About this title: This study of genocide in the 20th century examines America's pattern of reluctance to intervene--including in the Holocaust, in Cambodia, and in Bosnia. A New York Times Notable Book for 2002.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780060541644ISBN:0060541644
Description: Good. Inventory subject to prior sale. Used items have varying degree of wear, highlighting, etc. and MAY NOT include cds or supplements such as infotrac or other web access codes. Used in clean condition, little to no highlighting. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. read more
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
Description: Good. Minimal damage to cover and binding. Pages show light use. With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, Best Prices. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780060541644ISBN:0060541644
Description: Good. Used Condition-GOOD can be a well cared for Book that is in great condition to a Book that may show some signs of wear. GOOD Books sometimes are permanently marked; have some spine or page creases; exibit signs of aging or an ExLibrary copy. ** Sometimes grease pencil or permanent marking on cover. May contain limited notes and or highlighting. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases. ** SHIPS FROM USA-Domestic Delivery takes 5-14 days ** read more
Description: Satisfaction Guaranteed. Shipped quickly. 2003. Paperback. 3rd Ed. Used, very good. Cover has some rubbing. Cover has some edge wear. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780060541644ISBN:0060541644
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 656 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. First Perennial Edition includes cut out interview with Power from the Boston Globe read more
Description: Very Good. 0060541644 Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
Edition: First Paperback Printing
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Perennial
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780060541644ISBN:0060541644
Description: Very Good+ No Jacket Issued. "National Book Critics Circle Award Winner". This is a soft cover trade paperback History / Current Events book. The condition is Very Good+. Reprint edition. "Why do American leaders who vow 'never again' repeadly fail to stop genocide? " from the back cover. This is a very bright and very clean book with very good edges. The edges are very good and the spine is smooth. The pages are tight, bright and unmarked. No names. 620 pages. read more
"A bit slow starting because the author had to lay out the background on the term "genocide". Genocide wasn't even used by countries before 1948 (even though Hitler's death camps had recently been liberated). Appalling summation of America's reluctance to step in when genocide is in progress because it must assure itself that doing so is "in the nation's interests". In other words...what's in it for us? Kosovo, Rwanda, Iraq...it all boils down to this: if you have something we want, we'll get involved. If the genocide is happening to a country or culture with nothing to offer we say "tsk, tsk" but stay home. And when it's all over we'll be sure to send food and medical supplies for the survivors. A damning critique of just how foreign policy operates and how the innocent and the weak get lost between countries."
"This is an amazing and horrifying book. It's really depressing to see how people, especially the American government, think about issues of genocide - "it's not in the national interest", "these acts are alleged and can't be proved", "these divisions are centuries old", "military resources can't be used because they might be needed to fight wars on two fronts" etc etc. There is no moral calculus, which you'd think would be the first thought. Particularly appalling is when national interests lead to supporting the aggressors (the US government supported Hussein despite his actions against the Kurds, and even supported the Khmer Rouge while in the process of killing 2 million Cambodians). I learned quite a bit about the Kurds and Cambodia that I really didn't know much about before. Other chapters were more in my living memory (Serbs, in particular) or things I'd read about (Armenia, the Jews). Samantha Power is an extremely engaging writer - this book isn't heavy going in style at all, although obviously it is with respect to content. This book belongs in the small category of books that change my whole way of thinking (Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma, Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, Jared Diamond's Collapse)."
"The comedian Eddie Izzard, in his "Dress to Kill" performance, manages to have a very funny but biting look at genocide, saying, among other things, that we don't seem to have a problem with governments killing their own people. "We've been trying to kill you for years," he cracks.
Samantha Power's book gives a sweeping overview of the times we have attempted to intervene in internal genocides, as well as discussing the Holocaust. I love this book, but it's so depressing I had to take it one horror at a time with extended breaks between atrocities.
Power does a fabulous job of looking at the bipartisan faliures of the US in dealing with genocide, starting with the Armenian massacres of the early 20th century and working her way through Kosovo, where she was an eyewitness to various events.
Not all is doom and gloom, however. Power makes recommendations for better strategies of dealing with genocide without becoming overly entangled in the internal politics of the nation involved. I found it cheering when I saw Power was one of the people who testified before Congress regarding Darfur, and it seems as a people we may actually learn something from her."
"An uneven book. The first 100 pages are an extended vignette of Raphael Lemkin. Power then goes on to detail the genocides of the 20th century and American responses to them. This portion of the book is very informative, but unfortunately, Power does not go into the nuts and bolts of what happened, instead picking up when the U.S. either notices or gets involved. Her narrative style lacks the kind of analysis that the topic would seem to merit, and calling it history is misleading; it is more like historical journalism. This leads me to an interesting point: Power gives journalists a huge role in the book in terms of gathering and disseminating information. However, I think the majority of people would not agree with her interpretation of journalism: instead of being objective, hard-hitting and important, I would imagine most people would see mainstream media as biased, at times colluding with the government, and focusing on only a narrow portion of what is going on in the world. But, this book also deserves praise: Power obviously deeply cares about her subject, and that definitely comes out in the book and is what makes it an important read."
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