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A review by 23149014345613
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power
5.0
I found something even harder to read about than the Holocaust - it's the fruitless struggles of Holocaust refugees to get Allied forces to intervene during the Holocaust! An informative book about a topic I am curious and passionate about that is also heavier than lead. I took frequent breaks to breathe deeply, watch comedies, sit in the sun and play with dogs because self-care is key with this one, folks.
For the book's length, I was disappointed in some of the details we didn't get, such as atrocities where the US was not only not part of the solution but on the side of the perpetrators (or was the perpetrator itself - some mention is made of US treatment of American Indians and Black people, mostly as rationale for US politicians opposed to defining and prosecuting genocide, but I would have liked more in-depth coverage). Power does not plainly spell out what the US plan for intervention should look like in the future, something that other reviewers have faulted her for, but by the text of the book you can see this is an impossible ask. Power attempts to unite these tragedies by showing how war and similar initial conditions can lead to genocide, but each conflict is so unique and distinctive, she points out often the dangers of fighting "the last war" and relying on hindsight. Certainly the US should be doing more to publicly denounce and sanction some of these regimes. There are warning signs and there are actions we can take, especially if we begin to prioritize human life over our own fickle geopolitical agendas. But military intervention, as we see, is another hydra entirely.
Ultimately, I came away with a nuanced view of America's involvement and detachment. We made mistakes, and we will doubtless make more, especially without the outrage and pressure of common people forcing political actors to intervene. How can we surpass our predecessors and be better stewards of the power of the promise of America? That's something I think each reader needs to answer for themselves, as no one can lay out in a few hundred pages how to solve a problem like this.
For the book's length, I was disappointed in some of the details we didn't get, such as atrocities where the US was not only not part of the solution but on the side of the perpetrators (or was the perpetrator itself - some mention is made of US treatment of American Indians and Black people, mostly as rationale for US politicians opposed to defining and prosecuting genocide, but I would have liked more in-depth coverage). Power does not plainly spell out what the US plan for intervention should look like in the future, something that other reviewers have faulted her for, but by the text of the book you can see this is an impossible ask. Power attempts to unite these tragedies by showing how war and similar initial conditions can lead to genocide, but each conflict is so unique and distinctive, she points out often the dangers of fighting "the last war" and relying on hindsight. Certainly the US should be doing more to publicly denounce and sanction some of these regimes. There are warning signs and there are actions we can take, especially if we begin to prioritize human life over our own fickle geopolitical agendas. But military intervention, as we see, is another hydra entirely.
Ultimately, I came away with a nuanced view of America's involvement and detachment. We made mistakes, and we will doubtless make more, especially without the outrage and pressure of common people forcing political actors to intervene. How can we surpass our predecessors and be better stewards of the power of the promise of America? That's something I think each reader needs to answer for themselves, as no one can lay out in a few hundred pages how to solve a problem like this.