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THE GREAT WAR FOR CIVILIZATION: A REVIEW OF HISTORY TO BE LEARNED
By Margie Weathers
Smoky Mountain Sentinel, NC
May 25 2006
The purpose of this review is to encourage you to read Fisk's
1,038-page record of suffering and horror. It is an account of wars,
treaties, broken promises, betrayals and massacres, made vivid by a
witness to history.
When I lived in Europe, and now whenever I visit, I'm struck by
the perception of those Europeans with whom I speak toward Americans
concerning our grasp of history and of current events. Not only can we
speak no language but our own, but also we seem locked in a hopeless
provincialism. They never seem condescending or critical, but instead
are courteous and indulgent, somewhat as one would be to a very young
- or extremely immature - person. They see us as what most of us are:
not well informed.
Yet we have reams of information at our fingertips. News magazines
and analyses, factfilled and thoughtful books, abound. Here in Clay
County, Moss Memorial Librarian Mary Fonda, working with a small
budget and a busy staff, always has time to borrow books not on her
shelves from other sources. When there is the money, much of which
comes from the unflagging and skillful efforts of the Friends of the
Library bookstore volunteers, she entertains requests for books that
someone considers important.
For those who seek better to understand the perplexing times in which
we live, it's hard to imagine a more important work than The Great
War for Civilisation. Robert Fisk has lived for 30 years in Lebanon.
Bom in England and educated in Ireland, he aspired from an early age
to a career in journalism, specifically as a foreign correspondent.
He has more British and international awards than any of his
colleagues. The title of his book, 16 years in the writing, comes
from a quotation on the back of his father's World War I combat
medal. He sees much of today's harvest of death and destruction in
the Middle East as the product of seeds planted by the great powers
in the aftermath of that conflict.
There are many other volumes that explore the roots of Middle
Eastern turmoil: The Great Game, Tournament of Shadows, A Peace to
End All Peace, Paris 1919, Balkan Ghosts, and Dame Rebecca West's
epic two-volume. Black Lamb and Grey Falcon.
Fisk's work differs in that it is an eye-witness account of 30 years
in which he sees and records the suffering of Middle Eastern peoples,
and includes interviews with survivors and site visits to those
atrocities of prior times.
In the preface, Fisk and a colleague ponder the purpose of
journalism. Fisk thinks the journalist should be an impartial witness
to history. His friend says no, that their job is to monitor the
centers of power. If Fisk fancies himself impartial, I'm sure some
readers will join me in classifying him as far left. What is burned
into his mind and heart is the incalculable damage done to civilian
populations caught in the crossfire as big countries struggle to
maintain the balance of world power. In his place, all of us might
feel the same. However, I think it does us no harm, whatever our
political persuasion, to consider the full spectrum of opinion and
draw our own informed conclusions.
Read this huge book for the accounts with which we are not so
familiar. Consider the early 20th century massacre of Armenians by the
Turks, the invasion of Lebanon by the Israelis, Russia's Afghanistan
adventure, the incursion of Iraq into Iran and then Kuwait the latter
in our time but already fading from memory.
Our comfortable American world, so blessed with prosperity in the
wake of World War II, is going to change. Let us not be unaware of
the forces shaping our destiny.
By Margie Weathers
Smoky Mountain Sentinel, NC
May 25 2006
The purpose of this review is to encourage you to read Fisk's
1,038-page record of suffering and horror. It is an account of wars,
treaties, broken promises, betrayals and massacres, made vivid by a
witness to history.
When I lived in Europe, and now whenever I visit, I'm struck by
the perception of those Europeans with whom I speak toward Americans
concerning our grasp of history and of current events. Not only can we
speak no language but our own, but also we seem locked in a hopeless
provincialism. They never seem condescending or critical, but instead
are courteous and indulgent, somewhat as one would be to a very young
- or extremely immature - person. They see us as what most of us are:
not well informed.
Yet we have reams of information at our fingertips. News magazines
and analyses, factfilled and thoughtful books, abound. Here in Clay
County, Moss Memorial Librarian Mary Fonda, working with a small
budget and a busy staff, always has time to borrow books not on her
shelves from other sources. When there is the money, much of which
comes from the unflagging and skillful efforts of the Friends of the
Library bookstore volunteers, she entertains requests for books that
someone considers important.
For those who seek better to understand the perplexing times in which
we live, it's hard to imagine a more important work than The Great
War for Civilisation. Robert Fisk has lived for 30 years in Lebanon.
Bom in England and educated in Ireland, he aspired from an early age
to a career in journalism, specifically as a foreign correspondent.
He has more British and international awards than any of his
colleagues. The title of his book, 16 years in the writing, comes
from a quotation on the back of his father's World War I combat
medal. He sees much of today's harvest of death and destruction in
the Middle East as the product of seeds planted by the great powers
in the aftermath of that conflict.
There are many other volumes that explore the roots of Middle
Eastern turmoil: The Great Game, Tournament of Shadows, A Peace to
End All Peace, Paris 1919, Balkan Ghosts, and Dame Rebecca West's
epic two-volume. Black Lamb and Grey Falcon.
Fisk's work differs in that it is an eye-witness account of 30 years
in which he sees and records the suffering of Middle Eastern peoples,
and includes interviews with survivors and site visits to those
atrocities of prior times.
In the preface, Fisk and a colleague ponder the purpose of
journalism. Fisk thinks the journalist should be an impartial witness
to history. His friend says no, that their job is to monitor the
centers of power. If Fisk fancies himself impartial, I'm sure some
readers will join me in classifying him as far left. What is burned
into his mind and heart is the incalculable damage done to civilian
populations caught in the crossfire as big countries struggle to
maintain the balance of world power. In his place, all of us might
feel the same. However, I think it does us no harm, whatever our
political persuasion, to consider the full spectrum of opinion and
draw our own informed conclusions.
Read this huge book for the accounts with which we are not so
familiar. Consider the early 20th century massacre of Armenians by the
Turks, the invasion of Lebanon by the Israelis, Russia's Afghanistan
adventure, the incursion of Iraq into Iran and then Kuwait the latter
in our time but already fading from memory.
Our comfortable American world, so blessed with prosperity in the
wake of World War II, is going to change. Let us not be unaware of
the forces shaping our destiny.