David Kopf

This was a pretty scholarly book. I'm tempted to believe it really wasn't written for the general public to enjoy. While there is an overview of genocide in the twentieth century the overall goal of the book is to convince people that the WWII allied strategic bombing campaign was genocide when directed at cites (including both firebombing in Europe and Japan and the use of atomic bombs).

While this type of targeting is distasteful, in total war attacking the civilian population does not equal genocide in my opinion. While it may fit some of definition the goal is not to annihilate someone merely because they happen to be of a particular race. The goal is the defeat of another nation state by removing the will to fight in the general populace and to de-house the workforce creating the weapons and materials for the military. This distinction leads me to disagree with the conclusion of the book. There is still value in examining the information and arguments presented here but only for someone really interested in the ethics of war or in the subject of genocide in the twentieth century from a sociological perspective. If your goal is to learn more about the holocaust or about the strategic bombing campaign there are better books out there.
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