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Title: Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial by Richard J. Evans ISBN: 0-465-02153-0 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 16 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.42 (31 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Captivating story of History and Truth on trial
Comment: Professor Evans was one of the expert witnesses in one of the most important trials in history--the libel case brought by David Irving against Penguin Books. Irving claimed that Penguin, by publishing a book critical of Irving's methods and motives in books about WWII and Nazi Germany, had damaged his reputation.
This book is a compelling account of Evans' role in showing that so-called "historian" David Irving had been manipulating, mischaracterizing, and misusing historical evidence for virtually his entire career of writing about the Second World War and Nazi Germany. And Evans is devasatingly convincing in showing just what really went on in the trial, as well as how widely the trial itself and Irving's work were misunderstood by even intelligent and sophisticated commentators in the world press (some of whom thought that Irving was being somehow prosecuted for his creativity or unpopular views).
Evans' book is eminently readable, well organized, and powerful without being polemical. At the very beginning, he warns the reader that the Irving case was about more than Irving's contention that he had been libeled by being labeled a "Holocaust denier" among other things by Penguin's author Deborah Lipstadt. That is really important and seems to be Evans' larger purpose: to show that there really are some historical "truths" and that the tendency in social sciences to dismiss objective truth and to excuse wild theories by citing the preconceptions or political beliefs of the historian in question is dangerous.
Among the book's strengths are the evident sincerity of the author and his ability to describe how Irving's deception worked and fooled so many people, from professionals to laymen.
Evans is excellent in portraying how historical research is done, what standards are expected of serious historians, and how Irving's work did not meet those standards. He is also convincing in demonstrating Irving's apparent racism and anti-semitism, and he is also subtle in explaining partly the motivations of "Holocaust deniers", though doing so fully would be outside the scope of this book.
I found few weaknesses, one being the inconsistency sometimes in explanations of detail. (For example, a brief explanation in Chapter 2 of what the Nazi party tribunals that reviewed events of November 1938, so-called "Kristallnacht", were doing would be more important than identifying the proper pronunciation of one proper name in a later chapter). Another weakness is the all-too-common failure to include illustrations. It is frustrating to read descriptions of documents, or in the case of Irving, physical appearance, and not be able to see a few photographs that are surely readily available from press accounts.
But those are minor complaints (and the book publishers are apparently cutting costs like everyone else). The most important theme of the book is how this case shows that there really are truths in historical analysis, and that historians should not shrink from taking on those who would question such truths as the overwhelming evidence of the mass and systematic destruction of Jews and other minorities in Nazi Germany. Historians themselves can be dangerous actors in human history if people like Evans and Penguin do not take courageous stands as they did here.
All in all, wonderfully concise and a great read.
Rating: 4
Summary: An important exposition of the use and abuse of history
Comment: Since David Irving's disastrous libel suit against Penguin books, some highly disingenuous commentary has been written by people who clearly neither attended the trial nor understood it (some, for example, apparently not realising that Irving was the plaintiff, not the defendant). Richard Evans, who was an expert witness for the defence, puts the record straight in an important work. Much of the book is devoted to a devastating assessment of Irving's work as a historian; he demonstrates (with, most damningly, a detailed account of Irving's fabrications concerning the bombing of Dresden) that dishonesty has been at the heart of Irving's work since the 1960s. This done, Evans is in a powerful position to substantiate his judgement: the Irving libel suit went to the heart of what history - a contingent process of testing hypotheses - actually means. Irving subordinated historical inquiry to his neo-Nazi sympathies, in an egregious violation of the scholarly ethic.
The only substantial criticism I have of this salutary and important book is where, in his final chapter, Evans in my view deviates from the discipline of history and ventures some rather more speculative and tentative political judgements. He draws a sharp contrast between Irving's Holocaust denial and the work of those writers who have recently criticised the 'Holocaust industry', who at least do not doubt the historicity of the Holocaust. I'm not so sure. Evans describes the work of Peter Novick and Norman Finkelstein as displaying "widely differing degrees of detail and accuracy", implying - quite rightly - that Novick's book has a claim to scholarship whereas Finkelstein's polemic does not. Yet Finkelstein (and even more so his associate Noam Chomsky) display very similar characteristics to David Irving: an agenda of extreme anti-Zionist agitation in preference to scholarship; an adherence to conspiracy theories about Jews; documented links with neo-Nazis (Chomsky, for example, described one Holocaust denier whom Evans refers to, Robert Faurisson, as "a sort of relatively apolitical liberal"); and a willingness to fabricate source material (see Arthur Schlesinger's destruction, in his collection The Cycles of American History, of Chomsky's fabrication of quotations by President Truman). The Irving phenomenon is an extreme one, but it has its counterparts elsewhere on the political spectrum.
Rating: 4
Summary: A glimpse into the world of the deniers
Comment: Holocaust deniers are an enigmatic group in the modern world. One that insists, for various reasons, that one of the greatest tragedies of the modern age was a mere hoax. In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary these people insist the Holocaust simply did not happen; how can they say this? this book by Richard J. Evans about his experiences as a material witness for the defense in David Irving's Libel case against Deborah Lipstadt sheds some light on how denier's history works. Evans' job during the trial basically consisted of checking over David Irving's writings and determining if he was just a 'revisionist historian' (which the deniers all claim to be) or if he was in fact a holocaust denier, an anti-semite, and a falsifier of history.
Evans findings are hardly surprising to those familiar with the denial movement. He showed with sufficient force to convince a supreme court justice that Irving was all of these things. Reading this book can give a person an excellent impression of what the deniers are like; unfortunately that can include arrogant, racist, and unrepentant. These persons all believe in the absolute accuracy of what they say despite the fact that they have to obfuscate their sources, take quotes out of context, and literally ignore mountains of contrary evidence (including eyewitness testimonies, both Jewish and Nazi alike) to make these claims.
Irving is something of a celebrity in this world. With the possible exception of Rassinier or Faurisson he is denial's most prolific writer; certainly he is its most prolific English writer. The most amazing feature of this book is how it portrays Irving. He certainly seems like an utter creep from the portrayal here. He argues forcefully, eloquently, and convincingly to the unwitting public and yet when faced with actually defending his 'revisionist' view of the Holocaust before actual historians he is defeated on virtually all fronts. In the end it is some justice that this man sued Lipstadt for printing a few pages of material he considered to be libelous and he came out of the trial with an over three hundred page judgement handed down by a Supreme Court Justice of England (also available from Penguin publishers under the title, 'The Irving Judgement')upholding Lipstadt's claims as well as many others and a fine of around two million pounds.
The judgement was more damaging to Irving's reputation than anything Lipstadt said and I believe the world owes a big thank you to Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Publishers for taking this case to court. Rather than settle out of court they chose to fight a long and expensive legal battle; they must have known from the beginning that, even if they won, they would probably never see any major portion of the money they spent back again. My hat goes off to them all for fighting a long and arduous legal battle that in the end would net them nothing more than a small boost to their already fine reputation.
This book is easy to read and entertaining; the lay reader will find it not overly complex though some familiarity with the history of the third reich would be helpful. Evans has an excellent command of history and a good sense of humour. For those looking for an introduction to the world of holocaust denial this illustrates perfectly how badly the deniers manipulate evidence to suit their own ends
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Title: Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory by Deborah E. Lipstadt ISBN: 0452272742 Publisher: Plume Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Holocaust on Trial by D. D. Guttenplan ISBN: 0393322920 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Denying History: Who Says Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It (Selection of the History Book Club S.) by Michael Shermer ISBN: 0520234693 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Case for Auschwitz: Evidence from the Irving Trial by R. J. Van Pelt, Robert Jan Van Pelt ISBN: 0253340160 Publisher: Indiana University Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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Title: The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Davis ISBN: 0674766911 Publisher: Harvard University Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1984 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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