ebooks The Holocaust in American Life by Peter Novick in History

Review

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful. A thought-provoking intellectual history; well presentedBy Richard E. HegnerThis is one of the most intellectually stimulating books I have ever encountered. While few people with probably agree with everything the author has to say; he has written a thoughtful; thoroughly researched examination of how the idea of the Holocaust--and popular thinking about that tragedy among both Jewish and Gentile Americans--has evolved over the 60 years since the outbreak of World War II. He also has the courage to challenge conventional thinking as well as the beliefs of generally revered leaders like David Ben Gurion and Elie Wiesel.The book does an excellent job of linking popular thinking about the Holocaust with concurrent historical trends and developments; including the more intense American focus on the Pacific as opposed to the European theatre for much of the war; the lack of appreciation during and immediately after the war for the immensity of the Jewish genocide; the emergence of the Cold War (together with the "discovery" of common totalitarian threads between Nazism and Stalinism); the "rehabilitation" of Germany after Stalin took over Eastern Europe; changing views about "victimization" in American popular culture; the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem and Hannah Arendt's controversial analysis of it; the Arab-Israeli Wars of 1967 and 1973; as well as the decline in American anti-semitism in general at the same time that radical black activists were employing anti-Jewish rhetoric.One of the most important contributions of the book is its discussion of the alleged "uniqueness" of the Holocaust; which the author shows to be both historically inaccurate and dangerous in leading down the slippery slope where any other more recent catastrophes and disasters are minimized in comparison. Rich with example and documentation--the footnotes and endnotes should be read; too--the book is one I expect to return to in the future. Broad in its scope and well-written; it is generally quite persuasive in the arguments it advances.I would concur with those critics who fault the author's occasionally overly colloquial style; especially when he is discussing Holocaust deniers. His dismissal of them as "kooks" and "nut cases" detracts from the generally strong case he makes against them.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Read this one!!!By bob lewisEnlightening and well worth the effort.30 of 39 people found the following review helpful. Will shake up your beliefsBy A CustomerBefore reading this book; some of the things I knew about the Holocaust were that (1) the Allied military ignored the pleas of Jewish groups to bomb Auschwitz... (2) Bombing the rail lines to Auschwitz would have saved Jewish lives... (3) American guilt about failure to rescue Jews was an important factor in US support for the State of Israel in 1948... (4) The very existence of Israel was in peril during the 1967 and 1973 wars...Novick argues (convincingly to me) that these; and a bunch of other things that I'd always assumed; are simply wrong. And I'm not just talking about the "soap factory" stories. The "political message" of the Holocaust (like most other things) often doesn't have much to do with "historical truth".An earlier reviewer comments on the issue of the uniqueness of the Holocaust: actually; Novick does discuss this issue at some length; arguing convincingly that the whole issue is quite vacuous... uniqueness is a rhetorical rather than a historical matter.I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been more of a media uproar over this book: it's a lot *more* controversial than Goldhagen's book of a few years ago (Hitler's Willing Executioners). Maybe the storm just hasn't broken yet?