The great big book of horrible things : the definitive chronicle of history's 100 worst atrocities / Matthew White.
By: White, Matthew.
Publisher: New York : W.W. Norton, c2012Edition: 1st ed.Description: xviii, 669 p. ; 25 cm.ISBN: 9780393081923 :; 0393081923 :.Subject(s): Atrocities -- History | Massacres -- History | War crimes -- History | World historySummary: Evangelists of human progress meet their opposite in Matthew White's epic examination of history's one hundred most violent events, or, in White's piquant phrasing, "the numbers that people want to argue about." Reaching back to 480 BCE's second Persian War, White moves chronologically through history to this century's war in the Congo and devotes chapters to each event, where he surrounds hard facts (time and place) and succinct takeaways (who usually gets the blame?) with lively military, social, and political histories. With the eye of a seasoned statistician, White assigns each entry a ranking based on body count, and in doing so he gives voice to the suffering of ordinary people that, inexorably, has defined every historical epoch. By turns droll, insightful, matter-of-fact, and ultimately sympathetic to those who died, the Great Big Book of Horrible Things gives readers a chance to reach their own conclusions while offering a stark reminder of the darkness of the human heart.Item type | Current library | Home library | Shelving location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
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Books | American University in Dubai | American University in Dubai | Main Collection | D 24 .W45 2012 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 5099065 |
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D21.S895 2016 C2 Ways of the world : a brief global history with sources / | D 21.1 .B8 1962 History : civilization from its beginnings / | D 21.3 .F73 2016 The silk roads : a new history of the world / | D 24 .W45 2012 The great big book of horrible things : the definitive chronicle of history's 100 worst atrocities / | D 24.5 .B73 1993 The gods of Eden. | D 24.5 .T97 B7 1989 The 20th century : the pictorial history / | D 25 .B5 1970 Famous battles of world history / |
Includes bibliographical references (p. [623]-638) and index.
Evangelists of human progress meet their opposite in Matthew White's epic examination of history's one hundred most violent events, or, in White's piquant phrasing, "the numbers that people want to argue about." Reaching back to 480 BCE's second Persian War, White moves chronologically through history to this century's war in the Congo and devotes chapters to each event, where he surrounds hard facts (time and place) and succinct takeaways (who usually gets the blame?) with lively military, social, and political histories. With the eye of a seasoned statistician, White assigns each entry a ranking based on body count, and in doing so he gives voice to the suffering of ordinary people that, inexorably, has defined every historical epoch. By turns droll, insightful, matter-of-fact, and ultimately sympathetic to those who died, the Great Big Book of Horrible Things gives readers a chance to reach their own conclusions while offering a stark reminder of the darkness of the human heart.
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