Description
Book Synopsis"Memory has fueled merciless, violent strife, and it has been at the core of reconciliation and reconstruction. It has been used to justify great crimes, and yet it is central to the pursuit of justice. In these and more everyday ways, we live...
Trade Review"In Communities of Memory, W. James Booth argues that the crimes of the past should not simply be forgotten in the hopes of their going away, but that justice demands that we keep memories of the victims alive. While we may need to balance the demands to repay the debts of the past with the need to look forward and start afresh for the next generation, that balancing act cannot and should never fully consign past victims to oblivion." -- Peter Digeser, University of California, Santa Barbara, author of
Political Forgiveness"W. James Booth's book is a beautiful set of meditations on the morality and politics of memory. Its dual themes are death and justice: how do we do justice to the dead—especially those who were victims of political crime? There is no simple answer to this question, because forgetting and reconciliation, as well as untempered justice, are sometimes called for. Communities of Memory is full of insights, articulated with powerful words and precise concepts as well as evocative images that are themselves memorable." -- Ronald Beiner, University of Toronto
