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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
I read this book very, very slowly, in bits and pieces; normally that would drive me nuts, but with this book, it didn't. The book is a thematically organized chronicle of the year 1945, as the world ended its second Great War and tried to put itself back together. Buruma examines many different, fascinating angles to this story, and weaves them all together effortlessly. I would say you'd have to be a history nerd (meaning you have at least a recreational interest in the subject) to some degree to really enjoy this much, but even a casual nerd will get something out of it.
Expansive look at how the world changed in 1945, but I admit I lost interest about 60% in. Glad I read what I did and the writing was great, but it got a bit repetitive for me.
informative
medium-paced
Fascinating look at how the world was put back together after the Second World War. Lots of tragedy and mistakes and lots of bias. The author suggests that things didn't come together until 1989, when the Berlin Wall was breached. Insightful. Difficult.
Except for the dyslexia exemplified by the nearly random flipping between Japan, Germany, England, China, France and elsewhere this book offers an detailed look at the social and cultural upheaval end of a world wide war. Most other histories focus on the political events, this book attempts to drill down and describe what was going on at the human level from the "sexual revolution" in all venues (victors, losers, displaced persons, Europeans, Asians, Americans) to shortages of basic survival needs like food, clothing and shelter. It's only at the end in a discussion of the Korean Conflict and War do you struggle with trying to understand whether this period was a one-off event or the precursor of the next 20 or so years. Am I glad I read it? Yes. Did it influence me and my understanding? Yes. Is it something you need to read? Perhaps.
Superb and somewhat contrarian history of the year after the war, during which time a lot people behaved badly -- some intentionally, some not. Highly accessible and provocative.
I have never really thought about what happened after World War II, but Ian Baruma did in this novel. Life was miserable for millions of people after the war ended. Millions had no food, shelter or clothing and millions were forcibly moved from their homelands to somewhere else. I never thought about the fact that property was looted and plundered by their neighbors after Jews were removed to concentration camps, or that Jews were not welcome after the war ended. Ian Baruma states that hatred for Jews was fomented by the plunder of property up for grabs. Surviving Jews were an embarrassment in many countries because people wanted to forget the part they played. Revenge played a part in the war, and many people were killed for revenge. The Russians were particularly revengeful towards Germans. What was life like for millions of defeated soldiers returning to their homes in humiliation? I liked this excerpt from the book about the end of the war: “There was one important difference, however, between the victorious nations and the defeated, the effect of which lasted much longer than the hardships that follow any devastating war. Germans and Japanese were disenchanted with the heroic ideal. They wanted nothing more to do with the war. British and Americans, on the other hand, could never quite rid themselves of nostalgia for their finest hours, leading to a fatal propensity to embark on ill-advised military adventures so they and their nations could live like heroes once more.” That’s a powerful statement among many other ones in this book.
It was ironic to read about Dwight Eisenhower’s efforts to document the German concentration camps liberated at the war’s end. “He wanted reporters to visit the camps so that no one could ever pretend that these horrendous crimes were figments of propaganda.” A little over 60 years later, that’s exactly what happened with the leader of Iran denying the Holocaust ever happened.
This was a good book, although hard to read at times.
It was ironic to read about Dwight Eisenhower’s efforts to document the German concentration camps liberated at the war’s end. “He wanted reporters to visit the camps so that no one could ever pretend that these horrendous crimes were figments of propaganda.” A little over 60 years later, that’s exactly what happened with the leader of Iran denying the Holocaust ever happened.
This was a good book, although hard to read at times.
At first, I felt this book was exploitive. It read as a long list of tenuously connected shocking stories about sex and violence in postwar Germany and Japan.
But it opens up after a few chapters. The book is brutally honest and doesn't glamorize or flatter the Allies, making it clear that war is Hell no matter who wins. And it challenges the simplistic but popular narrative that all Nazi collaborators were intrinsically bad.
I especially enjoyed the use of Japanese literature to show the subtlety of postwar Japan's self-image.
But it opens up after a few chapters. The book is brutally honest and doesn't glamorize or flatter the Allies, making it clear that war is Hell no matter who wins. And it challenges the simplistic but popular narrative that all Nazi collaborators were intrinsically bad.
I especially enjoyed the use of Japanese literature to show the subtlety of postwar Japan's self-image.