For most of it I have no words

by Michael Ignatieff (Essays), Simon Norfolk (Photographs)

Simon Norfolk has photographed sites of genocide and war crimes—names that ring like a death knoll for mankind—Rwanda, Cambodia, Vietnam, Auschwitz, Dresden, Ukraine, Armenia, Namibia. His photographs are charged with an overwhelming emotional intensity as they document where humans have left their trace. They are an extraordinary record of man’s inhumanity to man.

Genres: History

220 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1999

About the author

Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a historian, Ignatieff has held senior academic posts at the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, Harvard University and the University of Toronto.

Reviews

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this was the hardest book I have ever read but also the most important.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is value in visiting the places where genocide has taken place. Norfolk's photos are of sacred spaces, where lives were ended unjustly and without dignity. Honoring those spaces is an act of indebted honor toward those that perished. These may be quiet images, but let their silence forever ring in hearts.

[Joshua Nomen-Mutatio · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title applies here as well.