The Holocaust has long seemed incomprehensible; a monumental crime that beggars our powers of description and explanation. Historians have probed the many sources of this tragedy; but no account has united the various causes into an overarching synthesis that answers the vital question: How was such a nightmare possible in the heart of western civilization?In How Could This Happen; historian Dan McMillan distills the vast body of Holocaust research into a cogent explanation and comprehensive analysis of the genocide's many causes; revealing how a once-progressive society like Germany could have carried out this crime. The Holocaust; he explains; was caused not by one but by a combination of factors—from Germany's failure to become a democracy until 1918; to the widespread acceptance of anti-Semitism and scientific racism; to the effects of World War I; which intensified political divisions within the country and drastically lowered the value of human life in the minds of an entire generation. Masterfully synthesizing the myriad causes that led Germany to disaster; McMillan shows why thousands of Germans carried out the genocide while millions watched; with cold indifference; as it enveloped their homeland. Persuasive and compelling; How Could This Happen explains how a perfect storm of bleak circumstances; malevolent ideas; and damaged personalities unleashed history's most terrifying atrocity.
#108801 in Books Adrian Tinniswood 2016-05-03 2016-05-03Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.50 x 1.25 x 6.50l; .0 #File Name: 0465048986344 pagesThe Long Weekend Life in the English Country House 1918 1939
Review
68 of 72 people found the following review helpful. Left wanting more about the promised weekends.By Jim in ChicagoThis book has great promise and a couple worthwhile chapters including an opening piece on the actual weekends promised by the title and a closing chapter on the servants lives; but between there is much tedium.Chapter after chapter of how Lord Sumblebum hired some known society decorator to do up Moldy Manor. And that this was all covered in Country Life. We're supposed to care but with nary a picture to support most of them we're just left confused. How useful is a description of a Manor house with "high gables and ivy" with not so much as a single picture.In particular the chapter on the handful of modern country houses just left me screaming "show me". A couple random pictures didn't do the job.Descriptions of lavish dinners and receptions were similarly crying out for anything to bring the text yo life.Certainly well researched but would be much more interesting with half the text and dozens of additional illustrations.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. The perfect read... for a long weekendBy James E. BlackThis was an enjoyable read; to be enjoyed over a long weekend; of course. I liked Downton Abbey but was not a huge follower. But I can imagine that this book would give great heart to someone who misses that show or that era. A well-researched piece on just about every aspect of country living and it's rise and fall. It truly makes you understand why it is a "bygone" era and let's you understand the "Saturday to Monday" phrase5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Three StarsBy MomoThought it would be more about the people and house parties than architecture.
