Thinking History, Fighting Evil Neoconservatives and the Perils of Analogy in American Politics
, by Macdonald, David B.Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.
- ISBN: 9780739125038 | 0739125036
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 5/16/2009
Thinking History, Fighting Evil presents the most thorough exploration to date of how World War II analogies, particularly those focused on the Holocaust, have colored American foreign policy-making after 9/11. In particular, this book highlights how influential neoconservatives inside and outside the Bush administration used analogies of the "Good War" to reinterpret domestic and international events, often with disastrous consequences. On the surface, World War II promotes a simple but compelling range of images and symbols: valiant Roosevelts and Churchills, appeasing Chamberlains, evil Hitlers, Jewish victims, European bystanders, and American liberators. However, the simplistic use of analogies was precisely what doomed the neoconservative project to failure. This book explores the misuse of ten key analogies arising from World War II and charts their problematic deployment after the 9/11 attacks.