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A review by cator_and_bliss
East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity by Philippe Sands
5.0
I finished this on the day that Ratko Mladić was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, a striking coincidence given the depth to which this book explores the meaning of, and distinction between, these two crimes. Prior to reading it, I had't really considered that there was a difference, much less one that was significant enough to warrant such a through exploration. By exploration I refer to both the impressive careers of Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin, and to Philippe Sands' skilful and thorough investigation.
This is a book that is animated chiefly by arguments and ideas; the distinction between genocide and crimes against humanity and the legal, political and historical ramifications of that difference. It's a point that threatens to make the book into something of a dry, technical exercise (one core issue centres on the placing of a comma in a piece of text) but Sands is far too good a writer to allow his material to overwhelm his book's readability.
He is aided in this by the brilliant decision to interpolate his legal biographies of Lauterpacht and Lemkin with a personal piece of genealogy, exploring his own family's connections to the city of Lwow and to the genocides and crimes against humanity of the twentieth century. These sections add significant strength to Sands' motivations in writing the book while providing a personal, 'ground level' view of these terrible crimes.
A stunning, thrilling and, above all, thought provoking piece of work, this is a book that has deepened my understanding of international law, of twentieth century history and of life in the 'bloodlands' of central and eastern Europe. My non-fiction book of the year.
This is a book that is animated chiefly by arguments and ideas; the distinction between genocide and crimes against humanity and the legal, political and historical ramifications of that difference. It's a point that threatens to make the book into something of a dry, technical exercise (one core issue centres on the placing of a comma in a piece of text) but Sands is far too good a writer to allow his material to overwhelm his book's readability.
He is aided in this by the brilliant decision to interpolate his legal biographies of Lauterpacht and Lemkin with a personal piece of genealogy, exploring his own family's connections to the city of Lwow and to the genocides and crimes against humanity of the twentieth century. These sections add significant strength to Sands' motivations in writing the book while providing a personal, 'ground level' view of these terrible crimes.
A stunning, thrilling and, above all, thought provoking piece of work, this is a book that has deepened my understanding of international law, of twentieth century history and of life in the 'bloodlands' of central and eastern Europe. My non-fiction book of the year.