Genocide: Modern Crimes Against Humanity

by Brendan January

Looks at genocides of six different peoples--the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire, the Jews of Europe, the Cambodians, the Tutsis of Rwanda, the Muslims of Bosnia, and Darfur tribes of Sudan.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Library Binding

First published August 15, 2006

About the author

Brendan January has an A.B. from Haverford College and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. He has written numerous nonfiction titles for young readers.

Reviews

[Rednaxela · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Genocide: Modern Crimes Against Humanity” by Brendan January, is a book about all the terrible genocides in the modern era. The book is divided into six chapters which are called “Approaching Genocide, The Armenians of the Ottoman Empire, Crusader Raphael Lemkin, The Jews of Europe, From Nuremberg to the Fields of Cambodia, The Tutsis of Rwanda, The Muslims of Bosnia, The Tribes of Darfur Sudan, and Survivors and Witnesses. The first chapter describes what genocide is and why it happens. The next chapters talk about people and specific nations that have been involved in genocide. There have been many cases of genocide in history but the ones from the 20th and 21st century are by far the best documented. The Armenians of the Ottoman Empire were a Christian group that was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. The leaders of the Ottoman Empire, the “Young Turks” decided they wanted the Armenians to become Muslims. As the first world war came, an opportunity opened for the Young Turks to start the genocide. The Jews of Europe had a similar story. Adolf Hitler convinced the German people that the Jews were the reason they lost World War One. Just like with the Armenians, when war came, the opportunity opened to start the genocide. In Cambodia, there was a communist group called the Khmer Rouge. Communism proves very hard to create and the solution was to rid the society of people who were holding it back. The Tutsis of Rwanda were a group in power for many years. They were the ones who owned cattle, so they dominated all other groups. The other main group was called the Hutu which made up about 80 percent of the population. There was a lot of tension between these two groups. Eventually the Hutu took over the country killing may Tutsi. When Croatia and Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia, a war erupted between Croatia and Serbia. When Bosnia also tried to leave Yugoslavia, Serbia invaded. The Serbs were Orthodox Christian, and they said they were coming to Bosnia to aid people who were being abused by Muslims. The Serbian forces used former Yugoslavian military equipment to destroy mosques and empty the villages of Muslims. In Sudan, some tribes concluded that they could use a rebellion to make the government notice them and address them. The government quickly gave weapons to militia groups and supported them. Many villages were bombed, and many villages were attacked.
I learned that people are just like animals and we need without laws, people will do anything for personal and religious gain. Most of the incidents were for religious reasons. I was also very surprised by how recent a lot of these genocides are. The one in Sudan happened in 2003. Since I was born in 2005, The whole topic of genocide becomes a lot more real for me when I see how recent the incidents tool place. I liked the way the book was put together with the chapter layout. It helped get a good grasp on the timeline and it made it easier to understand. It was an interesting read, and I did not find anything that I did not like. The implication is that in history many bad things have happened, but people are working towards a better future. There is no guarantee that a genocide will not happen in the future but with more laws in place it is less likely to happen. It implies that the world is not as great as it seems to some people. No matter what, people are still going to have different skin color and they will have different religions that historically do not like one another. I do not think it is possible to move past these berries since religion is deeply woven into it and people are not willing to let their religions go for obvious reasons.
I think instead of ignoring what happened just a few years ago, we should learn about it to make sure it never happens again. This book explains the different acts of genocide well and in good detail. I found it a very interesting read. I recommend this book to anyone who is not afraid of a few pictures of skeletons and decaying bodies and does not mind reading about horrible inhumane acts. Because that is what this book is about. I would not say it is a fun read, but it is something that is interesting and educational. If you want to learn about the darker part of history this book will suit you well.

[Emilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genocide: Modern Crimes Against Humanity is an accessible and powerful introduction to a topic that is difficult to write about and difficult to read about. There are individual chapters covering the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide, the Rwandan genocide, the Bosnian genocide and the Sudanese genocide of Darfur. The approach to covering these is almost chronological, beginning with the Armenian genocide and next moving to the inception of the word genocide. The history of the study and international recognition of genocide has one man in particular to thank, Raphael Lemkin. There is an entire chapter dedicated to his life and tireless work to not only spread recognition for the word he created, genocide, but to have the act of genocide become a crime punishable by international law. His story is incredibly moving. All in all, a fantastic starting point for those wishing to learn about the history of genocide.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is far too simplistic in its telling of incidents of genocide. There was genocide with the First Nations of the Americas, on-going genocide in Palestine, genocide happened with many more people that should be recognized but won't. I even believe genocide happened with slavery.

[Eugenia Montiel Aceti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read some of the chapters of this book in order to write an undergraduate university paper.

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. This is not an in-depth book about the topic, but it's a good quick read about it.

[Paisley B]

for a school project

[Kelly Rueda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly, genocide was not a term that was widley accepted when first introduced by Raphael Lemkin. He in fact spent most of his life trying to get the international community to understand what it is and to more importantly view it as a war crime. I was impressed to see organizations that have outlined characteristics and warning signs of genocide in an attempt to stop future occurances. January does a good job at providing an overview of six modern day genocides, while listing many books, websites, and movies for those who desire to further their understanding.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an informative young adult book on the various genocides of the twentieth century. In the world of genocide studies it manages to give good information in a succinct way for lower reading levels... it does not whitewash events or attempt to make unpleasant topics more palatable - it simple relates the stories in a readable and respectful manner.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

a really really good overview of exactly what the title says. writes it continuously so you see what world events shape each situation.