A review by annahimmelrich
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power

5.0

This is a profoundly excellent book. And it made me feel so good about myself as an American! Not! Actually, it caused me to reflect on the fact that every morning of my entire childhood I read the "Today" section of the Baltimore Sun (comics, Dear Abby, Hints from Heloise, trend pieces, movie reviews, etc) (Jacob read the sports) and completely ignored not only the Times, which we usually received, but even the World/National news and Maryland news sections of the Sun, which are pretty much written at the level of the Weekly Reader. So, 1992, mayhem in the Balkans, 1994, Rwanda . . . I'm reading Calvin & Hobbes. Which is certainly fun, but, as the book points out, being clueless does not indemnify one against culpability. I'll have to think about that some more tomorrow when I immediately turn to the crossword puzzle in the NYT, ignoring reportage on every actual human event in the process.