dansumption's review against another edition
5.0
Almost all of us living in developed countries have no experience and very little understanding of famine and starvation. We think of it as something that happens mainly in Africa, whereas in the last 100 years the biggest mass starvations have been in China and Europe. And we think of it as a force of nature, a natural consequence of failing food supplies; this misconception, which de Waal calls "Malthus's zombie", is the one which this book sets out to tackle. Famine, in almost all instances, has political causes, and can be avoided if there is political will to do so. De Waal demonstrates this by looking at the causes of all famines in the last 150 years, and by studying the incredible near-eradication of famine in the last 30 years. He takes a close look at Ethiopia, where specific measures to eradicate famine mean that recent food crises have not led to any additional deaths (despite this being a country where the food supply is fragile and the population has increased fourfold in the last 50 years). If Ethiopia can put an end to mass starvation, he argues, the rest of the world can too. In fact, he argues that allowing mass starvation ought to be considered a deliberate crime against humanity, on a par with genocide.
The book sounds one note of caution: in 2017, for the first time in some 30 years, mass starvation is again on the rise, and Yemen and Syria are experiencing the first mass starvations in the Middle East in over 100 years. These new famines are all political in origin, and avoidable. They appear to herald a rise in counter-humanitarianism: the belief that some lives have no value. We have made great progress against mass starvation in the last century, but there are signs that that progress is now going into reverse.
The book sounds one note of caution: in 2017, for the first time in some 30 years, mass starvation is again on the rise, and Yemen and Syria are experiencing the first mass starvations in the Middle East in over 100 years. These new famines are all political in origin, and avoidable. They appear to herald a rise in counter-humanitarianism: the belief that some lives have no value. We have made great progress against mass starvation in the last century, but there are signs that that progress is now going into reverse.
schmietaisabel's review against another edition
5.0
This book was read for my Global Topics: International Human Rights course at NYU.
I greatly enjoyed reading this book, though I don't think enjoyed is the right term for the topic of the text itself... This was one of the text we read for my International Human Rights course, and it was a truly eye-opening read. The point of the book is the reveal the truth and change the narrative around the topic of famines and mass starvation throughout history. As he points out towards the beginning, as was a large part of our class discussion, we typically associate famine with natural causes, such as a drought causing a lack of crops. This, as excellently outlined in Mass Starvation, is inherently false. Mass starvation and famine is a political issue, brought about by oppressive regimes to inflict power and control over certain populations. Mass starvation and famine is a form of genocide. De Waal does an excellent job outlining these points in a rhetoric that is understandable. He gives various examples throughout the book, as to also provide significant amounts of evidence that famine is more relevant and prominent than we think. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is remotely interested in this topic.
I greatly enjoyed reading this book, though I don't think enjoyed is the right term for the topic of the text itself... This was one of the text we read for my International Human Rights course, and it was a truly eye-opening read. The point of the book is the reveal the truth and change the narrative around the topic of famines and mass starvation throughout history. As he points out towards the beginning, as was a large part of our class discussion, we typically associate famine with natural causes, such as a drought causing a lack of crops. This, as excellently outlined in Mass Starvation, is inherently false. Mass starvation and famine is a political issue, brought about by oppressive regimes to inflict power and control over certain populations. Mass starvation and famine is a form of genocide. De Waal does an excellent job outlining these points in a rhetoric that is understandable. He gives various examples throughout the book, as to also provide significant amounts of evidence that famine is more relevant and prominent than we think. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is remotely interested in this topic.
nietzschesghost's review
5.0
Polity Press tends to have fantastic writers who explore fascinating and timely topics and I am pleased to say that "Mass Starvation" by Alex de Waal is another success. I look forward to continuing my love affair with Polity in the future!
This is an uncomfortable subject matter that we all need to learn more about. As de Waal alludes to - famines are man-made and can be placed in the same category as genocide. They are not simply about a lack of food sources but a variety of political and policy issues that result in food not reaching those who most need it - this can be deliberate or accidental but either way, it is never as simple as it appears. The book references the cases of the war in Yemen and that in Syria. We all see the pictures on television of Yemeni people suffering so badly from malnutrition that some of them end up dying but I don't think many people really understand the complexity of the issue. Most people just assume it's solely about food resources. De Waal goes some way to addressing the REAL causes of famine and it makes for a rather distressing and depressing read but one I learned from and enjoyed nevertheless. Those who use mass starvation as a weapon of war should be prosecuted, maybe then they will think twice about it. That said, the issue of famine has improved in recent years and they have become less frequent and less severe which gives us all a beacon of hope for the future.
Many thanks to Polity Press for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This is an uncomfortable subject matter that we all need to learn more about. As de Waal alludes to - famines are man-made and can be placed in the same category as genocide. They are not simply about a lack of food sources but a variety of political and policy issues that result in food not reaching those who most need it - this can be deliberate or accidental but either way, it is never as simple as it appears. The book references the cases of the war in Yemen and that in Syria. We all see the pictures on television of Yemeni people suffering so badly from malnutrition that some of them end up dying but I don't think many people really understand the complexity of the issue. Most people just assume it's solely about food resources. De Waal goes some way to addressing the REAL causes of famine and it makes for a rather distressing and depressing read but one I learned from and enjoyed nevertheless. Those who use mass starvation as a weapon of war should be prosecuted, maybe then they will think twice about it. That said, the issue of famine has improved in recent years and they have become less frequent and less severe which gives us all a beacon of hope for the future.
Many thanks to Polity Press for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
erinvdmast's review
3.0
Close to four stars.
In this book, De Waal makes the argument that famines have almost been eradicated from our times, but worryingly that recent developments in armed conflict seem to bring back some of it. Modern famine, he argues, is mostly a consequence of political decision.
I particularly found his first chapters very interesting and almost could not stop reading in them. He carefully lays out his arguments, discussed famine as a mass atrocity (very interesting and relevant!) and takes a lot of time to carefully refute what he terms 'Malthus zombie', the notion that overpopulation will lead to famine.
But after that it became slightly disappointing to me, mostly because the subject matter is so interesting but De Waal takes too little time to discuss this in-depth (maybe I should start reading his articles as well). His overview of modern famines was very brief and, the chapter I was most looking forward too, on current instances of famine (most notably Yemen and Syria) was really too short, considering these present a core part of his argument. It would have worked better for me if his case studies had been in-depth and elaborate analyses, rather than brief overviews.
But, his content is highly relevant and very interesting, so look forward to reading more from him!
In this book, De Waal makes the argument that famines have almost been eradicated from our times, but worryingly that recent developments in armed conflict seem to bring back some of it. Modern famine, he argues, is mostly a consequence of political decision.
I particularly found his first chapters very interesting and almost could not stop reading in them. He carefully lays out his arguments, discussed famine as a mass atrocity (very interesting and relevant!) and takes a lot of time to carefully refute what he terms 'Malthus zombie', the notion that overpopulation will lead to famine.
But after that it became slightly disappointing to me, mostly because the subject matter is so interesting but De Waal takes too little time to discuss this in-depth (maybe I should start reading his articles as well). His overview of modern famines was very brief and, the chapter I was most looking forward too, on current instances of famine (most notably Yemen and Syria) was really too short, considering these present a core part of his argument. It would have worked better for me if his case studies had been in-depth and elaborate analyses, rather than brief overviews.
But, his content is highly relevant and very interesting, so look forward to reading more from him!
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