Publishers Weekly Reviews
June 11, 2007
REVIEWS; Nonfiction; Pg. 49
Extraordinary Evil: Why Genocide Happens
Extraordinary Evil: Why Genocide Happens
Barbara Coloroso. Nation, $24.95 (272p) ISBN 978-1-56858-371-6
Placing genocidal campaigns at the extreme on a spectrum of bullying
that begins in socialization’s earliest stages, Coloroso (The Bully,
the Bullied, and the Bystander ) seeks to strengthen the legal and
moral prevention of genocide and to improve humanitarian
intervention. Analyzing the plight of the Armenians; the Jews, Roma
and Sinti; and Rwandan Tutsis, she marshals solid studies, victim and
perpetrator testimonies, as well as her own expertise as a nationally
recognized speaker on conflict resolution. Her discussion of problems
of definition, political will, and social and psychological
persuasion are useful, but her argument can be tedious, despite
graphic and distressing detail. Drawing heavily and only
semiconvincingly on her earlier child-centered work, Coloroso has a
tendency to rely on Power Point-style lists, brusquely contextualized
quotations and even a cartoon-illustrated flowchart of bullies and
their enablers. Her generalizations can be disturbing-for example,
when she suggests Rwanda’s colonial past plays no role in the current
violence, despite contrary arguments from Mahmood Mamdani and others
not cited here. Coloroso’s checklist of genocidal prerequisites can
also blur into other acts of state-sponsored or condoned aggression
and exploitation. This book provides entry into a vital dialogue, but
should be considered at best a beginning. (Sept.)