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  • Experts

Genocide

Most Recommended Books

Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher Browning

“This book, which is, Christopher Browning’s study of the interrogation of a battalion of German soldiers sent to take part in the ‘final solution’ in Poland in 1942, is quite astounding in terms of what he found out about ‘ordinary’ human cruelty and viciousness. These were ordinary men, as the title suggests. Yet they participated in absolutely brutal slaughter of completely innocent people. This wasn’t even in the context of organised war.”

Gwen Adshead, Medical Scientist

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If This Is a Man by Primo Levi

“It’s about his 11 months in Auschwitz. I was reading this over the weekend—just to bone up for this interview—and just like every other time I’ve read it, it stretches my ability to comprehend. The physical and emotional pain is extremely intense. Even the most inured cynic is taken aback by the infrastructure of human cruelty in the camp.”

Andy West, Philosopher

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    The best books on The Holocaust, recommended by Steven Katz

  • Read
    The best books on The Holocaust - The Destruction of the European Jews by Raul Hilberg

    1

    The Destruction of the European Jews
    by Raul Hilberg

  • Read
    The best books on The Holocaust - Night by Elie Wiesel

    2

    Night
    by Elie Wiesel

  • Read
    The best books on The Holocaust - Judenrat by Isaiah Trunk

    3

    Judenrat
    by Isaiah Trunk

  • Read
    The best books on The Holocaust - Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher Browning

    4

    Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
    by Christopher Browning

  • Read
    The best books on The Holocaust - Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto by Emanuel Ringelblum

    5

    Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto
    by Emanuel Ringelblum

  • The best books on The Holocaust - The Destruction of the European Jews by Raul Hilberg
  • The best books on The Holocaust - Night by Elie Wiesel
  • The best books on The Holocaust - Judenrat by Isaiah Trunk
  • The best books on The Holocaust - Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher Browning
  • The best books on The Holocaust - Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto by Emanuel Ringelblum

The best books on The Holocaust, recommended by Steven Katz

In the years immediately after World War II, the Holocaust was little studied. That all changed with the publication of Raul Hilberg’s book, The Destruction of the European Jews. Steven Katz, professor of Jewish Holocaust Studies at Boston University and former Director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies, introduces the best Holocaust books.    

The best books on The Holocaust, recommended by Steven Katz

    Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide, recommended by Thomas de Waal

  • Read
    Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - My Grandmother by Fethiye Cetin

    1

    My Grandmother
    by Fethiye Cetin

  • Read
    Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - Four Years in the Mountains of Kurdistan by Aram Haigaz

    2

    Four Years in the Mountains of Kurdistan
    by Aram Haigaz

  • Read
    Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - Burning Orchards by Gurgen Mahari

    3

    Burning Orchards
    by Gurgen Mahari

  • Read
    Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - Song of America by George M. Mardikian

    4

    Song of America
    by George M. Mardikian

  • Read
    Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - I Ask You, Ladies and Gentlemen by Leon Surmelian

    5

    I Ask You, Ladies and Gentlemen
    by Leon Surmelian

  • Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - My Grandmother by Fethiye Cetin
  • Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - Four Years in the Mountains of Kurdistan by Aram Haigaz
  • Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - Burning Orchards by Gurgen Mahari
  • Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - Song of America by George M. Mardikian
  • Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide - I Ask You, Ladies and Gentlemen by Leon Surmelian

Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide, recommended by Thomas de Waal

More than 100 years after the Armenian genocide, author Tom de Waal chooses books that sidestep the politics and bring us back to the human story. He picks the best memoirs of the Armenian genocide.

Memoirs of the Armenian Genocide, recommended by Thomas de Waal

    The best books on Racism and How to Write History, recommended by Francisco Bethencourt

  • Read
    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The Interesting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano

    1

    The Interesting Narrative
    by Olaudah Equiano

  • Read
    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - Civilization and Capitalism by Fernand Braudel

    2

    Civilization and Capitalism
    by Fernand Braudel

  • Read
    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The East in the West by Jack Goody

    3

    The East in the West
    by Jack Goody

  • Read
    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing by Michael Mann

    4

    The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing
    by Michael Mann

  • Read
    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz

    5

    The Price of Inequality
    by Joseph Stiglitz

  • The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The Interesting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano
  • The best books on Racism and How to Write History - Civilization and Capitalism by Fernand Braudel
  • The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The East in the West by Jack Goody
  • The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing by Michael Mann
  • The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz

The best books on Racism and How to Write History, recommended by Francisco Bethencourt

Racism is not innate but emerges under special conditions, says the King’s College professor and author of the sweeping history Racisms: From the Crusades to the Twentieth Century. He chooses five books that inspired him.

The best books on Racism and How to Write History, recommended by Francisco Bethencourt

    The best books on Genocide, recommended by Norman Naimark

  • Read
    The best books on Genocide - Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher Browning

    1

    Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
    by Christopher Browning

  • Read
    The best books on Genocide - The Years of Extermination by Saul Friedländer

    2

    The Years of Extermination
    by Saul Friedländer

  • Read
    The best books on Genocide - Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder

    3

    Bloodlands
    by Timothy Snyder

  • Read
    The best books on Genocide - Blood and Soil by Ben Kiernan

    4

    Blood and Soil
    by Ben Kiernan

  • Read
    The best books on Genocide - A Problem from Hell by Samantha Power

    5

    A Problem from Hell
    by Samantha Power

  • The best books on Genocide - Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher Browning
  • The best books on Genocide - The Years of Extermination by Saul Friedländer
  • The best books on Genocide - Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder
  • The best books on Genocide - Blood and Soil by Ben Kiernan
  • The best books on Genocide - A Problem from Hell by Samantha Power

The best books on Genocide, recommended by Norman Naimark

Genocide isn’t the preserve of fanatics and racist thugs – it’s part of human nature, says Stanford historian Norman Naimark. He tells us how genocide happens, who denies it, where it could return, and the best books to read about it.

The best books on Genocide, recommended by Norman Naimark

    The best books on Changing the World for Good, recommended by Mia Farrow

  • Read
    The best books on Changing the World for Good - Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

    1

    Half the Sky
    by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

  • Read
    The best books on Changing the World for Good - We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch

    2

    We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families
    by Philip Gourevitch

  • Read
    The best books on Changing the World for Good - Worse than War by Daniel Goldhagen

    3

    Worse than War
    by Daniel Goldhagen

  • Read
    The best books on Changing the World for Good - The Responsibility to Protect by Gareth Evans

    4

    The Responsibility to Protect
    by Gareth Evans

  • Read
    The best books on Changing the World for Good - Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir

    5

    Tears of the Desert
    by Halima Bashir

  • The best books on Changing the World for Good - Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
  • The best books on Changing the World for Good - We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch
  • The best books on Changing the World for Good - Worse than War by Daniel Goldhagen
  • The best books on Changing the World for Good - The Responsibility to Protect by Gareth Evans
  • The best books on Changing the World for Good - Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir

The best books on Changing the World for Good, recommended by Mia Farrow

The actress and humanitarian activist says that in any genocide 95 per cent of us are capable of being led or enticed to a tipping point where we can pick up a machete and hack to death strangers and friends alike.

The best books on Changing the World for Good, recommended by Mia Farrow

    Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man

  • Read
    Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - If This Is a Man by Primo Levi

    1

    If This Is a Man
    by Primo Levi

  • Read
    Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen by Tadeusz Borowski

    2

    This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen
    by Tadeusz Borowski

  • Read
    Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - Red Cavalry and Other Stories by Isaac Babel

    3

    Red Cavalry and Other Stories
    by Isaac Babel

  • Read
    Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

    4

    Blood Meridian
    by Cormac McCarthy

  • Read
    Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - The Known World by Edward P Jones

    5

    The Known World
    by Edward P Jones

  • Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - If This Is a Man by Primo Levi
  • Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen by Tadeusz Borowski
  • Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - Red Cavalry and Other Stories by Isaac Babel
  • Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
  • Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man - The Known World by Edward P Jones

Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man

When reading books, we often empathize with a main character and find redemption in our emotional response to their fate. But it’s more important to think, says Bosnian novelist Aleksandar Hemon. Here, he picks the best books on ‘man’s inhumanity to man.’

Aleksandar Hemon on Man’s Inhumanity to Man

    The best books on War Crimes, recommended by Andrew Cayley

  • Read
    The best books on War Crimes - Nuremberg by Airey Neave

    1

    Nuremberg
    by Airey Neave

  • Read
    The best books on War Crimes - Five Days in London by John Lukacs

    2

    Five Days in London
    by John Lukacs

  • Read
    The best books on War Crimes - Nelson by Christopher Hibbert

    3

    Nelson
    by Christopher Hibbert

  • Read
    The best books on War Crimes - The War Poems of Wilfred Owen by Wilfred Owen, ed. John Stallworthy

    4

    The War Poems of Wilfred Owen
    by Wilfred Owen, ed. John Stallworthy

  • Read
    The best books on War Crimes - If This Is a Man by Primo Levi

    5

    If This Is a Man
    by Primo Levi

  • The best books on War Crimes - Nuremberg by Airey Neave
  • The best books on War Crimes - Five Days in London by John Lukacs
  • The best books on War Crimes - Nelson by Christopher Hibbert
  • The best books on War Crimes - The War Poems of Wilfred Owen by Wilfred Owen, ed. John Stallworthy
  • The best books on War Crimes - If This Is a Man by Primo Levi

The best books on War Crimes, recommended by Andrew Cayley

Having served as the International Co-Prosecutor of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia, Andrew Cayley QC draws on his firsthand experience to nominate the best books on war crimes.

The best books on War Crimes, recommended by Andrew Cayley

    The best books on The Rwandan Genocide, recommended by Philip Gourevitch

  • Read
    The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - Life Laid Bare by Jean Hatzfeld

    1

    Life Laid Bare
    by Jean Hatzfeld

  • Read
    The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - Rwanda by Rakiya Omar

    2

    Rwanda
    by Rakiya Omar

  • Read
    The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - Le Tribunal des Vaincus by Thierry Cruvellier

    3

    Le Tribunal des Vaincus
    by Thierry Cruvellier

  • Read
    The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - The Discovery of the Source of the Nile by John Hanning Speke

    4

    The Discovery of the Source of the Nile
    by John Hanning Speke

  • Read
    The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - My Traitor's Heart by Rian Malan

    5

    My Traitor's Heart
    by Rian Malan

  • The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - Life Laid Bare by Jean Hatzfeld
  • The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - Rwanda by Rakiya Omar
  • The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - Le Tribunal des Vaincus by Thierry Cruvellier
  • The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - The Discovery of the Source of the Nile by John Hanning Speke
  • The best books on The Rwandan Genocide - My Traitor's Heart by Rian Malan

The best books on The Rwandan Genocide, recommended by Philip Gourevitch

The journalist and author of We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, an account of the Rwandan genocide, explores five books on the events that left 800,000 dead in 100 days.

The best books on The Rwandan Genocide, recommended by Philip Gourevitch

    The best books on Nazi Hunters, recommended by Guy Walters

  • Read
    The best books on Nazi Hunters - The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth

    1

    The Odessa File
    by Frederick Forsyth

  • Read
    The best books on Nazi Hunters - The House on Garibaldi Street by Isser Harel

    2

    The House on Garibaldi Street
    by Isser Harel

  • Read
    The best books on Nazi Hunters - Blind Eye to Murder by Tom Bower

    3

    Blind Eye to Murder
    by Tom Bower

  • Read
    The best books on Nazi Hunters - The Last Days of Hitler by H. R Trevor Roper

    4

    The Last Days of Hitler
    by H. R Trevor Roper

  • Read
    The best books on Nazi Hunters - The Real Odessa by Uki Goni

    5

    The Real Odessa
    by Uki Goni

  • The best books on Nazi Hunters - The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth
  • The best books on Nazi Hunters - The House on Garibaldi Street by Isser Harel
  • The best books on Nazi Hunters - Blind Eye to Murder by Tom Bower
  • The best books on Nazi Hunters - The Last Days of Hitler by H. R Trevor Roper
  • The best books on Nazi Hunters - The Real Odessa by Uki Goni

The best books on Nazi Hunters, recommended by Guy Walters

The Times journalist calls Simon Wiesenthal a liar. He’s just not this secular saint that everyone says he is – his memoirs all contradict each other and are at odds with the rest of the evidence

The best books on Nazi Hunters, recommended by Guy Walters

    The best books on Cambodia, recommended by David Chandler

  • Read
    The best books on Cambodia - Angkor and the Khmer Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places) by Michael D. Coe

    1

    Angkor and the Khmer Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places)
    by Michael D. Coe

  • Read
    The best books on Cambodia - (Kindle) Pol Pot by Philip Short

    2

    (Kindle) Pol Pot
    by Philip Short

  • Read
    The best books on Cambodia - Cambodia Year Zero by Francois Ponchaud Price

    3

    Cambodia Year Zero
    by Francois Ponchaud Price

  • Read
    The best books on Cambodia - Sideshow by William Shawcross

    4

    Sideshow
    by William Shawcross

  • Read
    The best books on Cambodia - When The War Was Over by Elizabeth Becker

    5

    When The War Was Over
    by Elizabeth Becker

  • The best books on Cambodia - Angkor and the Khmer Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places) by Michael D. Coe
  • The best books on Cambodia - (Kindle) Pol Pot by Philip Short
  • The best books on Cambodia - Cambodia Year Zero by Francois Ponchaud Price
  • The best books on Cambodia - Sideshow by William Shawcross
  • The best books on Cambodia - When The War Was Over by Elizabeth Becker

The best books on Cambodia, recommended by David Chandler

David Chandler, one of the foremost western scholars on Cambodian history—and author of the first study of S-21, the Khmer Rouge interrogation centre—recommends the best books on Cambodia.

The best books on Cambodia, recommended by David Chandler

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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