Genocide: The Basics

The Basics

by Paul R. Bartrop

Genocide: The Basics is an engaging introduction to the study of a controversial and widely debated topic. This concise and comprehensive book explores key questions such as; how successful have efforts been in the prevention of genocide? How prevalent has genocide been throughout history? and how has the concept been defined? Real world case studies address significant issues including:

The killing of indigenous peoples by colonial powers The Holocaust and the question of "uniqueness" Peacekeeping efforts in the 1990s Legal attempts to create a genocide-free world
With suggestions for further reading, discussion questions at the end of each chapter and a glossary of key terms, Genocide: The Basics is the ideal starting point for students approaching the topic for the first time.

Genres: Politics, History

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Destiny M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I teach a High School English class, and this book as been a great resource for my World Genocide & Holocaust unit. It quickly and clearly shows the progression of genocide throughout history; it also gives concise background so you feel like you have a solid understanding of the build up to the actual event, and then the international response afterward.

[Bisan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genocidal evil – a human, not a natural, phenomenon – is not an unstoppable force, and we are not helpless in the face of it.

This book can be summed by these two quotes:
"Genocide still exists, despite the legal processes that have been instituted against it." and "the promise of “never again” rang hollow."

I liked this book, it was very informative and interesting. One thing that made me raise an eyebrow is that for a book that talks in such a detailed and in depth manner about genocide and crimes against humanity, Palestine was only mentioned as the jews’ ancestral homeland while disregarding the mass murders, rapes, destruction and forced evacuation with clear intent to replace the natives and remove them from the land (all strategies previously mentioned as genocidal tactics by the author himself who is a professor of history).
I'm not saying the author is biased, im saying certain ideological choices were definitely made when writing this book.

[cinlin]

Read chapters 1 "Introduction: defining genocide", 2 "Colonial genocides", 9 "The dilemmas of prevention and intervention", 10 "International justice," and 11 "The future" for Joshua and Genocide.