A review by aggie2010
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power

4.0

In "A Problem From Hell," Samantha Power introduces readers to Raphael Lemkin and the creation of a word for a crime without a name- genocide. Power enthralls readers as she recounts Lemkin's life-long struggle to create a law forbidding the crime of genocide and his unrelenting battle against the international community for its passage. As the book continues, Power acquaints readers with the historical background leading up to several genocides in the 20th century and the progression of each genocide. The heart of Power's book however is the response, or lack of response, by the United States when genocide is being committed. Power argues that the United States refused to take action against the genocidal regimes of the Khmer Rouge and Saddam Hussein and stood back while genocide was committed in Bosnia and Rwanda because of national self-interests. It is a damning account of how the United States puts self-interest ahead of saving thousands of innocent civilians from being murdered.