Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Das heimliche Imperium by Daniel Immerwahr

7 reviews

ntawn0's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.25

Overall a really informative read. Enjoyable, in that it conveys information well, without being dry (but the topics discussed are not, exactly, enjoyable). First half of the book, which covers the territorial expansion of the US on the continent and the Spanish-American War is told, mostly, chronologically and deep dives into some obscure aspects of US imperialism. 

The second half of the book covers the decolonization that happened post-WWII and the transition to US globalization. This part is told topically, rather than chronologically, so each chapter begins by describing the origins of the topic at hand (language, industrial standards, etc.) which largely relate to WWII, so the second half of the book is very WWII heavy, so that is something to keep in mind. 

.75 points off because the second part drags a little bit. Also, immerwahr toes around some of the more nuanced, but currently, relevant aspects of the US international presence, discussing how widespread military bases are, but ignoring the direct shape of encirclement present in relation to China, North Korea, USSR/Russia, and Iran. As current US policy continues to push towards ever more conflict with these countries, Immerwahr's glossing over of this is a little disappointing (though understandable, as it could be its own 400 page book). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, War, and Colonisation

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Slavery, Genocide, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia

Immerwahr quotes numerous politicians/bureaucrats/military personnel who use slurs. Some war crimes are discussed.

elisalasater's review against another edition

challenging informative tense slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Genocide, Torture, Slavery, and Police brutality

elook's review against another edition

informative

4.25

While at some point this book did drag a bit for me, I thought it was really eye opening. It was definitely a nonfiction book where I was constantly bothering the people around with new facts. I ended it with a desire to learn more about several of the topics covered, which I think is just about the best thing a nonfiction book could do! It discussed America's history with imperialism and colonialism. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Violence and Slavery

faduma's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Confinement, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Violence, War, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Slavery, and Racism

mmccombs's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Woof. This book was so informative and has shifted a lot of my ideas about what empire means and what the US’s place is in that. I really didn’t know much of this history and YIKES I needed this geography and history lesson. There are so many unsung histories and colonized people lost to time and malicious “miscounting” by an empire hard pressed to not look like one. This was a good overview and was approachable, lots of info was presented without it being too much (the chapter on standardization was a bit dull, though it was still useful to his overall argument. But screw thread angles! Who knew!). I will say I didn’t really love the way this book was organized (I often felt confused about when or where we were in time, people we were introduced to earlier came back but I forgot their names, etc). He also spent a huge chunk of this book on WWII which obviously is a huge turning point in our history of empire, but I’m unsure it needed so much attention. It was also quite hard to read sometimes, a fair amount of racial slurs and fairly vivid descriptions of violence were used (I think generally in a way that painted a clearer picture, but it sometimes felt gratuitous). All in all, this was a really impactful history that has helped me think about the US in a new, much more critical way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Violence, War, Slavery, Racism, Murder, Genocide, and Gun violence

Moderate: Homophobia

c100's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: War, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, and Slavery

ariel_bloomer's review against another edition

challenging informative tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, War, Colonisation, and Slavery

Moderate: Medical trauma, Rape, Murder, Child death, Forced institutionalization, and Torture

Minor: Islamophobia and Pregnancy