Keith Lowe’s fascinating Prisoners of History maps the monuments that were built around the globe to commemorate the Second World War, and their significance to the generations that followed. From Berlin to Hiroshima, and from Moscow to Seoul, Prisoners of History explores the various ways in which the world reacted in the wake of the atrocities, as well as the diverse, conflicting narratives that developed over the years and remain pitched against each other in the collective memory of the world.
When World War Two ended, its monuments were built to tell the story. Across the world countries reckoned with the impact of the war and what was to be enshrined in national memory. Today, many of these memorials remain the most visited sites in the world.
But what happens when values change, and what has been set in stone does not?
From Berlin to Moscow, Seoul to Hiroshima, the Philippines to Israel, Prisoners of History gives a bold new account of the way the world reacted in the wake of World War Two.
Amongst many questions, the book asks: Why is Russia still building victory monuments at a prolific rate for a war now seventy years over? Why, despite loathing his legacy, does the town of Mussolini's final resting place still honour his tomb like a shrine? Why does a bronze statue in Seoul of a young girl with a bird on her shoulder cause such controversy? How has Japan created a world-famous monument to peace whilst taking such offence at China's memorial to the Nanjing Massacre?
Challenging known wisdom, Keith Lowe offers a powerful and perspective-changing work on the faults in national memory, and how monuments built to commemorate the past, can hold us hostage to bad history.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008339548
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 580 g
Dimensions: 240 x 159 x 34 mm
‘[An] inspired idea … Always thoughtful and evocative, sometimes controversial … Lowe’s sensitive, disturbing book should be compulsory reading for both statue builders and statue topplers. Too many memorials of all kinds seek to promote deceits or half-truths.’MAX HASTINGS, THE SUNDAY TIMES ‘[A] brilliantly researched and timely book … Lowe is not afraid to tread on sensitive ground, but he does so with the integrity that comes from really knowing his material’THE DAILY MAIL, FIVE STARS ‘Such a provocative perspective makes Lowe’s choice of monuments important. The well-balanced range here enables the retelling of some remarkable war stories, while also providing fascinating insights into the ways different nations have remembered or denied issues around national identity and the glory and horrors of war … this is some of the most thought-provoking writing about the Second World War that I have read for a long while’SPECTATOR ‘In this timely book, which neatly combines history, art criticism and travelogue, Lowe examines 25 monuments to the Second World War spread across three continents … Lowe is a fine guide to these monuments because he feels the moral force — for good or bad — of each site he visits’THE TIMES, BOOK OF THE WEEK ‘Time after time throughout Prisoners of History, Keith Lowe’s commentaries are more articulate and supple than the monuments they describe, interpret and criticise’THE LITERARY REVIEW ‘Keith Lowe’s book could not be more timely … his observations seem uncannily prescient … he is sharp on cultural and national differences in perceptions of the war’STANDPOINT MAGAZINE
Keith Lowe uses a very clever devise to show how the legacy of the Second World War in viewed very differently in different countries. In all he looks at 25 WWII memorials in countries including Russia, the US,... More
Less a traditional book and more a series of connected articles exploring various WW2 related monuments around the world, Prisoners of History is a highly accessible and interesting exploration of the meaning of WW2... More
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