The black book of communism crimes, terror, repression stephane courtois nicolas werth jeanlouis panne andrzej paczkowski karel bartosek jeanlouis margolin harvard university press cambridge, massachusetts london, england 1999 translated by jonathan murphy and mark kramer. Already famous throughout europe, this international be. American political philosophy of the last century increasing federal power mirrors the philosophy of marx and hegel, and will eventually lead to the political tools of repression used by stalin, pol pot, ho chi minh, castro, mao, and all other prominent statist leadersviolence. Full text of the black book of communism internet archive. The black book of communism begins to show us that totalitarianism is totalitarianism, whether we call it fascist, communist or some other name. Some critics have objected to the books depiction of communism and nazism as being similar, others have criticized the approach the book takes to assigning blame of deaths, and still others, most notably j. The fraudulent death tolls contained in the book are the single most quoted anti communist source in the world. The first printing sold out in a matter of weeks, and the. Full text of the black book of communism see other formats.
Services book is better on the comintern, titoism, and the sinosoviet split. Crimes, terror, repression by stephane courtois and five other writers, translated from the french 1999, 850 pages. Crimes, terror, repression harvard university press, cambridge 1999, pp. The black book of communism, one of the largest most blatant distortions of history. A black communist in the freedom struggle university of. Esteemed historian of the soviet union recommends five books on communism, from novels and personal narratives to theoretical works. The black book of the admiralty is a late medieval old french manuscript containing a variety of documents relating to the administrative and legal responsibilities of the office of the lord high admiral, with later additions relating to the court of chivalry and the laws of war. The authors are prisoners of history in the sense that a residue of their gullibility remains and distorts the book. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
This book is haywoods eloquent account of coming of age as a black man in twentiethcentury america and of his political awakening in the communist party. Quoting survivors, escapees, and what little information had been published in the soviet press, the black book of communism. The fraudulent death tolls contained in the book are the single most quoted anticommunist source in the world. Why doesnt the black book of communism include the almost. The black book of communism, edited by stephane courtois, caused a stir for equating communism with nazism. Comprehensive examination of the crimes of communism. Watch in 360 the inside of a nuclear reactor from the size of an atom with virtual reality duration. This number is accumulated from more than 10 different nations and various movements around the. Animal farm by george orwell, the communist manifesto by karl marx, one day in the life of ivan denisovich by aleksandr solzh. The black book of communism alleges that communism killed 94 million people during the 20th century. The black book of communism, while some of its claims have been disputed is nevertheless the source of material for any anticommunist, and should be mandatory reading for anybody to. This book is a must read and discusses many scholarly issues regarding the nature of totalitarianism, communism and fascism. This international bestseller plumbs archives in the former soviet bloc to reveal the actual, practical accomplishments of communism around the world. I cant think of any book that would be more important for americans to read.
Black book puts to rest the odious fiction that has softened communisms image for so long. David horowitz spent the first part of his life in the world of the communist progressive left, a politics he inherited from his mother and father, and later in the new. Why doesnt the black book of communism include the almost 6 million nazis killed by communism. Totalitarianisms central feature is a state that desires total control and assumes the right to impose that control at any cost. This bloody orgy was a pure exercise in class genocide, asserts stephane courtois, the extrotskyite editor of the black book and historian of the french communist party, a reign of political carnage of planetary dimensions, a massacre designed to create a moral society through the extermination of the impure, through the silencing of any. Many leftist critics condemned the book because of this comparison. The authors show how and why, wherever the ideology of communism was established, it quickly led to crime, terror, and repression.
Peasants often resisted communism more fervently than any group. Seventeen hours a day we had to sit like that and hear from the morning to the evening. After learning about canadas ridiculous monument to the victims of communism and finding out that theres a similar monument in my own city, i looked at the. If you are going to read only one book this year, make it the black book of communism. While the john birch society has long exposed the international communist dynamic as a criminal and political conspiracy, the black book of communism does a great job of documenting that communist conspiracys overall crimes against mankind from their own records in the former soviet union. The authors did such a bad job they were forced to admit it and print a retraction. The black book of communism gives a balance sheet of our present knowledge of communism s human costs, archivally based where possible, and otherwise drawing on the best secondary works, and with due allowance for the difficulties of quantification. John omicinski scottsdale tribune i cant think of any book that would be more important for americans to read. Maos great leap forward needed only two years to destroy tens of millions of peasants. The best books on communism recommended by robert conquest. The contributors to the book include some of the finest scholars from both east and west, who have drawn extensively on new archival findings. If you want more blood and gore, read the black book of communism, compiled by french extrotskyites.
A weak point of the book is that a leftist bias remains. Yet austere though this inventory is, its cumulative impact is overwhelming. The black book of communism, written by stephane courtois has been called into question on multiple different grounds. Reading this book has caused me to expand on some of the ideas in chapter 3 of cofc. It is a measure of the success of the class struggle that the reactionary intelligentsia felt compelled to write an 854 page book touching on the death toll of communism.
The black book is a groundbreaking effort by a group of french scholars to document the human costs of communism in the 20th century. But is also presents many facts and historical events regarding communism. Communism is good, communism is good, communism is good, communism is good, until you heard one who was already 20 years in prison under the communists shouting, communism is good, communism is good, communism is good, i give my life for communism. It certainly contains much truth and many facts that are often not in the college or high school textbooks. The fall of the berlin wall did not signal the end of communism. Its publication caused a sensation in france when it was first. Images from the black book of communism conway corp. Another recent development related to the issues raised in cofc was the publication of the black book of communism. Nevetheless, the book, published in paris in 1927, was one of the first to describe the soviet unions earliest political prisons, located on the solovetsky islands in the white sea. In late 1997 a leading french publishing house, robert laffont, published le livre noir du communisme the black book of communism, an 850page book of scholarly essays that collectively provide a history of communism in the 20th century. What are the best books on communism and capitalism. The black book of communism the barbaric gentleman. Probably the most important historical study published since the collapse of the soviet union in 1991 allowed access to kremlin archives for the first time, the black book sparked passionate national debate when it was first published in france in 1997 and. The biggest lies ever concerning communism are debunked.
The fact that the book was named the black book of communism brings into dispute your explanation that the book doesnt try to judge whether those countries were communist. Some of the atrocities of the reds are documented, although there is undue emphasis on communist victims of the relentless communist purges. This is an assembly of extensive articles published in france two years ago and now. Yet the facts provided by the authors of this 800page book are undisputable. Black book of communism download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. The book not only bashes socialism and makes it out to be worse than fascism, it outright tries to portray fascism as a good thing. Crimes, terror, repression is a 1997 book by stephane courtois, nicolas werth, andrzej paczkowski and several other european academics documenting a history of political repressions by communist states, including genocides, extrajudicial executions, deportations, killing populations in labor camps and artificially created famines. Click download or read online button to get black book of communism book now. This book challenges the lefts deeply seated tenets that communism, despite excesses, was progressive. The black book of communism gives a balance sheet of our present knowledge of communisms human costs, archivally based where possible, and otherwise drawing on the best secondary works, and with due allowance for the difficulties of quantification. Overall, somehow or another, the black book of communism has managed to raise the debate one notch. Pdf the black book of communism download full pdf book.
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