For those who enjoy a tireless, detailed account of controversial historical events, this is an excellent find.
A painstakingly meticulous, unconventional analysis of the purported 1995 genocide that took place in Srebrenica.
Originally published under the title Deconstruction of a Virtual Genocide (2013), this impressively rigorous reconsideration challenges the conventional wisdom regarding the devastation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The two authors—one a medical doctor who exhaustively assessed all the germane forensic evidence, the other a man who played a part as a defense attorney in the judicial aftermath of the Srebrenica incident—call for a more “holistic approach” to the event, one that considers the three days of killing within the context of three years of war. They also scour allegedly expert testimony and eyewitness accounts, impugning their credibility. The principal, and shocking, conclusion the authors draw is that genocide, in the strictest sense of the charge, never did occur, though they do concede that war crimes were committed, specifically numerous executions. “The attention and vast logistical resources invested in propping up this misleading narrative could have been more effectively used to conduct a proper investigation,” they write. In fact, the authors argue that the preceding three years had been riddled by war crimes, even “pogroms,” committed by Muslim combatants, systematically neglected and even covered up by global media, major governments and a slew of international institutions infected by bias. Further, they contend that such wholesale misrepresentation of the facts only stymies the possibility of future harmony between Orthodox and Muslim communities. Written in often dense prose characteristic of academic literature, this isn’t light fare, and its provocative claims are sure to stir the scholarly pot.
For those who enjoy a tireless, detailed account of controversial historical events, this is an excellent find.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2013
ISBN: 978-0970919830
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Unwritten History
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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