upcarta
  • Sign In
  • Sign Up
  • Explore
  • Search

Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, The End of Civilization

  • Book
  • 2008
  • #WorldWar2 #Civilization
Nicholson Baker
@NicholsonBaker
(Author)
www.goodreads.com
Hardcover
4.4/5 268 ratings
Hardcover Kindle Audiobook Paperback Audio cd
See on Goodreads
4.01/5 1.4k ratings
3 Recommenders
3 Mentions
1 Ask
1 Collection
At a time when the West seems ever more eager to call on military aggression as a means of securing international peace, Nicholson Baker's provocative narrative exploring the politi... Show More

At a time when the West seems ever more eager to call on military aggression as a means of securing international peace, Nicholson Baker's provocative narrative exploring the political misjudgements and personal biases that gave birth to the terrifying consequences of the Second World War could not be more pertinent.

With original and controversial insights brought about by meticulous research, Human Smoke re-evaluates the political turning points that led up to war and in so doing challenges some of the treasured myths we hold about how war came about and how atrocities like the Holocaust were able to happen. Baker reminds us, for instance, not to forget that it was thanks in great part to Churchill and England that Mussolini ascended to power so quickly, and that, before leading the United States against Nazi Germany, a young FDR spent much of his time lobbying for a restriction in the number of Jews admitted to Harvard. Conversely, Human Smoke also reminds us of those who had the foresight to anticipate the coming bloodshed and the courage to oppose the tide of history, as Gandhi demonstrated when he made his symbolic walk to the ocean -- for which he was immediately imprisoned by the British.

Praised by critics and readers alike for his gifted writing and exquisitely observant eye, Baker offers a combination of sweeping narrative history and a series of finely delineated vignettes of the individuals and moments that shaped history that is guaranteed to spark new dialogue on the subject.

(From Goodreads)

Show Less

Number of Pages: 576

ISBN: 1416567844

ISBN-13: 9781416567844

Recommend
Post
Save
Complete
Collect
Mentions
See All
Vijay Boyapati @real_vijay · Dec 3, 2021
  • Curated in Recommended History Books
Nic Carter @nic__carter · Jun 25, 2023
  • Answered to I need something radical to read. Anyone got anything?
  • From Twitter
real answer - human smoke, a revisionist history of WWII based on primary sources
Grant @ElTimidoTorero · Jun 25, 2023
  • Answered to I need something radical to read. Anyone got anything?
  • From Twitter
Human Smoke (WW2 book that is quick, easy, and will blow your mind).
Collections
See All
  • Vijay Boyapati
    • Collection
    Recommended History Books
    5 curations
Asks
See All
  • Patrick OShaughnessy
    • Ask
    I need something radical to read. Anyone got anything?
    33 answers
  • upcarta ©2025
  • Home
  • About
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • @upcarta