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Title: A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas, 1492 to the Present by Ward Churchill ISBN: 0-87286-323-9 Publisher: City Lights Books Pub. Date: January, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.44 (16 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A far reaching matter
Comment: Ward Churchill has written an important and expansive overview on genocide and how it relates to, especially, the "settler's" policy on native peoples. He covers a board range of subject matter in a collection of essays: Genocide denial in various forms, the American holocaust, internal colonialism and defining genocide in solid terms. All this is done with extensive research and detailed footnotes (the footnotes alone could be organized into a seperate book). Some people may find some of his views radical (something the author deals with in several footnotes), but Mr. Churchill comes across as extremely well-versed in specific subjects, as well as the material as a whole.
The main bulk of the text refers to the European invasion of the Americas. This book does a good job of presenting the full expanse of the suffering of Native American peoples from the time Columbus first set foot on this land. I was generally familiar with the more infamous acts (i.e. Sand Creek, Wounded Knee, forced marches), but this books presents a multitude of lesser known atrocities, and the chilling details of the acts themselves, in a well-ordered overview. Reading the material one gets a sense of a truly organized dirge, as the various European nations sought to clear these peoples from the earth; this pratice, as the author notes, still continues to this day. The effect is emotionally overwhelming.
The more controversial aspects of the the book, such as the health warnings linked with smoking being a cover-up for radiation poisoning, are covered with the same extensive sourcing as the rest of the book. While very possible in and of themselves (see any respectable book on CIA black ops, etc.), I tend to believe that the ineptitude of the government as a collective body tends to work against such long standing conspiracy (see again the CIA, Bay of Pigs, for a few larger examples). He does create "a shadow of a doubt" in these cases and I would be interested in following up on the sources that he cites. These minor instances should not impact the importance of the work as a whole however.
All in all, this is an invaluable reference source and includes a wealth of material. It functions more as a textbook, lacking in humor and editorial comments, but when dealing with this type of material it's a little hard to crack jokes. This is not a lazy Sunday afternoon read, in which case the latest firefighters-in-love epic of the week would do nicely.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Thorough and Intelligent Coverage of the Subject
Comment: Churchill covers the subject of the North American genocide in detail. The argument over capitilizing the 'holocaust' phenomena is thought provoking, but the best of the book is in its scholarly coverage of a subject that is uncomfortable for many.
Questions of Churchill's pedigree are pointless--this book is a powerful account. Well written and well argued. So tightly reasoned that critics attack his credibility through unfair attacks.
You can judge an idea by the enemies it generates and the wide array of enemies this book provokes testifies to its truthfulness and incise reasoning.
An important read for people who have bought the American history sold in American schools without thinking.
Rating: 5
Summary: Our collective conscience would rather disbelieve
Comment: The book is well written with meticulous citations. The author makes his points aggressively and with a degree of anger, and rightly so. While our collective conscience would rather put the Native American slaughter behind us, Churchill rebukes such apologism and reminds us that the destruction of native peoples and cultures has not ceased, it has simply become a victim of its own successes. It is tempting for the culpable to point to differences in intent to set the Nazi regime apart from European colonialism. While guilt may rest more heavily on Hitler and his Third Riech, it is merely because during the Indian holocaust there were greater numbers of guilty to share the crime.
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