One of our most important public intellectuals reveals the hidden history of our current global crisisHow can we explain the origins of the great wave of paranoid hatreds that seem inescapable in our close-knit world―from American shooters and ISIS to Donald Trump; from a rise in vengeful nationalism across the world to racism and misogyny on social media? In Age of Anger; Pankaj Mishra answers our bewilderment by casting his gaze back to the eighteenth century before leading us to the present.He shows that as the world became modern; those who were unable to enjoy its promises―of freedom; stability; and prosperity―were increasingly susceptible to demagogues. The many who came late to this new world―or were left; or pushed; behind―reacted in horrifyingly similar ways: with intense hatred of invented enemies; attempts to re-create an imaginary golden age; and self-empowerment through spectacular violence. It was from among the ranks of the disaffected that the militants of the nineteenth century arose―angry young men who became cultural nationalists in Germany; messianic revolutionaries in Russia; bellicose chauvinists in Italy; and anarchist terrorists internationally.Today; just as then; the wide embrace of mass politics and technology and the pursuit of wealth and individualism have cast many more billions adrift in a demoralized world; uprooted from tradition but still far from modernity―with the same terrible results.Making startling connections and comparisons; Age of Anger is a book of immense urgency and profound argument. It is a history of our present predicament unlike any other.
#21556 in Books imusti 1991-01-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.50 x 5.25 x 1.25l; .71 #File Name: 0349100136400 pagesABACUS
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Monica A. Castelli-DellExcellent!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent booksBy Olimpia NowickaThese are excellent accounts by Primo Levi of his survival in Auschwitz and the return home after being freed by the Soviet Army. The first one is heartbeaking; but the Truce is like a modern man Odyssey. It also gives a good account of life immediately after the war; a topic which is probably mostly overlooked.11 of 12 people found the following review helpful. 174517By R. M. PetersonThat was the number tattooed on Primo Levi's left arm when he was processed into Auschwitz in February 1944. The numbers were assigned in sequence; so by the time Levi arrived in Auschwitz there were few with tattoos of only five digits. In that sense - the sense of being a relatively late arrival - Levi was fortunate. And because Levi; through chance and no doubt through a certain spunk; was able to survive the next year (one of only three who eventually returned home out of 650 in his consignment of Italian Jews); the world is fortunate. Because his memoir of his year at Auschwitz is probably the most significant first-person account of that vile episode of human history.As many have noted; what distinguishes Levi's account is his restraint; his near superhuman effort to confine his memoir to the perspective of a witness. Although he lapses occasionally; Levi tried to avoid "the lamenting tones of the victim [as well as] the irate voice of someone who seeks revenge." Thus; his memoir has a documentary objectivity that makes it even more chilling.This particular edition actually contains two of Levi's memoirs. The first; IF THIS IS A MAN; is the memoir described above - the account of his year at Auschwitz; the most harrowing period (ironically) being the post-apocalyptic ten days between the flight of the Nazis and the arrival of the Red Army. (The only prisoners the Nazis left in the camp were those too sick to be marched westwards; towards Germany. Levi; suffering from an attack of scarlet fever; was among the ill left behind. During those ten days; the percentage of corpses on the bunks inside some of the huts rose to fifty percent. Outside the huts; "the number of ravens had increased considerably and everybody knew why.") The second memoir; THE TRUCE; is Levi's account of the nine months between liberation by the Red Army and his arrival home; at last; in Turin; Italy. It is a fascinating and instructive kaleidoscopic picture of the displaced peoples throughout Eastern Europe in the months immediately following the collapse of Nazi Germany. Although not quite the essential document that IF THIS IS A MAN is; it too is well worth reading. This edition also contains; as an afterword; fifteen pages in which Levi addresses some of the questions frequently asked him; such as "Have you forgiven them [the Germans?]?" and "How can the Nazis' fanatical hatred of the Jews be explained?".For those who don't know; the title of the first memoir; the classic one; comes from a poem Levi wrote; also entitled "If This Is a Man". It includes these lines:Consider if this is a manWho works in the mudWho does not know peaceWho fights for a scrap of breadWho dies because of a yes or no.Those five lines sum up this remarkable book; one that should be read by everyone who considers himself civilized.
