Evil men /
Dawes, James, 1969-
Evil men / James Dawes. - Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2013. - 1 online resource (xiv, 263 pages)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Evil Men -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index.
A searching meditation on our all-too-human capacity for inhumanity, Evil Men confronts atrocity head-on--how it looks and feels, what motivates it, how it can be stopped. James Dawes's unflinchingly honest account, drawing on firsthand interviews, is not just about the things Japanese war criminals did, but about what it means to befriend them. Presented with accounts of genocide and torture, we ask how people could bring themselves to commit such horrendous acts. A searching meditation on our all-too-human capacity for inhumanity, Evil Men confronts atrocity head-on--how it looks and feels, what motivates it, how it can be stopped. Drawing on firsthand interviews with convicted war criminals from the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), James Dawes leads us into the frightening territory where soldiers perpetrated some of the worst crimes imaginable: murder, torture, rape, medical experimentation on living subjects. Transcending conventional reporting and commentary, Dawes's narrative weaves together unforgettable segments from the interviews with consideration of the troubling issues they raise. Telling the personal story of his journey to Japan, Dawes also lays bare the cultural misunderstandings and ethical compromises that at times called the legitimacy of his entire project into question. For this book is not just about the things war criminals do. It is about what it is like, and what it means, to befriend them. Do our stories of evil deeds make a difference? Can we depict atrocity without sensational curiosity? Anguished and unflinchingly honest, as eloquent as it is raw and painful, Evil Men asks hard questions about the most disturbing capabilities human beings possess, and acknowledges that these questions may have no comforting answers.
In English.
9780674073975 (electronic bk.) 0674073975 (electronic bk.)
10.4159/harvard.9780674073975 doi
22573/ctt2jv55p JSTOR
1937-1945
Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945--Atrocities--Psychological aspects.
Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945--Personal narratives, Japanese.
War criminals--Japan--Interviews.
War criminals--Psychology.
War crimes--Psychological aspects.
Guerre sino-japonaise, 1937-1945--Atrocités--Aspect psychologique.
Crimes de guerre--Aspect psychologique.
HISTORY--Military--World War II.
POLITICAL SCIENCE--Human Rights.
Psychological aspects.
Atrocities.
Atrocities--Psychological aspects.
War criminals.
War criminals--Psychology.
Japan.
Personal Narrative
Electronic books.
Interviews.
Personal narratives--Japanese.
Personal narratives.
Récits personnels.
DS777.533.A86 / D38 2013eb
940.54/050951
Evil men / James Dawes. - Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2013. - 1 online resource (xiv, 263 pages)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Evil Men -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index.
A searching meditation on our all-too-human capacity for inhumanity, Evil Men confronts atrocity head-on--how it looks and feels, what motivates it, how it can be stopped. James Dawes's unflinchingly honest account, drawing on firsthand interviews, is not just about the things Japanese war criminals did, but about what it means to befriend them. Presented with accounts of genocide and torture, we ask how people could bring themselves to commit such horrendous acts. A searching meditation on our all-too-human capacity for inhumanity, Evil Men confronts atrocity head-on--how it looks and feels, what motivates it, how it can be stopped. Drawing on firsthand interviews with convicted war criminals from the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), James Dawes leads us into the frightening territory where soldiers perpetrated some of the worst crimes imaginable: murder, torture, rape, medical experimentation on living subjects. Transcending conventional reporting and commentary, Dawes's narrative weaves together unforgettable segments from the interviews with consideration of the troubling issues they raise. Telling the personal story of his journey to Japan, Dawes also lays bare the cultural misunderstandings and ethical compromises that at times called the legitimacy of his entire project into question. For this book is not just about the things war criminals do. It is about what it is like, and what it means, to befriend them. Do our stories of evil deeds make a difference? Can we depict atrocity without sensational curiosity? Anguished and unflinchingly honest, as eloquent as it is raw and painful, Evil Men asks hard questions about the most disturbing capabilities human beings possess, and acknowledges that these questions may have no comforting answers.
In English.
9780674073975 (electronic bk.) 0674073975 (electronic bk.)
10.4159/harvard.9780674073975 doi
22573/ctt2jv55p JSTOR
1937-1945
Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945--Atrocities--Psychological aspects.
Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945--Personal narratives, Japanese.
War criminals--Japan--Interviews.
War criminals--Psychology.
War crimes--Psychological aspects.
Guerre sino-japonaise, 1937-1945--Atrocités--Aspect psychologique.
Crimes de guerre--Aspect psychologique.
HISTORY--Military--World War II.
POLITICAL SCIENCE--Human Rights.
Psychological aspects.
Atrocities.
Atrocities--Psychological aspects.
War criminals.
War criminals--Psychology.
Japan.
Personal Narrative
Electronic books.
Interviews.
Personal narratives--Japanese.
Personal narratives.
Récits personnels.
DS777.533.A86 / D38 2013eb
940.54/050951