{"product_id":"hope-and-memory-lessons-from-the-twentieth-century-paperback","title":"Hope and Memory: Lessons from the Twentieth Century - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eTzvetan Todorov\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eDavid Bellos\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoth a political history and a moral critique of the twentieth century, this is a personal and impassioned book from one of Europe's most outstanding intellectuals. Identifying totalitarianism as the major innovation of the twentieth century, Tzvetan Todorov examines the struggle between this system and democracy and its effects on human life and consciousness. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Totalitarianism managed to impose itself because, more than any other political system, it played on people's need for the absolute: it fed their hope to endow life with meaning by taking part in the construction of a paradise on earth. As a result, millions of people lost their lives in the name of a higher good. While democracy eventually won the struggle against totalitarianism in much of the world, democracy itself is not immune to the pitfall of do-goodery: moral correctness at home and atomic or \"humanitarian\" bombs abroad. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Todorov explores the history of the past century not only by analyzing its spectacular political conflicts but also by offering moving profiles of several individuals who, at great personal cost, resisted the strictures of the communist and Nazi regimes. Some--Margarete Buber-Neumann, David Rousset, Primo Levi, and Germaine Tillion--were deported to concentration camps. Others--Vasily Grossman and Romain Gary--fought courageously in World War II. All became exemplary witnesses who described with great lucidity and humanity what they had endured. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e This book preserves the memory of the past as we move into the twenty-first century--arguing eloquently that we must place the past at the service of a just future.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Almost alone among contemporary critics, Tzvetan Todorov has chosen to apply his prodigious talents to the literature of twentieth-century totalitarianism. His unique gift is his ability to elucidate the memoirs and writings of some of the century's greatest survivors, not merely discovering their literary qualities but also finding in their works moral and political lessons relevant to us all.\"\u003cb\u003e--Anne Applebaum\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This is a very rich book, full of interesting--and often highly controversial--conversation as well as moving portraits of striking figures of the century that has just passed. It is addressed to a general public very much engaged in discussing what the twentieth century was all about and where we are going from here.\"\u003cb\u003e--Charles Taylor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTzvetan Todorov\u003c\/b\u003e is Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris and the author of many books, most recently \u003ci\u003eImperfect Garden: The Legacy of Humanism\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Fragility of Goodness\u003c\/i\u003e (both Princeton).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.81 x 9.21 x 6.14 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 31, 2016\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51756997837088,"sku":"9780691171425","price":63.27,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/a6d268627744a49aff8e16cbe2b59378.webp?v=1780091282","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/hope-and-memory-lessons-from-the-twentieth-century-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}