Totally Unofficial
The Autobiography of Raphael Lemkin
Raphael Lemkin author Donna-Lee Frieze editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Yale University Press
Published:24th Jun '13
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The never-before published autobiography of Raphael Lemkin, a giant among twentieth-century ethical thinkers
Among the greatest intellectual heroes of modern times, Raphael Lemkin lived an extraordinary life of struggle and hardship, yet altered international law and redefined the world’s understanding of group rights. He invented the concept and word “genocide” and propelled the idea into international legal status. An uncommonly creative pioneer in ethical thought, he twice was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Although Lemkin died alone and in poverty, he left behind a model for a life of activism, a legacy of major contributions to international law, and—not least—an unpublished autobiography. Presented here for the first time is his own account of his life, from his boyhood on a small farm in Poland with his Jewish parents, to his perilous escape from Nazi Europe, through his arrival in the United States and rise to influence as an academic, thinker, and revered lawyer of international criminal law.
"If the history of the Western moral imagination is the story of an enduring and unending revolt against human cruelty, there are few more consequential figures than Raphael Lemkin—and few whose achievements have been more ignored by the general public. . . . Totally Unofficial is at its most alive when he evokes his childhood in the Jewish world of Eastern Europe before World War I. . . . Vivid chapters of Lemkin's autobiography describe the incredible odyssey of his escape."—Michael Ignatieff, New Republic -- Michael Ignatieff * New Republic *
Won Honorable Mention for the 2013 Southern California Book Festival, in the Biography/Autobiography category, sponored by JM Northern Media LLC. -- Southern California Book Festival * JM Northern Media LLC *
Won an Honorable Mention for the 2013 New England Book Festival given by the JM Northern Media Family of Festivals, in the Biography/Autobiography Category. -- New England Book Festival * JM Northern Media *
'The publication of Lemkin’s autobiography…is…a welcome event.'—Lawrence R. Douglas, TLS -- Lawrence R. Douglas * TLS *
ISBN: 9780300186963
Dimensions: 210mm x 140mm x 29mm
Weight: 544g
328 pages