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The Great Big Book Of Horrible Things: The Definitive Chronicle Of History's 100 Worst Atrocities (2011)

by Matthew White(Favorite Author)

4.07 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0393081923 (ISBN13: 9780393081923)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: This is quite possibly the most important history book I've ever read.White has a particular perspective: that the human cost of human actions should be quantified and studied thoroughly. This book uses a systematic approach to provide an overview of human events which does not ignore any of the ugliness in history. His use of a simple definition and exquisite sourcing give the reader quite a bit to digest - from the Punic wars to the Congolese civil war to the Three Kingdoms to the Atlantic slave trade - presented in a chronological manner rather than by region. As all historians do, he has some decisions to make: does the Holocaust stand alone or as part of World War II (the latter)? Do the British-caused famines make it in? (India yes, Ireland no). In all of the c... moreases, he meticulously sources the range of estimates for body count and provides a rationale for his decisions (along with notes to check against), and he provides analysis of what these things have in common (less than you might have thought).I think this should become a textbook: it is refreshingly free of ideology and is a wide-enough survey that it can provide the spine of a world history class. It's easy to read, and divided into digestible chunks.This is excellent, highly recommended, and easily one of the better nonfiction books I've read in my life.
review 2: There’s no question that mankind is the most dangerous species in the world. We’re capable of a lot of devastation against and, as Matthew White’s book proves, each other. White has researched our history and come up with our 100 deadliest achievements going back to Ancient Greece and continuing throughout the timelines to the twentieth century. There are no happy endings in this book but there are many frightening statistics and accounts of just how horrible our predecessors have been to each other.White’s book lists the Top 100 atrocities in order towards the end. The bulk of the book is written in chronological order with one or two pages devoted to the lesser atrocities whereas those that grace the top ten are worthy of much lengthier accounts. Each section gives you the name of the atrocity, when it took place, where it took place and the staggering death toll involved. White doesn’t claim to have definitive and accurate statistics on the death tolls. What he has done is look at previous tallies from other researchers and tried to make an educated guess. Although these are estimates, the numbers are frightening.The deadliest atrocity in history is hardly a surprising one but it still makes for grim reading going through a familiar story but such a costly one. Two individuals are joint second in the list, with 40,000,000 deaths each attributed to them! It just doesn’t seem possible but worryingly it really happened. The World Wars, Vietnam and the Korean War are some of the 20th century conflicts featured here, while the Napoleonic Wars, the Hundred Years War, the Taiping Rebellion and the Punic Wars are just a selection of other struggles that make the list. Individuals include Tamerlane, Peter the Great, Idi Amin, Genghis Khan, Stalin and Mao. White even includes analysis of his research including motives for many of the atrocities.Atrocitology is a fascinating read but the magnitude of these 100 atrocities is hard to take. The pattern of war throughout history retains many consistencies, especially the impact it has on civilians rather than the soldiers involved in the fighting. Many people today will still remember the worst atrocity in history and the 20th century proved just how meticulous we became at harming one another. less

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