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So one of my favorite books is Matthew White's The Great Big Book of Horrible Things: The Definitive Chronicle of History's 100 Worst Atrocities. As the title suggests, White goes through history's hundred deadliest events and gives a brief synopsis. At over 500 pages it's a big book with many quotable parts so I tried to limit myself to just five. “With such sketchy evidence the temptation is to pick whatever scenario supports one's underlying worldview. Do you want to demonstrate that humans are forever at the mercy of nature? Then the Mayans succumbed to drought. Want to teach us to manage our resources better? Then the Mayans carelessly destroyed their environment. Want a backstory for you novel about dreadful supernatural forces? Then the Mayans meddled in occult matters and unleashed demonic forces from the darkening void.” -On the possible causes of the Mayan Collapse. “Somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, a long time ago, the Chinese wiped out a tribe few people have heard of. Most of history is like this.” - From the opening to the chapter on the Sino-Dzungar War. “In this case, revisionists seem to forget that the world went to war against Hitler because he was dangerous, not because he was evil. This is an important distinction in international relations. You can do whatever you want inside your own country, but when you start invading your neighbors, the rest of the world gets jumpy. No mater how brutal Stalin may have been to his own people, he was content to stay inside the borders of the Soviet Union. By the time Stalin began grabbing small countries for himself, the West was already committed to the war with Hitler. The choice wasn't between fighting Hitler or Stalin. The choice was to fight Hitler or both of them.” - On World War II revisionism. “Sometimes mankind has a really bad day, like April 15, 1912. On that day, the mortally wounded ocean liner Titanic sank into the icy waters of the North Atlantic, taking fifteen hundred passengers to their deaths. Meanwhile, half a world away in Korea, Kim Il-sung was born. Of those two events, the second was probably worse.” - From the opening to the chapter on North Korea. “This doesn't mean sex is absent from wars. Rape is as much a part of war as killing, looting, and enslavement. Military recruiters have always lured farmboys into the ranks with the promise of adventure, and women traditionally swoon over a man in uniform, but wars don't start over sex. The fighting is always about something else. After all, you can rally mass armies with appeals to patriotism, God, revenge, glory, and greed, but citizens won't flock to the colors to help the president get laid.” - From the analysis on what causes, and doesn't cause, wars.
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Jun 8, 2016 13:38
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 17:12 |
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