Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Bloomsbury Pub Plc USA, 2002 Washington Post Book World said of this book 'Erna Paris gives us a rich, if painful, inventory of the recent, dubious uses to which we are putting the past.' How do nations come to terms with their most painful history and what role should trials play in the attempt to reconcile national trauma in the aftermath of war, terror, and other crises? In this searing, personal examination, Paris takes the reader on a remarkable journey through four continents to explore how nations reinvent themselves in the aftermath of calamity. She travels through the United States, with it's memory of slavery; to South Africa, where they struggle to heal the wounds of apartheid; to Japan, France, and Germany, where the sorrow of Hiroshima and the Holocaust still resonates; and to the Hague, where she explores the changing face of international justice. This volume compels us to question where we stand as individuals in relation to our own collective histories. 495 pages including end notes and an extensive index. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.