Mirrors Of Destruction

He then examines the pacifist reaction in interwar France to show how it contributed to a climate of collaboration with dictatorship and mass murder.

Mirrors of Destruction examines the relationship between total war, state-organized genocide, and the emergence of modern identity. Here, Omer Bartov demonstrates that in the twentieth century there have been intimate links between military conflict, mass murder of civilian populations, and the definition and categorization of groups and individuals. These connections were most clearly manifested in the Holocaust, as the Nazis attempted to exterminate European Jewry under cover of a brutal war and with the stated goal of creating a racially pure Aryan population and Germanic empire. The Holocaust, however, can only be understood within the context of the century's predilection for applying massive and systematic methods of destruction to resolve conflicts over identity. To provide the context for the "Final Solution," Bartov examines the changing relationships between Jews and non-Jews in France and Germany from the outbreak of World War I to the present. Rather than presenting a comprehensive history, or a narrative from a single perspective, Bartov views the past century through four interrelated prisms. He begins with an analysis of the glorification of war and violence, from its modern birth in the trenches of World War I to its horrifying culmination in the presentation of genocide by the SS as a glorious undertaking. He then examines the pacifist reaction in interwar France to show how it contributed to a climate of collaboration with dictatorship and mass murder. The book goes on to argue that much of the discourse on identity throughout the century has had to do with identifying and eliminating society's "elusive enemies" or "enemies from within." Bartov concludes with an investigation of modern apocalyptic visions, showing how they have both encouraged mass destructions and opened a way for the reconstruction of individual and collective identifies after a catastrophe. Written with verve, Mirrors of Destruction is rich in interpretations and theoretical tools and provides a new framework for understanding a central trait of modern history.

Behind the minds of those that fear, lies the unconquerable hero that all must hear, a hero who has never existed before, who can change the fate of ANY story that has been told, whether it be a book or movie. So is the case with the protagonist of this story in "Legends of Destruction." He is a warrior forged with pain, a warrior with the strength to lift planets, who can survive the intense heat of a sun, a warrior who can fight an army as one, for he is an army of one. Journey with this character on his quest to rid himself of a demon god that threatens to destroy him and every story in fiction. Discover the incredible powers and abilities of this warrior as he fights his way through 9 stories in differing styles of combat to defeat a god with no name. And learn the true answer to the question that has been asked for generations: how do you kill a god? Readers beware! "Legends of Destruction" features explicit and lurid scenes of graphic violence, imaginative and humanely impossible fights, and godlike devastation! Go to http: //www.freewebs.com/david_strontium for a free preview of the story.

Explores Ezekiel--a story of trauma, holiness, and survival

From Volume 5 (2006), the Journal of Bamboo and Rattan is published by Kerala Forestry Research Institute, Peechi - 680 653, Kerala, India, Fax: + 91 487 269 9249, E-mail: [email protected], www.kfri.org.

This book offers a novel and productive explanation of why 'ordinary' people can be moved to engage in destructive mass violence (or terrorism and the abuse of rights), often in large numbers and in unexpected ways. Its argument is that narratives of insecurity (powerful horror stories people tell and believe about their world and others) can easily make extreme acts appear acceptable, even necessary and heroic. As in action or horror movies, the script dictates how the 'hero' acts. The book provides theoretical justifications for this analysis, building on earlier studies but going beyond them in what amount to a breakthrough in mapping the context of mass violence. It backs its argument with a large number of case studies covering four continents, written by prominent scholars from the relevant countries or with deep knowledge of them. A substantial introduction by the UN's Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide demonstrates the policy relevance of this path-breaking work.

He shows how the way we understand ourselves reflects the ambivalent effects of the Holocaust on our perceptions of war and violence, history and memory, progress and barbarism.