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Endless Holocausts: Mass Death in the History of the United States Empire Hardcover – January 1, 2023
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An argument against the myth of "American exceptionalism"
Endless Holocausts: Mass Death in the History of the United States Empire helps us to come to terms with what we have long suspected: the rise of the U.S. Empire has relied upon an almost unimaginable loss of life, from its inception during the European colonial period, to the present. And yet, in the face of a series of endless holocausts at home and abroad, the doctrine of American exceptionalism has plagued the globe for over a century.
However much the ruling class insists on U.S. superiority, we find ourselves in the midst of a sea change. Perpetual wars, deteriorating economic conditions, the resurgence of white supremacy, and the rise of the Far Right have led millions of people to abandon their illusions about this country. Never before have so many people rejected or questioned traditional platitudes about the United States.
In Endless Holocausts author David Michael Smith demolishes the myth of exceptionalism by demonstrating that manifold forms of mass death, far from being unfortunate exceptions to an otherwise benign historical record, have been indispensable in the rise of the wealthiest and most powerful imperium in the history of the world. At the same time, Smith points to an extraordinary history of resistance by Indigenous peoples, people of African descent, people in other nations brutalized by U.S. imperialism, workers, and democratic-minded people around the world determined to fight for common dignity and the sake of the greater good.
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Print length528 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherMonthly Review Press
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Publication dateJanuary 1, 2023
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Dimensions5.75 x 1.5 x 8.5 inches
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ISBN-101583679901
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ISBN-13978-1583679906
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- Publisher : Monthly Review Press (January 1, 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 528 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1583679901
- ISBN-13 : 978-1583679906
- Item Weight : 1.74 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.75 x 1.5 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,503,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15,581 in Native American History (Books)
- #18,888 in History & Theory of Politics
- #167,879 in United States History (Books)
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This is an important perspective. The last major U.S. imperialist offensive began in 2001 – after the 9-11 al-Qaeda attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. – with the invasion of Afghanistan and, ultimately, Iraq. This offensive has ended, with U.S. forces first departing Iraq and then ignominiously fleeing Kabul. The occupations, far from strengthening the U.S. position in the Middle East and broader region, badly weakened that position. At a global level, the U.S. empire is in a situation analogous to that of the immediate post-Vietnam era after 1975. Still, as can be seen with the U.S. intervention in the Russia-Ukraine war, it is possible, if not necessarily likely, for the U.S. to rebuild its ability to intervene globally – which is exactly what happened over a 15-year period after the massive defeat at the hands of Vietnamese liberation forces.
Grasping the true, immense history of U.S. aggression around the world helps people to understand this possibility. The lengthy list of U.S. crimes and their casualties is the focus of two extensive chapters, The Holocausts of Pax Americana I / II, in Smith’s book. Some are more commonly known, such as the U.S.-backed overthrow of the progressive Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. Many are much less known, such as U.S. backing for the bloodthirsty, anticommunist terror groups in socialist-aligned Angola and Mozambique throughout the 1980s. Students and other readers new to these questions will find numerous ideas for further research.
More broadly, Endless Holocausts implicitly poses a question: If the U.S. capitalist-imperialist system is dependent upon such mass death, as the book documents in detail, then what happens when climate change begins upending the basic contours of human life as it has existed for many millennia? For example, the U.S. government has allowed more than one million people in the country to simply drop dead from COVID over the last three years, and such new epidemics are only going to become more frequent as ecocide accelerates. Human populations have increased since 10,000 B.C., and significantly since around 1800 A.D., but that is going to reverse in the coming years – at least in the absence of a dramatic overturn of the existing system. Such a system that cavalierly discards millions of workers – because a simple mask, a vaccine, a day of sicktime, a doctor visit, a living wage, a solar cell or wind turbine, etcetera is not profitable – is not viable in the grim new world coming into being. It is worth noting here the argument that the Black Death of the fourteenth century, which wiped out up to half of the European labor force, facilitated such a transformation in the economic mode of production: the decline of feudalism and the ascendancy of capitalism itself and the new bourgeoisie.
Endless Holocausts gives a lot of food for thought and is an excellent, wholistic survey of mass death in the building of the U.S. empire.
The title, Endless Holocausts, is particularly appealing. Growing up, I was taught that there was only one Holocaust—Nazi Germany’s systematic genocide during WWll. This author demonstrates that many holocausts have occurred throughout U.S. history and are still happening today.
The footnotes are impressive and documented in a manner that makes further research by the reader much easier to pursue than in most books. In fact, studying some specific holocausts, I read several pages of the books and articles listed in the footnotes to enlarge my understanding of how some events could possibly have happened.
I teach English to adults who come from many of the countries described in Endless Holocausts. Reading this book has increased my comprehension of specific historical events that have occurred during my students’ lifetimes. Many of my students are well-versed in U. S. involvement in their respective countries, and this book’s incredible insights have helped me understand why some students prefer not to discuss certain topics or share their opinions.
Endless Holocausts is an excellent resource. The author writes clearly and informatively, avoiding jargon and using vocabulary that helps readers become knowledgeable about the bloody, ugly side of U.S. history. The subject matter is deeply disturbing, but this is a wonderful book!
Patty H