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libbyy_98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
"The real reason the United States did not do what it could and should have done to stop genocide was not lack of knowledge or influence but a lack of will. Simply put, American leaders did not act because they did not want to."
Wow, there is no wonder this book won a Pulitzer Prize. Power does an absolutely phenomenal job at explaining the absolute powerhouse of a topic as genocide and its relationship with the United States. I considered myself pretty versed in 20th century genocides, having studied them at a university level, but this book allowed me to understand what role the United States played (or did not play) in these atrocities.
It is extremely well written - each chapter explores a genocide of the 20th century from Armenia through to Kosovo, from recognition to response on behalf of the United States. Additionally, she explores the great personalities who fought extremely hard for recognition within the country, including Henry Morgenthau, Raphael Lemkin and William Proxmire among others who dedicated their entire lives to the cause. So many familiar faces are found within these pages, Romeo Dallaire being a particularly sad case, all men and women who tried their damnedest to get somebody to pay attention to what was happening, but most of whom ended with scars and regret because in the end nobody gave a damn and nobody wanted to risk their political careers.
There is no happy ending to this book (obviously), it was written in 2003, where the real impacts of 9/11 had not been fully recognised and Power concludes that the United States must stand with those who were ridiculed or shunned for daring to stand up for those who did not have a voice - while it can be debated whether or not there have been genocides in the 21st century (there have), there is no doubt that the United States has failed completely in this objective and in its place as the 'leader of the world' when it comes to the mass killings occurring in 'far off nations'.
"The United States has never in its history intervened to stop genocide and has in fact rarely even made a point of condemning it as it occurred."
Sounds awfully familiar doesn't it?
Wow, there is no wonder this book won a Pulitzer Prize. Power does an absolutely phenomenal job at explaining the absolute powerhouse of a topic as genocide and its relationship with the United States. I considered myself pretty versed in 20th century genocides, having studied them at a university level, but this book allowed me to understand what role the United States played (or did not play) in these atrocities.
It is extremely well written - each chapter explores a genocide of the 20th century from Armenia through to Kosovo, from recognition to response on behalf of the United States. Additionally, she explores the great personalities who fought extremely hard for recognition within the country, including Henry Morgenthau, Raphael Lemkin and William Proxmire among others who dedicated their entire lives to the cause. So many familiar faces are found within these pages, Romeo Dallaire being a particularly sad case, all men and women who tried their damnedest to get somebody to pay attention to what was happening, but most of whom ended with scars and regret because in the end nobody gave a damn and nobody wanted to risk their political careers.
There is no happy ending to this book (obviously), it was written in 2003, where the real impacts of 9/11 had not been fully recognised and Power concludes that the United States must stand with those who were ridiculed or shunned for daring to stand up for those who did not have a voice - while it can be debated whether or not there have been genocides in the 21st century (there have), there is no doubt that the United States has failed completely in this objective and in its place as the 'leader of the world' when it comes to the mass killings occurring in 'far off nations'.
"The United States has never in its history intervened to stop genocide and has in fact rarely even made a point of condemning it as it occurred."
Sounds awfully familiar doesn't it?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Genocide, Torture, Murder, and Death
malloryhardesty's review against another edition
3.0
“The United States had never in its history intervened to stop genocide and had in fact rarely even made a point of condemning it as it occurred,”
A Problem from Hell by Samantha Power takes the time to call out the hypocrisy of the United Stats in
its inaction when dealing with international crisis. This book starts with the Holocaust, going through every genocide since the invention of the word in the 1940s and explaining how the United States has disregarded and even excused their inaction. Power covers six genocides over the course of this book and in every single one of them the United States has justified their inaction or substituted real action for efforts that proved to be mostly useless. Power creates a compelling narrative throughout the course of this book, and does an excellent jobs of naming names and showing who she thinks the true villains of these stories are. As always, thank you for listening.
A Problem from Hell by Samantha Power takes the time to call out the hypocrisy of the United Stats in
its inaction when dealing with international crisis. This book starts with the Holocaust, going through every genocide since the invention of the word in the 1940s and explaining how the United States has disregarded and even excused their inaction. Power covers six genocides over the course of this book and in every single one of them the United States has justified their inaction or substituted real action for efforts that proved to be mostly useless. Power creates a compelling narrative throughout the course of this book, and does an excellent jobs of naming names and showing who she thinks the true villains of these stories are. As always, thank you for listening.
hrlukz's review against another edition
This is depressing and becomes even more so when you read around and realize it could’ve been even more depressing
suebrownreads's review against another edition
5.0
Another one of those books that should be required reading for every American.
Impressive in scope and detail. Ms. Power is an exhaustive researcher, and the material is organized and presented in an expert manner. It is apparent why this book won a Pulitzer.
Impressive in scope and detail. Ms. Power is an exhaustive researcher, and the material is organized and presented in an expert manner. It is apparent why this book won a Pulitzer.
charlesbilby's review against another edition
fast-paced
5.0
Really really excellent analysis and highly readable. A brilliant piece of scholarship that has absolutely earned its enduring influence. The afterword which had thoughts on 9/11 was very... 2002 and I doubt she'd include it now.
meatrkg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
ben_r's review against another edition
5.0
Power calls genocide a problem from hell. Why do we as a nation, and a nation of politicians, look away when we see it happening, ignore its consequences, ignore and placate the monsters who perpetrate it? And what can be done about it? All questions explored in this work by a passionate explorer.
ebenezeer_swett's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Ok reading this book took me several months because it was simultaneously so good that I wanted to read every word and also such a bummer (sorry) that I couldn’t read too much at a time. I think everyone working for the government should read this book. Summary: the United States government consistently fails to intervene in genocide, often cites not knowing it’s going on (always a lie, it’s more about not wanting to believe that the facts we hear are true) and the cost is hundreds of thousands of lives. The United States is uniquely situated to intervene in genocide given both our fabulous resources and our standing in the global community (we can easily influence European allies to take action). Yet we consistently fail to take even the most minimal steps. We understandably balk at the idea of sending in ground troops, but throw our hands in the air and declare we can do nothing, which is patently false (we could have employed radio jamming technology in the Rwandan genocide, for example, or obeyed the Geneva convention and intervened when Saddam gassed his own people) and ignores the vast options available to us, the most minuscule of which have meaning (we routinely refuse to call genocide what it is.) These policies are unlikely to change without immense pressure from citizens and actual consequences for those who shirk their duty and do nothing when innocents are being slaughtered in scores out of respect for state sovereignty (ie we stop fucking voting for them). A demoralizing and critical book. Read it.