While I'm pretty sure this isn't what you're looking for, it's close enough to the topic and I literally just did this earlier today. I read through the first ~20 pages of Maus while standing in...
While I'm pretty sure this isn't what you're looking for, it's close enough to the topic and I literally just did this earlier today.
I read through the first ~20 pages of Maus while standing in the middle of the library. It's shaping up to be a thought-provoking and sobering experience which I think I might class as mandatory middle/high school reading if the rest continues as it starts.
Maus is legendarily one of the best graphic novels ever made. The quality is more than maintained throughout the rest. It really should be mandatory reading in school, I am very glad my high...
Maus is legendarily one of the best graphic novels ever made. The quality is more than maintained throughout the rest. It really should be mandatory reading in school, I am very glad my high school library kept copies. That's where I first read it.
I regretted the fact that I had waited until college for a book review (which I did gave it a positive review) for a WW2 history course that I was taking to read Maus despite both of my high...
I regretted the fact that I had waited until college for a book review (which I did gave it a positive review) for a WW2 history course that I was taking to read Maus despite both of my high school and public library (in the teen section mind you, so it wasn't really out of the way for my teenage self) having copies of the book. Mostly because I assumed it was a historical fiction about the Holocaust because I judged the cover of the book to be like that. Mostly because I just saw the mice on the cover and decided not to delve in to it more. What I am trying to say is read the book as soon as you can.
I'm going to review my reading history and possibly come back with more. Right now I recommend Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh and Paolo Friere Pedagogy of the Oppressed. I will bear...
I'm going to review my reading history and possibly come back with more. Right now I recommend Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh and Paolo Friere Pedagogy of the Oppressed. I will bear witness Diaries of Victor Klemperer.
This may not be exactly what you're looking for, but I recently read Cambodian Witness by Someth May and it was a fascinating POV that I haven't seen much (and would love more of). Someth was a...
This may not be exactly what you're looking for, but I recently read Cambodian Witness by Someth May and it was a fascinating POV that I haven't seen much (and would love more of). Someth was a teen when the Khmer Rouge took over. He lived in Phnom Penh with his very typical, middle class family, none of whom were terribly political or in any position to mitigate (or even really expect) what was about to come. He documents his day to day in the work camps, the horrors and the (often lucky) choices he made to survive. He wasn't part of the overthrow when it ended, either, and the suddenness with which it both started and ended, and how largely disconnected he was from it (despite being neck-deep the whole time) was what I found most interesting.... And almost comforting in a strange way.
I wonder if you are looking for far-right regimes or totalitarian regimes? Maybe books about the Spanish Civil War would interest you or life in Francoist Spain. That was a modern far-right...
I wonder if you are looking for far-right regimes or totalitarian regimes? Maybe books about the Spanish Civil War would interest you or life in Francoist Spain. That was a modern far-right totalitarian regime. If you go straight to Mussolini or Hitler, you end up with incomparable horrors and I assume you're trying to survive the stress, rather than a Holocaust. Although if you live in Afghanistan right now, then it's a currently developing far-right genocide.
For a western comparison, maybe start with Orwell's Homage to Catalonia and then read something by Paul Preston.
Given the comments you've previously made and the timing of this topic, I can guess where you're from. If you want, I can give you a specific book recommendation that was recently published. If...
Given the comments you've previously made and the timing of this topic, I can guess where you're from. If you want, I can give you a specific book recommendation that was recently published. If not, the most canonical recommendation I can give you would be Man's Search for Meaning. You can also check out They Thought They Were Free. It gives you great insight into how a majority of a population can vigorously accept the conditions they live in, which so obviously work against them. In that sense it's not a hopeful book at all, but given what we know about Germany today (all the obvious criticisms aside), you can take some lessons from it. If you want something more recent, you can read Alexei Navalny's recently published book titled Patriot. I've not yet read it in full but the little I read was inspiring enough.
It also helps to talk. I wasn't feeling too different from what you do now and what helped me was to avoid the breakneck pace of politics by just spending time with friends online, playing games, and talking things that matter more than what the topic of the day is -- which was impossible to make any sense of. So I stopped trying to the best of my ability. (Not doing a stellar job, but even trying helps.) Thankfully I'm privileged enough to do that, though. You're always welcome into our safe space, if you think it'd be helpful.
I'm glad someone recommended Man's Search For Meaning. It came to mind for me too when thinking on OP's post but I haven't read it so I didn't feel like I could recommend it personally.
I'm glad someone recommended Man's Search For Meaning. It came to mind for me too when thinking on OP's post but I haven't read it so I didn't feel like I could recommend it personally.
I just wanted to reply here to give a third for Man's Search for Meaning. It's obviously focused on an extreme circumstance, but in terms of actual book content and OP's request, it's literally...
I just wanted to reply here to give a third for Man's Search for Meaning. It's obviously focused on an extreme circumstance, but in terms of actual book content and OP's request, it's literally the exact thing being asked for. It's all about the psychology of surviving the holocaust, and it's very well written. I stumbled onto a pdf of it years ago and ripped through it because I just couldn't put it down.
You might take some hope from Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny. It's concise and practical, without soft-pedalling the effort and risks involved. Example step 1: "Do not obey in advance. Most of the...
You might take some hope from Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny. It's concise and practical, without soft-pedalling the effort and risks involved. Example step 1:
"Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do."
Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark has been on my reading heap for a while, but sounds like what you might be looking for.
When things fall apart by Pema Chodren. Not specificallly on point, but also totally on point. Elie Wiesel is also good. Dr. Strangelove is probably worth watching.
When things fall apart by Pema Chodren. Not specificallly on point, but also totally on point.
While I'm pretty sure this isn't what you're looking for, it's close enough to the topic and I literally just did this earlier today.
I read through the first ~20 pages of Maus while standing in the middle of the library. It's shaping up to be a thought-provoking and sobering experience which I think I might class as mandatory middle/high school reading if the rest continues as it starts.
Maus is legendarily one of the best graphic novels ever made. The quality is more than maintained throughout the rest. It really should be mandatory reading in school, I am very glad my high school library kept copies. That's where I first read it.
It was extremely telling that certain schools in red states banned Maus years ago.
I regretted the fact that I had waited until college for a book review (which I did gave it a positive review) for a WW2 history course that I was taking to read Maus despite both of my high school and public library (in the teen section mind you, so it wasn't really out of the way for my teenage self) having copies of the book. Mostly because I assumed it was a historical fiction about the Holocaust because I judged the cover of the book to be like that. Mostly because I just saw the mice on the cover and decided not to delve in to it more. What I am trying to say is read the book as soon as you can.
I'm going to review my reading history and possibly come back with more. Right now I recommend Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh and Paolo Friere Pedagogy of the Oppressed. I will bear witness Diaries of Victor Klemperer.
This may not be exactly what you're looking for, but I recently read Cambodian Witness by Someth May and it was a fascinating POV that I haven't seen much (and would love more of). Someth was a teen when the Khmer Rouge took over. He lived in Phnom Penh with his very typical, middle class family, none of whom were terribly political or in any position to mitigate (or even really expect) what was about to come. He documents his day to day in the work camps, the horrors and the (often lucky) choices he made to survive. He wasn't part of the overthrow when it ended, either, and the suddenness with which it both started and ended, and how largely disconnected he was from it (despite being neck-deep the whole time) was what I found most interesting.... And almost comforting in a strange way.
I wonder if you are looking for far-right regimes or totalitarian regimes? Maybe books about the Spanish Civil War would interest you or life in Francoist Spain. That was a modern far-right totalitarian regime. If you go straight to Mussolini or Hitler, you end up with incomparable horrors and I assume you're trying to survive the stress, rather than a Holocaust. Although if you live in Afghanistan right now, then it's a currently developing far-right genocide.
For a western comparison, maybe start with Orwell's Homage to Catalonia and then read something by Paul Preston.
Given the comments you've previously made and the timing of this topic, I can guess where you're from. If you want, I can give you a specific book recommendation that was recently published. If not, the most canonical recommendation I can give you would be Man's Search for Meaning. You can also check out They Thought They Were Free. It gives you great insight into how a majority of a population can vigorously accept the conditions they live in, which so obviously work against them. In that sense it's not a hopeful book at all, but given what we know about Germany today (all the obvious criticisms aside), you can take some lessons from it. If you want something more recent, you can read Alexei Navalny's recently published book titled Patriot. I've not yet read it in full but the little I read was inspiring enough.
It also helps to talk. I wasn't feeling too different from what you do now and what helped me was to avoid the breakneck pace of politics by just spending time with friends online, playing games, and talking things that matter more than what the topic of the day is -- which was impossible to make any sense of. So I stopped trying to the best of my ability. (Not doing a stellar job, but even trying helps.) Thankfully I'm privileged enough to do that, though. You're always welcome into our safe space, if you think it'd be helpful.
I'm glad someone recommended Man's Search For Meaning. It came to mind for me too when thinking on OP's post but I haven't read it so I didn't feel like I could recommend it personally.
I just wanted to reply here to give a third for Man's Search for Meaning. It's obviously focused on an extreme circumstance, but in terms of actual book content and OP's request, it's literally the exact thing being asked for. It's all about the psychology of surviving the holocaust, and it's very well written. I stumbled onto a pdf of it years ago and ripped through it because I just couldn't put it down.
Essay, not book: The Power of the Powerless by Václav Havel is quite beautiful. The full text is freely available online.
You might take some hope from Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny. It's concise and practical, without soft-pedalling the effort and risks involved. Example step 1:
"Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do."
Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark has been on my reading heap for a while, but sounds like what you might be looking for.
Also give this a try - _Beyond Molotovs - A Visual Handbook of Anti-Authoritarian Strategies [free PDF].
When things fall apart by Pema Chodren. Not specificallly on point, but also totally on point.
Elie Wiesel is also good.
Dr. Strangelove is probably worth watching.