The Holocaust has been the subject of countless books; works of art; and memorials. Fifty-five years after the fact the world still ponders the enormity of this disaster. The Holocaust Encyclopedia is the only comprehensive single-volume work of reference providing both a reflective overview of the subject and abundant detail concerning major events; policy decisions; cities; and individuals. Up-to-date and designed for easy access; the encyclopedia presents information on the major aspects of the Holocaust in essays by scholars from eleven countries who draw on a number of sources—including recently uncovered evidence from the former Soviet bloc—to provide in-depth studies on the political; social; religious; and moral issues of the Holocaust as well as short entries identifying events; sites; and individuals. The book also has more than 250 photographs; many of them rare; and 19 maps.The volume includes:• Raul Hilberg on concentration camps and Gypsies• Ruth Bondy; Israel Gutman; and Dina Porat on major ghettoes• Roger Greenspun on the Holocaust in cinema and television• Richard Breitman on American policy• Michael Berenbaum on theological and philosophical responses• Saul Friedländer on Nazi policy• Michael Hagemeister on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion• Michael R. Marrus on historiography• Christopher R. Browning on the Madagascar Plan• Robert S. Wistrich on Holocaust denial• James E. Young on Holocaust literature
#150937 in Books 1992-07-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .65 x 6.00l; .90 #File Name: 0300052669257 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Must-read for all thinkersBy Richard PeelThere can be no serious effort to study ancient thinking and culture without considering in depth the influence of mind-freeing substances.13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. A glimpse into our pastBy T. F. JohnsonThe subtitle to this book is Entheogens and the Origins of Religion. For those not familiar with the term entheogen it literally means `god generated within' and refers to the various psychoactive substances that have been used throughout history in a spiritual context. These include the mushroom cults of rural modern Mexico; the use of a soma by the ancient Indo-European Aryan culture of pre Hindi India; and even in the rites of the Eleusis ceremonies of classical Greece. As can be inferred at this point; the book concerns itself to the investigation of these different spiritual rites that appear to form an almost common theme throughout the development of religion around the world. Wasson is the driving force behind not only the book; but also the study of entheogens as a discipline around the world. His pioneering world in the field of ethnomycology and ethnobotany in the 1940's and 50's lead him to be the first person from the western world to partake in the sacred mushroom rituals of Mesoamerica in 1953.The book itself is divided into two parts. The first consists of essays by R. Gordon Wasson; Stella Kramrisch; and Jonathan Ott covering everything from analysis of the last meal of the Buddha and the connections in mythology between the lightning bolt and the mushroom to the systematic gathering of evidence across cultures and history of the widespread use of entheogens in religious rites. The second part of the book consists of three essays from Carl A. P. Ruck; a distinguished Greek scholar. As would make sense; Ruck's essays focus a bit more intently on the relation of entheogens to ancient Greek society.Any book that is a compilation of separate works from separate authors is inevitably going to suffer from a general lack of flow or cohesion and Persephone's Quest is no exception. Certain parts read better than other; notably Wasson's efforts lead the way in this regard; but as a whole the theories and ideas raised are of the prime importance. Ruck's efforts could also be viewed as a bit tiresome; but I am a bit biased in this regard as Greek history is of immense interest and an area of study for me. Some of what Ruck describes may be lost on readers not familiar with the ancient Greek world; but then again this is the case regarding almost any area. Anyone with an interest in entheogens of psychedelics in the parlance of recreational usage will do themselves well to read this book.It certainly holds a great deal of relevance for today's world and can in fact still be seen in some of the worlds great religions such as Hinduism; where often times a surrogate has replaced the original entheogen; in the Hindu case soma was replaced with the putka mushroom; which is not psychoactive. The simple fact that the use of entheogens was/is so widespread throughout human history is a reason to study it and the current prejudice held against such substances by many academics and authority figures is completely unfounded. It seems almost to be part of a larger movement within a certain section of society that is willing to dismiss the scientific-analytical approach to such diverse topics as global warming; evolution; stem cell research and other so called `controversial' topics. In fact it seems to me that this dismissal of reason is usually coming from some sort of religion inspired dogma.In light of this the book will probably not be accepted very warmly in religious circles; which is unfortunate. What is maybe more unfortunate is that the will the part of society that readily accepts the side of reason in most of the aforementioned topics continues to persist by in large to a wholesale rejection of examining entheogens and their importance in the development of human civilization. This book is a good start to hopefully change the popular perception on these remarkable substances.36 of 37 people found the following review helpful. Persephone's Quest : Entheogens and the Origins of ReligionBy A CustomerAlthough I only gave it 4 stars; this book is actually outstanding. I did not give it the highest evaluation because; although R.G. Wasson's material was monumental; some of the other material included did not seem of the same caliber. Wasson's perspective is really a must read for anyone interested in this subject. He was not only extremely intelligent; but he also had an innate ability to phrase his ideas in a manner that really conveyed a total picture of what he was discussing. His perspective of calling them "personal experiences rather than hallucinations" really describes his intelligent attitude of pioneering. He had the insight to realize that he was discovering a new frontier that no one had the understanding to call true; false or imaginary. He was aware of the power of people using psychoactive materials and did not try to fit all of this into a politically correct literary structure that the current autorities of his era would accept. He provides his own; somewhat negative; perspective of Dr. Timothy Leary "and those of his ilk". He did not agree with the psychedelic crowd about using these materials for entertainment and believed that there was something inherently sacred about them. Although he was the first person of modern civilization to discover and document the use of the Psilocybin mushrooms of Central America he realized there was a difference between the effects of these mushrooms and the Amanita Muscaria which has no Psilocybin and apparently produced effects that spawned a number of the major religions of the world. I recommend this book to anyone who would like REAL information concerning psychoactive experience.
