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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An engaging, thought-provoking, read., 30 May 1999
By A Customer
This is possibly the most interesting historical book around. Even those who are not interested in history will enjoy this book.The massive scope of this work is impressive. The two areas that remain with me, years after reading this book are, 1. The further reinforcement of the notion of "Man's Inhumanity to Man". That man, when left to his own resources, without social restraint, will behave more beastly than any animal. I like to suppose that we can rise above that...but as this book shows, as societies have moved to be more democratic, ruled not by monarchies but by common man, we have become more barbaric. 2. The utter failure of the communist movement...the misguided beginnings, the continued mistakes, blunders...an elitist group of intellectuals who had no faith in the common man; just how non-communist the communist regime was...and this work was written before the demise of the communist world. How interesting it would have been if this book concluded just a few years later. This book would be great for anyone who desires to spark the interest of history in those who have no desire to study it....(i.e., history teachers and their bored students)
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