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Why X Matters Series
Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters
In December 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a brilliant French artillery officer and a Jew of Alsatian descent, was court-martialed for selling secrets to the German military attaché in Paris based on perjured testimony and trumped-up evidence. The sentence was military degradation and life imprisonment on Devil’s Island, a hellhole off the coast of French Guiana. Five years later, the case was overturned, and eventually Dreyfus was completely exonerated. Meanwhile, the Dreyfus Affair tore France apart, pitting Dreyfusards—committed to restoring freedom and honor to an innocent man convicted of a crime committed by another—against nationalists, anti-Semites, and militarists who preferred having an innocent man rot to exposing the crimes committed by ministers of war and the army’s top brass in order to secure Dreyfus’s conviction. Was the Dreyfus Affair merely another instance of the rise in France of a virulent form of anti-Semitism? In Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters , the acclaimed novelist draws upon his legal expertise to create a riveting account of the famously complex case, and to remind us of the interest each one of us has in the faithful execution of laws as the safeguard of our liberties and honor.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
14 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
About the author
Louis Begley
44 books85 followersLouis Begley is an American novelist.
Begley was born Ludwik Begleiter in Stryi at the time part of Poland and now in Ukraine, as the only child of a physician. He is a survivor of the Holocaust due to the multiple purchases of Aryan papers by his mother and constant evasion of the Nazis. They survived by pretending to be Polish Catholic. The family left Poland in the fall of 1946 and settled in New York in March 1947. Begley studied English Literature at Harvard College (AB '54, summa cum laude), and published in the Harvard Advocate. Service in the United States Army followed. In 1956 Begley entered Harvard Law School and graduated in 1959 (LL.B. magna cum laude).
Upon graduation from Law School, Begley joined the New York firm of Debevoise & Plimpton as an associate; became a partner in January 1968; became of counsel in January 2004; and retired in January 2007. From 1993 to 1995, Begley was also president of PEN American Center. He remains a member of PEN's board of directors, as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
His wife of 30 years, Anka Muhlstein, was honoured by the French Academy for her work on La Salle, and received critical acclaim for her book A Taste for Freedom: The Life of Astolphe de Custine.
His first novel, Wartime Lies, was written in 1989. It won the PEN/Hemingway Award for a first work of fiction in 1991. The French version, Une éducation polonaise, won the Prix Médicis International in 1992. He has also won several German literature prizes, including the Jeanette Schocken Prize in 1995 and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Literature Prize in 2000.
His novel About Schmidt was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jack Nicholson.
Begley was born Ludwik Begleiter in Stryi at the time part of Poland and now in Ukraine, as the only child of a physician. He is a survivor of the Holocaust due to the multiple purchases of Aryan papers by his mother and constant evasion of the Nazis. They survived by pretending to be Polish Catholic. The family left Poland in the fall of 1946 and settled in New York in March 1947. Begley studied English Literature at Harvard College (AB '54, summa cum laude), and published in the Harvard Advocate. Service in the United States Army followed. In 1956 Begley entered Harvard Law School and graduated in 1959 (LL.B. magna cum laude).
Upon graduation from Law School, Begley joined the New York firm of Debevoise & Plimpton as an associate; became a partner in January 1968; became of counsel in January 2004; and retired in January 2007. From 1993 to 1995, Begley was also president of PEN American Center. He remains a member of PEN's board of directors, as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
His wife of 30 years, Anka Muhlstein, was honoured by the French Academy for her work on La Salle, and received critical acclaim for her book A Taste for Freedom: The Life of Astolphe de Custine.
His first novel, Wartime Lies, was written in 1989. It won the PEN/Hemingway Award for a first work of fiction in 1991. The French version, Une éducation polonaise, won the Prix Médicis International in 1992. He has also won several German literature prizes, including the Jeanette Schocken Prize in 1995 and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Literature Prize in 2000.
His novel About Schmidt was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jack Nicholson.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 23, 2021
I didn't know Begley is a novelist, which is on me, but it explains some things about this book. It is a narrative retelling of the Affair, which succeeds in many ways in providing an engrossing account. There is plenty of consideration of the implications of the case, including a section of literary analysis at the end. Where the book lost me was the tenuous connection to the title, and perhaps this is where a scholarly approach would have produced more rigor; there is little to show "why it matters" today other than occasional comparisons to Bush-era actions during the War on Terror. It's safe to say this comprises about 10% of the book at most, the rest of which is given to recounting the Affair itself. While there's much commendable in the author's actual delivery and storytelling, I was thrown off by this distance between premise and product. Certainly not wasted time, but some might want to supplement with other reading.
November 7, 2017
I find the Dreyfus Affair fascinating. So much fuss for so long about seemingly so little--one unimportant and unjustly convicted man. But so many fault lines converge on this case--around race and ethnicity and Frenchness, anxieties about the modern world, political structures and corruption, the legacy of a century of revolution and political instability, the army and military values, religion and the place of religious institutions in the modern state, education and social mobility and class. And these fault lines meant that France tore itself apart about this case for years. This isn't the book to read if you want to know the basics of the case, but it makes useful connections between the Affair and modern anxieties and tensions.
September 22, 2014
I read this to complement my reading of An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris as it's a non-fiction account of "why the dreyfus affair matters." I was fascinated by the historical account of the trial, the cover-up, the retrial, the pardon and the final reversal of all charges in 1906. It validated the depth of Harris's research and his ability to capture the personalities involved. As with the Harris book, Dreyfus is actually the least interesting and least likable person caught up in this web of intrigue. What I didn't like about Begley's book was his insistence on linking the Dreyfus case to our modern day hysteria (his word) about terrorism and why we see all foreigners (especially those of Arab origin) as terrorists, regardless of any specific evidence. Ironic that in his preface, written right after Obama's inauguration, Begley was positive that Obama would make good on his promise to close Guantanamo Bay and to restore basic civil liberties and justice to those incarcerated there. That's why to Begley the Dreyfus Affair Matters.
July 14, 2018
Touches on the overall history of why it matters in terms of the forfeiture of rights and not as much in terms of the implications on the history of France.
June 16, 2021
Interesting but frustrating--LOTS of detail. Worth reading the chronology and castnof characters first.
April 4, 2022
(Jim Cook’s review). This book claims that the Dreyfus Affair is still relevant for two reasons: Dreyfus’s treatment by judicial and military authorities and his incarceration on Devil’s Island is something that is echoed by the US government’s detention and mistreatment of large numbers of alleged terrorists at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba - and both are examples of massive injustice. Second, that to properly understand Marcel Proust’s great novel A la recherche du temps perdu one must also be familiar with the events that occurred between 1894 - 1906 when the arrest, detention, and ultimate exoneration of Dreyfus polarized France and much of the rest of the Western world. These claims are elaborated in the first and the last chapters of the book.
These claims are well argued but I would add a third point of relevance to us of the Dreyfus Affair: it shows how easily an issue can be turned into something that polarizes people. At the time virtually everyone in France was either a Dreyfusard or an anti-Dreyfusard; differences of opinion on this issue set family members against each other and even broke apart some marriages. It reminds me of the differences of opinion that people today have about Trump or about vaccinations for COVID. Where opinion is largely divided based on emotion rather than reason, an issue quickly becomes polarized and beyond the impact of “facts.”
Begley’s book does a good job of retelling the Dryfus story and most of his book is devoted to that. He was a good choice to tell this story, as he is both a lawyer and a novelist.
I also learned about Yale University Press’s “Why X Matters” series, as Begley’s book is published as one of this group of books. If you look up the other 15 books in this series I’m sure you will find one of interest to you!
These claims are well argued but I would add a third point of relevance to us of the Dreyfus Affair: it shows how easily an issue can be turned into something that polarizes people. At the time virtually everyone in France was either a Dreyfusard or an anti-Dreyfusard; differences of opinion on this issue set family members against each other and even broke apart some marriages. It reminds me of the differences of opinion that people today have about Trump or about vaccinations for COVID. Where opinion is largely divided based on emotion rather than reason, an issue quickly becomes polarized and beyond the impact of “facts.”
Begley’s book does a good job of retelling the Dryfus story and most of his book is devoted to that. He was a good choice to tell this story, as he is both a lawyer and a novelist.
I also learned about Yale University Press’s “Why X Matters” series, as Begley’s book is published as one of this group of books. If you look up the other 15 books in this series I’m sure you will find one of interest to you!
July 30, 2020
Ich bewerte das mal als gut zu lesende Darstellung der Dreyfus-Affäre mit vier Sternen. Die Vergleiche zu Guantánamo sind nicht besonders übrezeugend und nicht genau ausgeführt. Sowieso machen sie nur einen sehr geringen Teil des Buches aus.
Eine Frage habe ich allerdings: Wer hat sich den deutschen Titel ausgedacht?!
Eine Frage habe ich allerdings: Wer hat sich den deutschen Titel ausgedacht?!
January 11, 2021
Really disappointed. The first and last chapter could have been removed and the book wouldn't have suffered, Begley goes on and on with details that don't matter to the Dreyfus affair, and honesley the typos and run-on setances really pulled me out of what is a really interesting historical story. In Begley's hands, the story is not worth reading.
December 24, 2011
Eine relative kurze Darstellung über die Dreyfus-Affäre. Generell finde ich Begleys Schreibstil etwas langweilig bzw. bekommt er mich nicht dazu, dass ich mich gut in die beschriebenen Dinge hineindenken kann. Das Problem hatte ich auch schon bei seiner Kafka-Biographie. Zum Beispiel verwendet er wenige oder gar keine Zeilen, um die Hauptakteure vorzustellen, wodurch die vielen Personen leider viel zu beliebig erscheinen. Manchmal ist es nicht klar, wer gleich wieder dieser gerade bschriebene Jemand ist, und wieso das Beschriebene jetzt für den Gesamtzusammenhang wichtig ist.
Dennoch fühle ich mich durch Begley gut informiert. Vor allem ist es ihm gelungen, einerseits den Rechtsmissbrauch und die folgende Verschleierung gut zu beschreiben. Unter den Vorzeichen von virulentem Antisemitismus und Militarismus wurde hier ein unschuldiger Mensch für das fragliche Wohl einer Nation geopfert.
Schon zu Beginn wird klar, dass Dreyfus' Charakter die Affäre zunächst begünstigt hat. Allein durch die Art, in der er auf die Anschuldigungen reagierte, machte er sich zur Zielscheibe. Als relativ uncharismatischer Typ, der noch dazu einfach zu sehr der Obrigkeit hörig war (was er als Jude zum Teil auch musste, um sich nicht negativ zu exponieren), mangelte es ihm schlicht am Zeug zum großen Protest. Später wurde er auch zu einer denkbar ungeeigneten Galleonsfigur für die Bewegung der Dreyfusaden.
Das Buch stellt viele äußerst interessante Fragen, wie z.B. Bestimmt die Gesinnung allein schon die Seite, auf der man sich in politischen Konflikten wiederfindet (Wäre Dreyfus selbst Drefus-Anhänger geworden, wenn er nicht Dreyfus gewesen wäre?)?, Macht man sich schuldig bzw. verdächtig, wenn man bestimmte Erwartungen der Öffentlichkeit zurückweist bzw. gar nicht registriert?, Wie lange dauert es, bis man im Rechtsstaat zu seinem Recht kommen kann? Natürlich besteht noch der Bezug zu Guantanamo, der im Buch explizit gemacht wird und nachvollziehbar ist, auch wenn die einschlägigen Passagen irgendwie aufgesetzt anmuten.
Ich fand es am schockierendsten wie unbewegbar das Rechtssystem blieb, als Dreyfus längst als unschuldig galt, und dass es noch Jahre dauerte, bis Dreyfus zumindest teilweise wieder rehabilitiert war. Als Platitüde lässt sich das so zusammenfassen: Nicht jeder, der im Recht ist, bekommt schließlich recht. Wenn man sich selbst in die Situation hineindenkt, dann erkennt man erst, dass es sich um eine absolute Horrorvorstellung handelt -- längst nach der Heimkehr von der Teufelsinsel in die vermeintlich sichere Heimat.
Wichtig am Buch erscheint mir vor allem, dass es vor Augen führt, dass das, was heute als politisch-moralische Selbstverständlichkeit aufegfasst wird -- nämlich, dass man auf der Seite von Dreyfus steht -- alles andere als die automatische Reaktion wäre, die man auch heute hätte. Wie sonst lässt sich die laue Unterstützung der zu unrecht inhaftierten Guantanamo-Insassen erklären. Auch für den Fall Dreyfus müsste man sich ehrlich die Frage stellen, ob man solch eine Person, die ähnlich vorurteilsbelastet angeklagt wird, unterstützen würde. Die Entscheidung für das Richtige erscheint im Rückblick immer so etwas von ausgemacht, dass selbst die Leute, die sich mit historischen Fällen auseinandersetzen, nicht immer mitrefklektieren, dass im Hier-und-Jetzt politisches Engagement wie in der Affäre Dreyfus immer ein Kampf, vor allem auch mit einem selbst, ist.
Dennoch fühle ich mich durch Begley gut informiert. Vor allem ist es ihm gelungen, einerseits den Rechtsmissbrauch und die folgende Verschleierung gut zu beschreiben. Unter den Vorzeichen von virulentem Antisemitismus und Militarismus wurde hier ein unschuldiger Mensch für das fragliche Wohl einer Nation geopfert.
Schon zu Beginn wird klar, dass Dreyfus' Charakter die Affäre zunächst begünstigt hat. Allein durch die Art, in der er auf die Anschuldigungen reagierte, machte er sich zur Zielscheibe. Als relativ uncharismatischer Typ, der noch dazu einfach zu sehr der Obrigkeit hörig war (was er als Jude zum Teil auch musste, um sich nicht negativ zu exponieren), mangelte es ihm schlicht am Zeug zum großen Protest. Später wurde er auch zu einer denkbar ungeeigneten Galleonsfigur für die Bewegung der Dreyfusaden.
Das Buch stellt viele äußerst interessante Fragen, wie z.B. Bestimmt die Gesinnung allein schon die Seite, auf der man sich in politischen Konflikten wiederfindet (Wäre Dreyfus selbst Drefus-Anhänger geworden, wenn er nicht Dreyfus gewesen wäre?)?, Macht man sich schuldig bzw. verdächtig, wenn man bestimmte Erwartungen der Öffentlichkeit zurückweist bzw. gar nicht registriert?, Wie lange dauert es, bis man im Rechtsstaat zu seinem Recht kommen kann? Natürlich besteht noch der Bezug zu Guantanamo, der im Buch explizit gemacht wird und nachvollziehbar ist, auch wenn die einschlägigen Passagen irgendwie aufgesetzt anmuten.
Ich fand es am schockierendsten wie unbewegbar das Rechtssystem blieb, als Dreyfus längst als unschuldig galt, und dass es noch Jahre dauerte, bis Dreyfus zumindest teilweise wieder rehabilitiert war. Als Platitüde lässt sich das so zusammenfassen: Nicht jeder, der im Recht ist, bekommt schließlich recht. Wenn man sich selbst in die Situation hineindenkt, dann erkennt man erst, dass es sich um eine absolute Horrorvorstellung handelt -- längst nach der Heimkehr von der Teufelsinsel in die vermeintlich sichere Heimat.
Wichtig am Buch erscheint mir vor allem, dass es vor Augen führt, dass das, was heute als politisch-moralische Selbstverständlichkeit aufegfasst wird -- nämlich, dass man auf der Seite von Dreyfus steht -- alles andere als die automatische Reaktion wäre, die man auch heute hätte. Wie sonst lässt sich die laue Unterstützung der zu unrecht inhaftierten Guantanamo-Insassen erklären. Auch für den Fall Dreyfus müsste man sich ehrlich die Frage stellen, ob man solch eine Person, die ähnlich vorurteilsbelastet angeklagt wird, unterstützen würde. Die Entscheidung für das Richtige erscheint im Rückblick immer so etwas von ausgemacht, dass selbst die Leute, die sich mit historischen Fällen auseinandersetzen, nicht immer mitrefklektieren, dass im Hier-und-Jetzt politisches Engagement wie in der Affäre Dreyfus immer ein Kampf, vor allem auch mit einem selbst, ist.
May 21, 2016
Como uma instituição militar pode cometer um atentado contre os direitos humanos mais fundamentais, como um governo democrático pode aceitar injustiças e até crimes de alguns dos seus mais altos oficiais, como uma parte importante da opinião publica pode cair no racismo e na perseguição de alguns compatriotas em nome da segurança nacional .... Para o Louis Begley, o ódio e a cegueira que levaram ao caso Dreyfus são as mesmas que reapareceram no tratamento dos prisioneiros de Guantanamo. A diferencia sendo para ele que, 12 anos depois do vergonhoso primeiro processo, Dreyfus foi reabilitado e que seu maior apoio, Picquart, chegou a ser nomeado Ministro da Guerra. Em Guantanamo, 14 anos depois, 100 presos ainda esperam uma solução e os responsáveis dessa monstruosidade jurídica não tiveram a minima chamada da justiça americana. Se o livro do Louis Begey é sem duvida uma boa sínteses do Caso Dreyfus e do seu impacto na sociedade e na política francesa no ambiente belicoso dos anos noventa, ele é pouco argumento no paralelo com os Estados Unidos do inicio do século XXI e a sua interessante ideia ainda merece ser trabalhada.
April 14, 2010
Begley has written about the French military's abuse of power and the miscarriage of justice that followed regarding the false charge of treason leveled against Alfred Dreyfus. The most important aspect of the book is how the coverup and the unraveling of the coverup tore the country apart. Parallels to American military snafus and how they too polarized Americans makes you speculate of the nature of power, and how easily abuse of that power can undermine basic human rigts and justice.
I gave it only one star, because it was so poorly written. Begley needed an editor to force him to organize and present his material in a cogent way that would not leave the reader confused and irritated. Begley got lost in his own story and repeated himself and was unable to maintain a timeline flow that would enable the reader to understand this issue.
I gave it only one star, because it was so poorly written. Begley needed an editor to force him to organize and present his material in a cogent way that would not leave the reader confused and irritated. Begley got lost in his own story and repeated himself and was unable to maintain a timeline flow that would enable the reader to understand this issue.
February 5, 2012
20.01.2012 Soeben mit der Leküre begonnen. 05.02.2012 Ein einigermaßen aufwühlendes Buch. Man glaubt die Geschehnisse in groben Zügen zu kennen. Ich muss zugeben, dass ich sehr, sehr wenig über diese Angelegenheit wusste. Begley schildert in diesem journalistischem Buch den chronologischen Ablauf dieser riesigen Gaunerei. Ebenso die gesellschaftliche Auswirkung und die Zerwürfnisse die diese Angelegenheit in Frankreich hervorgerufen hat. Man darf den Glauben an 100 %ige Integrität des Militärs nicht in Frage stellen galt für die eine Seite die andere Seite stellte die Integrität der Wahrheit an erste Stelle. Die Erkenntnisse dieser Angelegenheit finden auch noch heute ihre Bestätigung...
Im Hinblick auf meine Proust Lektüre sehr aufschlußreich.
Im Hinblick auf meine Proust Lektüre sehr aufschlußreich.
August 13, 2016
A fine overview of the case and of anti-Semitism in fin-de-siecle France, but the balance of the book felt odd: a mid-chapter interpolation interrupting the account by describing policies of the Bush administration's prosecution of al-Qaeda suspects and the Guantanamo Bay detention regime, but then not returning to that subject again to complete the idea or explore the parallels. Instead Begley concludes the book with a mini-essay on Proust's response to "l'affaire Dreyfus" in his works Jean Santeuil and A la recherche du temps perdu.
October 25, 2010
This is a nice relatively short history of the Dreyfus Affair written in a matter of fact way. The wraparound points out some of the similarities between the treatment of Dreyfus and our treatment of the prisoners at Guantanemo. The Dreyfus Affair shows how easy it is for a military tribunal to reach incorrect and unjust results as a result of their preconceptions, reinforced by the groupthink of the military.
Interesting, but not compelling.
Interesting, but not compelling.
January 14, 2010
This may be the most cogent analysis of this notorious era in French history I've read ... and the title is exact, for it shines a light on current history/events and enlarges the discussion with curious and rather frightening parallels. Engagingly written so that the sometimes arcane matters under study are easily absorbed.
June 28, 2015
Fascinating on its own, but also worth it for the image in "these charges, appropriately embroidered upon, led to violent agitation..."
August 30, 2010
Articulate and elegant account of the Dreyfus affair, and Begley compares it to recent events (Abu Ghraib prison, Guantanamo)to make it relevant to people's understanding.
August 24, 2012
Excellent overview of the infamous Dreyfus Affair and why it is so important historically. I learned a lot from reading it.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews