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vreadsabook's reviews
672 reviews
German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial by John Horne, John N. Horne, Alan Kramer
4.0
Ultimately a very solid, well-researched book. The work is truly ground-breaking, in that it pushes the debate past arguing whether German atrocities during the invasion of Belgium actually happened. Establishing clearly that they did, the discussion shifts now to explanations of why.
That said, the book is a dry read. The sheer volume of evidence the authors provide is convincing, but can make the book a drudge to read.
That said, the book is a dry read. The sheer volume of evidence the authors provide is convincing, but can make the book a drudge to read.
Batman: Night Cries by Archie Goodwin
3.0
It's hard to give this graphic novel a decent rating. The art style is beautiful, and perfect for the subject matter of the graphic novel. I actually felt compelled to study the artwork deeply at many points, which doesn't always happen for me. At the same time, the plot felt very contrived. While child abuse is certainly an acceptable topic for Batman, at the same time the inclusion of so many facts and statistics ultimately made the work a little preachy and thus lose some of its impact. A respectable Batman graphic novel, but not the best I've ever read.
The Hitler Myth: Image and Reality in the Third Reich by Ian Kershaw
4.0
This was actually really good. Kershaw does a great job of showing how the public received mythical ideals of Hitler and how they impacted public opinion. The book can be a bit disorganized at times because of the sheer volume of information Kershaw covers, but nonetheless it is a fun historical read.
Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot
4.0
This book is a deceptively simplistic text. The book is well-written and and enjoyable read, with very interesting anecdotes. It was hard, at the beginning, not to find Trouillot's points about history's constructed nature as anything other than a repeat of lessons already learned. The end, however, features a strong message regarding public history and the role of historians as educators. It is here where Trouillot applies his principles to a very thought-inducing critique of history as done by modern historians.