.
Then, the author brings some bizarre examples to justify his case. For some reason, he considers former Kyrgyz president Askar Akaev, ousted in the recent tulip revolution, an example of freely elected authoritarian leader. Not true. He was NEVER freely elected. Akaev was, at some point of his career, an example of enlightened autocrat - that is why West liked him - but then, enlightenment faded. Blow for Zakaria's argument again.
Seemingly most irrefutable example - Boris Yeltsin. But once again, Yeltsin destroyed democratic institutions in 1993 putch - in the name of FREEDOM.
The only reasonable thing Zakaria emphasizes is the danger of election without freedom - I would say, election without democracy. But then he comes to a conservative, I would call Levi Straussian, and extremely naive, in my belief, solution - enlightened elites guiding ignorant masses. A wishful thinking. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Elites lose any motivation to govern wisely and moreover to promote freedom once they are not accountable by the masses. Moreover, even if it is true that masses can chose illiberal leaders, Zakaria forgets to mention that the first thing they destroy is actually democratic process and free elections. And when they do not? Then the people have a chance to restore their freedom - through elections, once again. That is what happened in Serbia and Ukraine. In the end, if it is not from the people, there will be no democracy - and no freedom.

Once a muslim always a muslim!
My gripe is with sections of the book that deal with Indian Politics. I agree about the corruption and the criminal records of a lot of politicians..but it didn't occur to him to highlight that India is the only democratic country in the world to actually have electronic voting even in the most rural of areas and instantly results are out. In america on the other hand they still use obsolete voting machines from the 18th century and she is a superpower.
Also, he talks about the gujarat riots and the fact that thousands of christians and muslims are massacred ...no doubt such horrible incidents happen ..but he neglected to mention that several hindu pilgrims were burned in a bomb blast on a train placed by muslim fundamentalists and that is what triggered the riots in the Gujarat no doubt the BJP and congress politicians preyed on sentiments and instigated a massive tragedy. But scores of hindus are killed by muslims..muslims and christians are not so holy as it is claimed in his book. There are fanatical hindus, muslims, and christians..muslims aided by dubai based dons constantly cause bomb blasts/shootings in mumbai and delhi. And who can forget kashmir were muslims from pakistan kill hindus and then hindus kill muslims its a deadly cycle..but there are always two players..
Christian missionaries spend their time converting hindus..into christians by bribing poor, innocent, victimized people ..what can one expect these people convert so that they can eat. This annoys other hindus and that results in killing of christian missionaries. There are always two sides to a story. Unfortunately the western world only gets the muslim and Christian version. After all hindus are a minority and sadly never speak up for their religion in a collective voice. More examples, Charity and christian missionaries ..that is non-existent..Fareed left india long ago and as always like typical non-patriotic indians gives a myopic view. Does he know that christian run schools do not allow any hindu hymn to be sung ..most christians, or anglo-indians consider themselves to be western and not indian - so also the muslims in many parts of india who still consider themselves to be pakistani but because they are called as mujahadeen in pakistan and have no liberty stay in india and crib.

BJP and Shiv Sena are fanatics..but sometimes there has to be a balance..and fanatics balance fanatics..Most hindus like me like all muslims but we just can't stand so called american bred indians forgeting what really goes on..Does he know that christian run universities do not have seats for hindus..they come last on the list..there are first 14 or more variants of christians..adventists, baptists, protestants..etc, and the last so aptly named other caste is for hindus. Secularism has been misused by muslims and christians and that is why people who have been victimized believe that atleast there is party for them ..and hence the support for BJP..but like all political parties they exploit this support. It is a sad plight.
We have problems and they involve several factors..but there are also some amazing achievements..i would love to see at least one indian author describe india the way it should be ..not a one-sided westernized view.

Editorial Review

Reviews (3)

the normal as demonic
Zygmunt Bauman argues that the modern society we accept as normal and the highest form as civilization, contains the seed, soil and water of the Holocaust.He argues that the Holocaust is not an anomaly but a warning and sign of what we, as human beings, have become.The Holocaust would not have happened save for modern civilization.Technological know how is important, but not the only important factor.

Mass atrocity requires three things: that violence be authorized by a legitimate authority, that the violent actions be routinized, and that the victims be dehumanized.Bauman recounts the experiments of Stanley Milgram in support of his argument.I add that, after weeks of chanting "Kill, kill, kill" over and over, and of hearing the "enemy" described as "dinks", "slopes", "gooks", "japs", "women", "niggers" and "injuns", I was able to sit through a lecture on the "law of war" in which my medic class was instructed that one of our jobs would be to execute wounded prisoners.Yes, that's illegal, immoral, and something terrorists do.Military training works.(If you respond that "war is hell" and that such things are normal, think of the fuss we put up about how our prisoners are treated.)

Military training works because normal socialization prepares us for it.Society, Bauman writes, silences morality.Rather than supporting our innate morality, society replaces it, teaching us what is good and what is bad, who is good and who is bad.It divides the world into the "moral universe", relatively small, and the universe in which we are encouraged to to act with amoral abandon.Take, for instance, the example of "family values".The moral universe cannot shrink much further.Yes, we should obey the law, if practicable, but only until we change it to allow us to do what we want.We certainly aren't responsible for anyone outside the family.Family values?Christ pointed out that even the heathen support that.

The answer to the social design and engineering which created the Holocaust is, Bauman suggests, unconditional responsibility.We, each of us as a moral agent, are responsible for and to everyone regardless of whether we believe them to be good or evil.We and they are human.It's a tough sell, but Bauman's argument that the alternative led to the Holocaust and will lead to more similar atrocities is convincing.

Bauman makes his arguments without jargon, with style and passion.This is a most important and compelling book.If you're going to read only one book this year, make it this one.

A sociology of modern evil
Peruse any mega-bookstore for works on the Holocaust and you will likely find yourself in a section called "Jewish Studies" or "Holocaust Studies."This is indicative of a general attitude that the Holocaust was merely a gross aberration in the advancement of western civilization, that it is exclusively a Jewish problem or, at best, an anomalous eruption of the irrational latent in the German psyche.

In this stunning, bold, and original work, Professor Bauman challenges this conventional wisdom.The Holocaust is not the story of European civilization gone awry; rather it embodies the most salient principles of modernity itself.It was "horrifyingly normal."

The logic of self-interest, rational management, modern bureaucratic order, technological efficiency, the relegation of values to the realm of subjectivity, science as intrinsically instrumental and value-free: such are the values comprising the shared vision of western civilization set in motion during the Enlightenment.And Bauman identifies the sum of these values as the necessary (but not sufficient) cause of the Holocaust.The SS exploited the logic of rational self-interest by making the cooperation of prisoners a condition for self-preservation.Death camps utilized the applied technology of mass production and transportation.The Third Reich was the picture of modern bureaucratic efficiency.All of this was done by highly trained engineers, technicians and doctors within an ethical framework consistent with modernity's moral relativism.And each of these conditions is still present today. This is a sobering, thought-provoking study of the Holocaust and its haunting resonance with the values of modern thought.

Reviews (24)

Comprehending the nearly incomprehensible
Attempts a cohesive sociological analysis of the putative causal relationship of religious piety and extreme violence, on the premise that it is crucially important that we know if the two are related.

If they are not related, we have a largely incomprehensible phenomenon with the rise of terrorism among religous groups and the use of religious justification for violence.If they are related, it becomes more difficult to explain the use of non-religious rationales for violence and terror.

I think Juergensmeyer does a first class job of research here and a really excellent job of pulling together his findings and making sense of the way violence arises at the extremes of a wide variety of religions. Most importantly, he identifies the conditions under which piety "becomes" violence in some sense, based on the broad idea that we use religion to make sense of the world, and under extreme conditions, symbols of war and expressions of violence do indeed make sense of our experience.

I would like to see work building further on this general framework, I think it would be extremely productive in understanding patterns of violence and developing workable solutions.

The one weakness of this analysis for me was its implicit equation of religion with the search for meaning.We tend to think of religion in that role, but I believe it is important not to confuse the way we often use religion with its many varied expressions and uses.Juergensmeyer's analysis DOES apply to any cultural process that operates to make sense of our experience, including atheist quasi-religions and potentially even meaningful non-theist institutions and practices.

That is, I agree up to a point with the critics here who complained that this book's analysis of piety and violence seems to ignore the systematic use of violence by institutions we don't generally consider religious.However, I don't think it takes much to extend the author's analysis to these other institutions.Some of the conditions under which MJ theorizes that we view a war as having cosmic significance and thus relating piety and violence:

1.The struggle is perceived as a defense of basic identity and dignity.

2.Defeat is unthinkable.

3.The struggle is blocked in practical terms and no real world solution appears to be viable.

With these conditions in place, in theory, seeing a struggle as a cosmic war becomes a very real solution psychologically for making sense of the desperate conditions and finding hope in them.The process of making an enemy into some version of Satan begins often with:

1.very *real* problems that become interpreted in terms of the whole world going awry.

2.Ordinary options for resolving the real problems simply aren't available to us.

3.We then begin the process of symbollizing the enemy as forces of evil, so that being part of a divine solution becomes part of our hope.

4.Coming back from the brink of desperation becomes possible by symbolic acts of power showing that the unwinnable war can be winnable in its cosmic form.

I'm extracting the conclusions from a very detailed and thoughtful analysis.

I think this analysis makes a very important contribution to our understanding of violence and terrorism but this book is also of great value for its framework for understanding the relationship of culture and individual action, and what it implies about how our institutions, practices, and discourse shape our thinking and behavior.This is sociology doing what sociology is best used for, understanding how human social behavior relates to individual thoughts and actions.

Mission from God
Juergensmeyer attempts in this book to find common ground in religious terrorists of many different stripes. His begins by looking at terrorists from five religious groups--Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Buddhism. His Buddhist example, the Aum Shinrikyo cult attack on the Tokyo subway system is probably the weakest example. He may have been better served to have a separate section on cults such as this and others like the Branch Davidians. They seem to have as much in common with each other as with other groups within their religions.

He next looks for common themes from all of his examples. He does well when he explains how all of the terrorists believe they are warriors in a larger cosmic drama of good and evil. He does less well in separating the parts played by religion and politics. For example, was Timothy McVeigh a religious terrorist or a political terrorist?

All in all, this is an engrossing, if disturbing study. We are left feeling that there will be little relief from religious terrorism in the near future. Those seeking more insight on this subject should read "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer, which examines these topics among Mormon Fundamentalists.

Not all-inclusive, but still very important
I'll keep this review short as the thoughts below cover a wide range of relevant points about this book...

First of all...no single book will be able to adequately cover the topic of terrorism.That in mind, this book has its flaws and misses some things, but I think it is a valuable part of the literature on terrorism.This shouldn't be the only book on terrorism you read, but it should be one of them.

Reviews (4)

Who Cries for the Different?
Henry Friedlander provides a compelling and accurate portrayal of the origins of the Holocaust in the elimination of the mentally ill andphysically handicapped.He starts with a description of the origins ofGerman theories of racial superiority based upon social Darwinism whichbegan long before the Nazis came to power.Many German physicians believedthat the handicapped were a burden to society and that one of Medicine'schief functions was to be merciful and weed out the lame and feeble andremove them, painlessly, of course.With the advent of National Socialismand coming to power of Adolf Hitler, these doctors willingly joined in thesterilization and euthanistic practices of the Master Race.Gypsies andJews were the main groups selected but all handicapped were gathered up. The author describes in detail the frustrations experienced by theseteutonic genetic warriors because they could not more efficiently kill andmaim and remove the untermeunschen.This book is a nightmare which canhappen again.The world still witnesses the open genocide of CentralEurope and parts of Africa and Asia.While Hitler's bodily presence hasbeen gone for 55 years, his philosophical dementia remains with us.Thisbook is an excellent reminder of science misused and politicized.

Disturbing, researched account of beginnings of Holocaust
As a Deaf person and an activist for the rights of the disabled in education and medical care, I was appalled to find out that the disabledwere singled out for sterilization and euthanasia long before the Jews hadbeen. I was even more upset that prior to medical school, I had never evenheard of the willing collaboration of doctors and scientists in Germanywith the Nazi political machine to rid their race of defective people (itdidn't seem to matter when impairment began or how, or these people wereeducable and able to work). Not to ever dismiss the horror of the JewishHolocaust and the amount of lives taken, but it is imperative that weremember and we teach that the slope leading to extermination of racesbegan with the ideas of Social Darwinism, natural selection, and survivalof the fittest, which were the scientific theories/beliefs used to justifythe removal of anyone with a difference. This belief system still pervadessociety today, when someone like Kervorkian (who only worked with deadbodies) could take it upon himself to decide whether someone's life was ofany worth, on the basis of 'normalcy'.

Henry Friedlander does anexcellent job of writing and researching into the lives and minds of thedoctors and administrators who ran the secretprograms that killed first,German children who were born with disabilities, then led to the removalfrom schools and homes of older children with disabilities to meet theirdeaths through starvation and drugs, and finally to include adults withdisabilities in mass murders. It was on these people that the Nazisperfected their instruments of genocide, and yet, even at Nurenburg theirsuffering was dismissed as "lives unworthy of life" just becauseof their disabilities.

This can happen again, especially with thecompletion of the human genome. NO laws have been suggested to curtail theuse of information gleaned from the genome to prevent discrimination of anykind against the disabled. It is of great concern that the disabledcommunity watch opponents of the Americans with Disabilities Act try to getthis civil rights act revoked as being expensive, especially since itserves those who many (including Clint Eastwood apparently) feel are notproductive members of society. The slippery slope begins at this point, andwith these mindsets.

It is imperative that students of medicine andstudents of science be made to read this book. It is only through educationand remembering the children and families whose lives were destroyed thatwe can avoid allowing this Medical Holocaust from ever happening again.Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

What we don't remember can kill us.
From Euthanasia to Genocide is a very very small step.This book is the best and wisest on the subject. It illustrates exactly how easy it was for Nazis to use the American psuedo-science of "eugenics" toaclimate Germany to "life unworthy of life."How simple to usethe idea of "mercy death" to rid society of "uselesseaters." The members of T4 were ruthless in their quest to define andrid Nazi Germany of deformed infants, the mentally ill, the deaf, the old,the young, the indigent, the DIFFERENT. No marginalised group wassafe.

Of the killing centers, Hadamar is the best known -- a hub, so tospeak. Nobody really knows how many people were gassed there.The busesarrived like clockwork, on schedule... Day in; day out.

Significantly,there was little civilian protest until T4 moved on to private Christianinstutions. The "euthenasia" program was halted"officially" after several churches protested the gassings ofinstitutionalised patients. (Unofffically, the program went on until AFTERthe end of the war!) The members of T4 were absorbed into the killingmachine known as the Final Solution. Which, of course, was the goal allalong....

Isbn: 027597569X
Sales Rank: 1839881
Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Bolivia    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Indians, Treatment of    7. Insurrection of Tupac Amaru, 1    8. Latin America - South America    9. Millennialism    10. Peru    11. American history: c 1500 to c 1800    12. Genocide    13. History / Latin America    14. Latin America   

Reviews (4)

"Adam" has posted the same review on all genocide books..,
...so he has posted the same review 7+ times on ANY book about the Armenian Genocide and the Turkish attrocities between 1890 and 1922.He HAS NOT READ any of these books so his reviews are as good as dirt.Please disregard his bogus immature approach.Check out his "All my Reviews" tab and you will see that "Adam" and many others were just sent here to Amazon to flood the gates with bogus reviews of perfectly good works of art.They are pushing Turkish propaganda on a site where literary ctitiscism is needed, not pushing agendas...

Nationalist Propagada
It just astonished me as how certain discursive formations can actually lead people to believe as the 'real' reality. It does not matter whether for an event to 'really happen' or not. What matters is that you hear it on a radio or read it on a newspaper or website or even talk about it at the water-cooler. Those who have had the chance to watch 'Wag the Dog' might get the idea of how such 'reality' is constructed.

On a more advanced level 'discursivity', a la Foucault, is a building block of a discourse in which certain linkages, here and their, add to what ordinary people believe on the street.

Now obviously Hitler was one of the worst things that happened during the 20th century. This is commonsense. But to add certain 'material' so as to advance another claim by building upon Hitler, is something that should be carefully approached, at least for people who at least visit and read stuff through Amazon.
If a chain in a series of discursive formations can be shown to be weak or invalid than it would be proven that that chain of a discourse is on shaky grounds, and that most of what is known about it is likely to be false.
Unfortunately we see certain 'material' is attached to certain claims so as to resemble the Holocaust. Let us revisit a single claim on part of those would like to exploit the events during the early 20th century. A reviewer, for instance, obviously bought one claim and thus knows it to be the 'truth'

Adolf Hitler: "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

Now has anybody bothered to investigate it. No, of course. "It sounds like as if it is true, so why not believe it". Well fortunately there are still people who like investigating such stuff.
Read for example :
Heath W. Lowry
Washington, D.C.
Political Communication and Persuasion, Volume 3, Number 2 (1985)
Abstract This article traces the history of a purported Adolf Hitler quote which cites the perecent of the world's lack of reaction to the fate of Armenians during the First World War as a justification for his planned extermination of European Jewry in the course of the Second World War. By a detailed examination of the genesis of this quotation the author demonstrates that there is no historical basis for attributing such a statement to Hitler...
[...]
If one is serious about really getting into history, rather than believing simply what is out their in the popular press,
I would additionally suggest to take a tour of the documents of Ambassador Morgenthau. First let us not take any word for having a Godly truth 'Its ambassador so its gotta be true' mentality is ok if you're ok with it (respect of thought). But there are historical evidence that suggests that Morgenthau did not even know Ottoman scripture, and that this is proved throughout his letters when he attempts to translate 'words' and 'dates' of events. Do not hesitate to read...
[...]


For those who have CAREFULLY read what I have written so far, notice I am not either on one side of the argument between Armenian historians or historians of the Ottoman empire, but that I have just thrown out some thought provoking information so that one will at least ask some questions before believing what they read. Doubtless there will be those occasional pointless replies to this review, but again all I am saying is, think before you react. Now one could argue that I am saying is a postmodernist crituque and historical relativism. That would be false. I believe in historical analysis, as a scientific enterprise (and only the scientific version of it). But then again let us not forget that some American historians who were studying the case at hand were bombed by Armenians. Now if history is written by historians and that some historians (i.e. UCLA professor Stanford Shaw)are bullied so as not to investigate certain historical matters than, at least if you have a capacity to think critically than be suspicious about it. [...]
By the way absolutely nothing is mentioned about the equal ammount of civilian Turks that were slaugthered by Russian backed Armenian militia. Nor anything about the terrorism campaign of Armenians during the 1970's that left thousands of people dead and wounded. To say "denying genocide is a wrong thing" is one thing. But in doing so if one is denying the death of tens of thousands of innocent Turks, is called hypocrism and puts one in ethically shaky grounds.

The latest British governemeents acceptance that the "blue book", which Armenian claims are based upon, have been declared by the government itself to be a WW1 time propaganda material. Yes you heard it right!

Here's another eye opener: Often the claim is made there 1 million Armenians were murdered. What they do not say that the same material they indicate that a "genocide" happened says that
the ENTIRE Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire was 800 thousand (200 thousand difference!) MOREOVER Keep in mind that the Armenian diaspora, that builds its own desire to have a national identity, has a population of more than 9 million people across the world. HOW CAN this be??? Well thats how nationalism is formed: impossibile numbers, man on white horse, the evil "other" etc.... So this "genocide" attitude is more of identity building rather than real history.

Well I hope I contributed on an intellectual level and I hope 'thought thugs' would not misunderstand what I have suggested.

Isbn: 0801488761
Sales Rank: 731691
Subjects:  1. Discrimination & Racism    2. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    3. Eurocentrism    4. European - General    5. Genocide    6. Indigenous peoples    7. Literature - Classics / Criticism    8. Social Darwinism    9. Social Science    10. Sociology   

Isbn: 0268028656
Sales Rank: 829471
Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Atrocities    3. Church and state    4. Europe - France    5. France    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Vendâee    10. Vendâee (France)    11. Wars of the Vendee, 1793-1832    12. Wars of the Vendâee, 1793-1832   

Reviews (13)

Our Ancestors Lived Through This Horror?
"Paddy's Lament" tells the story of those who lived through and died in the Irish Potato Famine of 1846-1847.Throughout the book I kept wondering if my ancestors lived through the horrors described.

The economic setting of Ireland is laid out as that of an island of tenant farmers and large, often absentee, landlords.Agriculture produced wheat and beef for export to England.A small proportion of the land was planted in potatoes, the only food which could feed the population on such small acreage.With the advent of the textile industry in England, wool became a more profitable crop than the traditional ones, if only the native population could be done away with.

A fungus led to the destruction of the potato crop in 1846.Relief was available through the prohibition of the exportation of grain, a step which had previously been taken in other famine stricken countries.The control of Ireland's destiny was within the control of the British Lords who regarded the Irish as a subhuman species of which they would prefer to be rid.The aid extended by foreign nations, particularly the U.S., was a sharp indictment of British indifference.The Famine would not have occurred in a country in control of its own fate.

The famine cause tenants to fall behind in their rents.Massive evictions and destruction of homes followed.Many Irish were forced from their home villages to travel across the land.Is this why Mary McKeever's two brothers were born in the East, but she was born in the West?

Relief came in bits and spurts.The British Lords commissioned the chef of the Reform Club, their gathering place, to create an economical recipe for Irish soup kitchens.Emphasizing economy, he created a soup which was easy on the British exchequer, but provided little nutrition to the Irish.Did William Casey eat this greasy water?

The famine led to widespread starvation.The vivid description of the appearance of the victims is grotesque. Did Matthew Gallen's parents die this death?

Privation forced the Irish to abandon their homes in search of a new life beyond the hated British Empire.The practice of the American wake, in which the family mourned the loss of the son or daughter who was to leave forever was a heart rending affair for all involved.Many sought to avoid the wake by running away.Is this why Thomas English and his brother ran away from home?

The reader accompanies a group of immigrants on a voyage in the stinking, rocking, wretched steerage section of a British ship.The inferiority of the British ships as opposed to American is explained.The sailor's grim prediction that there would be more room the further out they got became hauntingly true.Again the details are presented in such detail as to turn the stomach of the readers even after all of these years.Is this the type of voyage on which Johanna Lynch chose a crewman for her husband?

A new life started for the survivors upon arrival in New York.The contrast between the lethargy of the Irish in Ireland and their industry in America spoke eloquently of the altered prospects for reward for their labors.Although many stayed in New York, others moved out to rural environments more reminiscent of Ireland.Is this how Patrick Nealon got to Bath, Maine?

The British realized that, as they ridded Ireland of its excess population, they were creating an America which was becoming Irish and anti-British.The failure of the potato crop was an act of God.The famine was an Act of Parliament.This perception turned the Irish dissatisfaction with the British into an intense hatred.

This book helps us understand our past and what made us they way we are.

An Old Friend Whose Work Deserves a Resurgence
Thomas Gallagher was an old family friend, so in some respects my review of his works may be slightly biased.In fact, in the years before he died, he was a mentor to me in my own writing.Unfortunately, he passed on before he could see that I dedicated my first novel to him.

In terms of his books, PADDY'S LAMENT and ASSAULT IN NORWAY are among his best.Mr. Gallagher always had a talent for taking an obscure event in history and showing its importance in such a way that the final product reads like a novel.I first read both of the above works in 1990, while still in college, and I remember marvelling at how crisp every one of his sentences was.He achieved elegance through hard work, and both of these works are testament to it.

Reviews (2)

The courage of conscience
Shared Sorrows is a breath-taking, exquisite book.Sonneman's quest begins as a personal one, revealing her courage in asking what happened to the Gypsies in the Holocaust, as she had earlier understood her own Jewish family's fate.I was awed by her conscience and courage in listening and recording the heart-rending replies.The truthful, brutal answers left tear stains on more than one page as I read.But Sonneman's reporter's voice and writer's heart were precisely what allowed me to face all that she heard.She brings her readers into a universe of unspeakable memories because we must all remember.And she shows us that we must honor these memories because the universe is still capable of love and luck and -- always -- conscience.It is a powerful and important book no reader will soon forget.

Finding Meaning in Memories
Shared Sorrows weaves the history of the Nazi persecution of Gypsies into a families' personal narratives, recounted in a manner as gripping as any novel. Rosa Mettbach, the main character, tells a story of nearly-unspeakable injustice and personal courage.She escapes from the Nazis four times, each time punished more harshly yet surviving several concentration camps. Sonneman evokes shockingly rich memories of the sounds of the camps, the smells of burning flesh, the ash constantly in the air, of awakening each morning with lice swarming about one's head.

Reviews (73)

The Gulag Archipelago: A Couragous Gift
This book is a beutiful piece of literature and history. It was also written while on the run from the most devastating goverment in existence. The book is much more intresting to read, literature wise, than most academic works. The truth of the horrible soviet conditions in the gulag and the horrible and equally evil denial of the west that these things happened.
This is a book that should be read in many places, at least in Russia, and for anyone else who truly wants to understand human life and the history of humanity.

A voyage through hell
"The line between good andevil runs through the heart of every human being."

This abridged edition of Solzhenitsyn's hauntingly intimate portrait of his own arrest, interrogation, imprisonment, rebellion, and eventual release during Stalin's purges is a book like no other.This book, written by a constantly watched and persecuted dissident - bent but not broken by the brutality of Stalinist work camps, shares the author's (and his other inmates') personal experiences falling into this dark, usually fatal, abyss.Solzhenitsyn's original work was published in 1971 and produced an absolutely damning indictment of communism in Russia.Indeed, the stunning quality and importance of his writing earned him a Nobel prize.

Besides his own experiences, Solzhenitsyn collected personal stories from hundreds of his fellow inmates.The sadism of interrogators, the cruelty of guards, the indifference of neighbors, the paranoia of the public, thebetrayal of stoolies, and the true comradery of innocent inmates are presented in vivid, factual detail.In addition to this, the author also presents an encyclopeadic knowledge of the entirety of the gigantic Stalinist security apparatus (normal labor camps, special labor camps, transfer camps, railroad transfers, prisons, holding cells, interrogation cells, NKVD, SMERSH, commissars, exile communities, and still more).

But at the heart of it all, the book remains an unforgettable journey through man-made hell.Stalin meant to destroy every man, woman, and child arrested, regardless of their innocence, and he largely succeeded.But survivors like Solzhenitsyn did truly 'tear down the wall' and made this world a far better place to live in.We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude!

Editorial Review

Their homeland was divided out from under them, scattering them across Iraq,Iran, Syria, Turkey, and the former Soviet Union and denying them long-awaitedacceptance and peace. Saddam Hussein gassed them; Stalin deported them; Turkey triedto rob them of their own language and today has them engaged in a bitter guerrilla war.Assassinated in Iran, suppressed in Syria--even among their own kind the Kurds arevictims of betrayal as one Kurdish faction wages war on another. This is the bitter truthof journalist Jonathan C. Randal's book, After Such Knowledge, WhatForgiveness?, an account of his decades-long fascination with the Kurds.