A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas 1492 to the Present

My choice of title for this review of Ward Churchill's excellent book is the result of realizing how few honest voices are out there, and how powerful the enemy of truth is, making the thought of a better world a daunting one. As much of an uphill struggle as it seems, we cannot give up.To say that the book is eye-opening is certainly an understatement. I found myself unable to continue many times because of the gravity of the past and present, and what they mean for the future, laid out by Churchill. In short, anyone interested in beginning to grapple with America's past, and with the wider topic of genocide, must read this book.To quickly respond to some comments found in other reviews here:This book may seem "dry" to those not used to academic works. Churchill is not John Grisham. Get over it. The irony of such a complaint is that Churchill's style is certainly more passionate and irreverent than the typical scholarly prose found in academic journals. Regarding the generous footnotes, the reasons for which a reviewer has failed to understand, let me quote Churchill in the introduction to the book: "Throughout the book, I have gone out of my way to provide what Noam Chomsky has called 'rich footnotes.' The reasons for this are several, and devolve not merely upon the usual scholarly fetish with indicating familiarity with 'the literature.' I do believe that when making many of the points I've sought to make... one is well-advised to be thorough in revealing the basis upon which they rest. I also believe it is a matter not just of courtesy, but of ethics, to make proper attribution to those upon whose ideas and research one relies. Most importantly, I want those who read this book to be able to interrogate what I've said, to challenge it and consequently to build on it." Churchill's mention here of wanting to illustrate familiarity with the body of work surrounding one's own is mistakenly seen as a kind of bravado, and properly seen as a legitimate attempt to indicate to readers that the writer might know what they're talking about. In the end, what is really suspicious in scholarly writing is not a wealth of footnotes, but a noticeable lack of them. This is what we really should be concerned about.Finally, the erroneous claim that Churchill has proposed the view that smoking tobacco is "harmless" needs correction. He simply does not say or imply this at all. Some people read with only one eye, it seems. What Churchill does challenge is the idea that the government can estimate with a degree of accuracy to one tenth of one percent the number of people who will die in the US next year due to exposure to "second-hand smoke" but at the same time, this government claims to be unable to find any concrete link between exposure to radioactive substances and cancer. He also proposes the idea that the government, with a great interest (if not now, then in the future when fossil fuels are depleted) in pursuing atomic energy, has created a cover-up to the

"A Little Matter of Genocide" by Ward Churchill is a scholarly discourse on genocide. It is an extremely well documented historical accounting of targeted racial/ethnic killings from 1492 to the present. Especial emphasis and iteration is placed on the well-nigh complete extermination or genocide of the once populous native North American Indians.A brief, interesting discussion is provided on the controversial birth status of Christopher Columbus's extraction and arguements favoring Italian (Genoese), Spanish, Portuguese, or even Jewish nationality, etc. Churchill notes there are more than 250 books and articles devoted to and another 300 essays or folios discussing this issue.Various genocide references are made: Cambodian (Khmer Rouge), Armenian (Turks), Gypsies, Poles and Jews (Nazi) and those occurring in North, Central and South America. Even fetal genocide is mentioned. Churchill refutes, heatedly debates and debunks the prevalent and largely American Jewish assertion that the only true genocide ever to have taken place was the Jewish Holocaust.A concluding discussion and definition of genocide, actions of the UN General Assembly and some clarifying of definitions and intents of meaning in Articles 1-V111 of the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (1948) was very helpful.The book is ponderous reading: the content is shocking for it departs radically from that which had been taught in school. However, Churchill comes off as having written a masterful account which, once embraced, is difficult to put down until it has been read. The all too few picture and the explanatory footnotes are invaluable. This is a must read for those who profess to be informed.

Though several chapters of the book are recycled writings of Churchill, taken as a whole, I believe this book will take its place with the greatest efforts ever devoted to the subject of just what happened to the natives thatpopulated the New World. I am writing my own book that covers this subject matter, among others, and reading Churchill has been an awesome experience. I have also studied this area of history at some length, though I cannot pretend to tie Churchill's shoes in native studies. But we have trod much of the same material and sources, and his analysis and synthesis of such a dauntingly broad range of material is little short of incredible. Oh yes, he has made mistakes here and there, expected in a work with over a thousand footnotes, but I would stack Churchill up against any historian in the business on the issue of the native experience at the hands of the white man. Unfortunately, the establishment cannot afford to have too many of the brainwashed masses hear voices like Churchill's, so it will likely have an obscure fate...until we wake up as a people. I salute Churchill's tireless efforts on behalf of justice and truth.