Publisher Gift (via NetGalley) | Prisoners of War: What Monuments to World War II Tell Us about Our History and Ourselves

 

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (In this case, the publisher contacted me by email, and directed me to NetGalley if I was interested.)

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The importance of this book cannot be overstated. it is a timely look at our relationship with statues dedicated to history. One only has to look at the arguments made against removing confederate statues from public spaces to see the relevance. (Side note: pull all that bullshit down and stick it in a museum, with context, where it belongs. There are no heroes of the confederacy and not a single one of those men should be honored for their actions. They fought to keep slaves and no amount of supposed 'good' they ever did can make up for that fact. Fuck THAT bullshit narrative.)

Anyway.

Addressing this issue of accepting statues at face-value of being accurate representations of a moment in time in our history of war is done quite well within these pages. The author not only looks at how these monuments are written about, talked about, and viewed in the US, but looks at various monuments to the very same war and how they are viewed in countries around the world. In total he discusses 25 different monuments, from the US, to Italy, to Jerusalem, China, and many in between.

The photographs are stunning and for once I was glad to have received the file for my laptop only instead of my Kindle. Even though I hate sitting at my laptop to read, the photos alone were nearly enough to make it worth it. This truly is a book to have a physical copy of to peruse at your leisure. I don't feel it is a book meant to be read quickly or in just a couple of sittings. It will definitely give anyone pause who has visited these sites, and perhaps grapple with how one originally interpreted the monument, compared to its original and intended purpose.

One of the biggest take-aways from this book is the vast difference in how World War II is memorialized. Here in the US, our statues are to honor the heroes and our triumph over true and despicable evil. Yet around the world, monuments are most often dedicated to the victims - such as Italy's Shrine to the Fallen or The A Bomb Dome in Hiroshima. I think this again confirms the fact that the US often equates winning and patriotism - though it must also be remembered that aside from Pearl Harbor, World War II was not fought here. The monuments to the victims and the fallen are most often literally on the site of the atrocities they represent.

Lowe provides much context for the various events being commemorated by each statue. The research is thorough and he writes in an engaging way. He certainly gives the reader a lot to think about - both regarding those he is writing about, and the specific issue in the US regarding confederate monuments still standing.

When we come upon these monuments, either because we've specifically taken a trip to see them or we stumble upon them by accident, we must not stop asking ourselves to look beyond the scenery as it being another pretty picture for photo ops. We have to consider the original intended purpose of the statue, what aspect of history is being told, and whether or not it is actually accurate in its depiction.

Highly recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins

I received a free digital ARC from the publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book would definitely best be enjoyed as a giant coffee table book, where you can peruse at your own discretion, even jumping around from one topic to another if you would like. You can of course also read it straight through, it is not as though it is a drag. I just have a soft spot in my heart for books that are meant to be perfectly lovely and large and demand attention. This book is one of those. It also happens to be the guide that was to accompany the Mesopotamia exhibit on display at the J. Paul Getty Museum that was to run from mid-March through July 27th. The pieces were on loan from the Louvre, though I have not yet looked up whether the exhibition will be extended, or not due to COVID-19 storming on up in here and ruining everyone's year.

Mesopotamia was home to easily some of the greatest civilizations ever - namely Babylon and Ninevah. Though they, and many others, have long since vanished from our world, we never stop wondering about them, never stop looking for them, never stop imagining what it would have been like to live there, in that time. Archaeologists continue searching for whatever lost pieces of these mighty civilizations they can find, and as a result we end up with amazing collections. Though, truly, the collections should be returned to the places they came from. But that is a whole different conversation, meant for a different kind of book. This simply could have been a beautiful catalog of amazing objects that have survived for thousands of years. The problem is, the idea of French colonialism is never actually addressed, yet the archaeologists who discovered and stole these priceless artifacts to begin are presented as some kind of saviors and that does not sit well with me. You can not present one side of the story, but not the other. Just think of how many artifacts were lost in those years where pretty much anyone could be an archaeologist and go tramping around wherever they pleased, digging up what they wanted, taking what they found most valuable, and throwing away things they thought they didn't need. So much history has been lost by simple incompetence and arrogance. It makes me sick.

The book begins with those very first civilizations, and onto a fair amount of what it was like at the time Alexander the Great showed up. There exists here such a variety of objects that tell so many stories, and I am insanely jealous that the Louvre has such a stunning collection. Everything you could possibly imagine is showcased here - seals, jewelry, and of course the cuneiform tablets that fascinated me endlessly as a child. Though, to be fair, I can still stare at them for a good long minute as an adult.

In addition to beautiful photos, there are several essays on a wide range of topics - history, religion, economy, and yes, cuneiform writing, plus so much more. I appreciated the attention to detail given in the essays, while also being concise and realizing that the reader was likely just as much here for the photos as the essays. Again, addressing the  theft of these artifacts and objects would have been a great idea, but you will find no such thing within these pages.

The photos are absolutely stunning and as a reminder, this book is 100% meant to be a physical book - digital did it no justice. Seeing as how I will not be able to visit the Getty any time soon, and the Louvre is a ways off until Eleanor is older (fun fact: the only known object still in existence that belonged to Eleanor of Aquitaine is there so yes, we are going to France in the future to see one item and one alone: the Eleanor rock crystal vase. I know I will cry and I won't even be embarrassed.)

The book is well-designed, the layout is perfect, and it serves it purpose well. Recommended, as long as you remember that archaeologists stole massive amounts of priceless treasures that did not belong to them, and colonialism is a bad, bad thing.

Aleppo: The Rise and Fall of Syria's Great Merchant City

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I received this digital ARC via NetGalley from I.B. Tauris in exchange for an honest review.

I am forever fascinated by this region of the world and the splendor of old cities like Aleppo, Constantinople, etc. These cities managed to mix East and West and thrive for centuries. Unfortunately, nothing good can last and the latest civil war has all but destroyed one of the grandest old cities in the world.

My major complaint about this text is that it starts in the 1500s and I would have loved to read more about its existence before that. While we still get a vivid pictures of the city from that time up to now, there's so much more that could have been explored. This is an especially important point for me to make I feel, as only the first shorter portion was the history of the city as written by the author. The remaining bulk of the book was filled with eyewitness accounts of the city from different men and women who traveled there throughout the centuries, again from the 1500s, on. I feel like this was a missed opportunity, as there is so much more that could have been addressed. However, I must say that those eyewitness are invaluable. These accounts are incredibly thorough and paint a lively picture of a once-bustling city that no longer exists. This is a tragedy.

At one time Aleppo was one of the greatest cities in the world. Christians, Muslims, and Jews co-existed in relative peace. Despite different religions, traditions, and cultures, the city boomed. Even with the city changing rulers over the centuries, from Romans, Persians and Greeks to the Ottoman and French. It was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire that Aleppo found its place as one of the cosmopolitan cities of the world, where world-wide trade allowed it to flourish. Merchants came from all over to trade, and some ended up staying. In this first section we see Aleppo as a powerful city, even up until about ten years ago when the population was over two million inhabitants. Now, with the war have devastated the old city, the population is fewer than 500,000. It is such a shame that so much history has been lost and I truly hope that the city can recover and become what it once was.


The notes section is satisfactory, starting at 86% and ending at 92%. From there the bibliography went up to 96%

The lack of attention given to Aleppo prior to the 16th century is what really sunk this one to three stars for me. It seems like such a missed opportunity to have portrayed the city in all its glory, as one of the longest continually inhabited cities in history. I'm still interested in the subject and will seek out other texts on Aleppo.