"Let's Mention The War" by Edmund Bush is published
Wide ranging from autobiography through history and ending with a plea for teaching Social ethics in schools instead of religion, this covers almost a lifetime.
- (1888PressRelease) May 22, 2016 - "Let's Mention The War" by Edmund Bush, About the Book: Starting with the author's upbringing in Berlin and Vienna, including a brief period of becoming a Nazi, it moves on to England in the Second World War and thereafter. The title is derived from the snide guide 'don't mention the war' for those engaging in any social contact with the Germans, and sets the tone of the rest of the book, examining what if any basis there was, or is, for us to maintain a moral superiority stance over the Germans ever since. Explaining his dual loyalties as a conflict of belongings, the author uses his own life experiences and those of numerous others, mostly German and Austrian, including the top Nazis, to illustrate how he arrived at his belief that we are all victims of the random events of history. Only be exercising reason over emotion in establishing empathy with our fellow humans worldwide are we ever going to reduce the incidence of on-going genocides and religious conflicts, or even the possibility of a demise of Homo sapiens due to a nuclear catastrophe in the foreseeable future.
Excerpt from "Let's Mention the War":
"The whole question of 'Right and wrong', or let's just say morality, is in any case fraught with all sorts of imponderables. Few of the moral choices we have to make in everyday life have an answer that all of us, or even followers of any one religion or ethical belief system, can agree on. And even where we can agree that evil has been perpetrated, we still can't agree on how to punish the perpetrators. The debate about capital punishment worldwide is still on-going, with Western Europe the only continent which has finally abolished it.
Although Hitler and his immediate followers have gone down in history as epitomes of evil, they themselves were victims as well. They were conditioned by their upbringing and/or experiences to see the world in a different light from the rest of us. Like terrorists and suicide bombers, they were willing to give their lives for a cause they believed in, even though the rest of the world thought of it as being deranged. As for their followers amongst the wider populace, the punishment for the crimes against humanity they committed took no account of the extent of their just taking the easy way, nor of the brainwashing they had been subjected to by the Nazi propaganda machine. Yet it could be argued that in a civilised society we do not kill the deranged, we just confine them to where they can do no harm until such time as they can be regarded as cured."
Amazon reviews:
The following are two, 5-star reviews left on Amazon for this book:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wartime memories
By Amazon Customer on 11 April 2016
With a title reminiscent of the well-known and utterly farcical performance by John Cleese in Fawlty Towers, Let's mention the War is both autobiographical and historical, a combination that gives plenty of authenticity to the book. It begins with a highly personal account of the author's young life in Austria before the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. The reader is given unique insight into the lives of individuals at a time of momentous and life-changing events, covering the political and social upheavals of the 1930s. Particularly powerful are the first-hand accounts of the increasing tensions and the decisions the author's friends and relatives had to make, faced with the emergence of Naziism and all it brought with it. Alongside this very absorbing account are the frequent reflections on the world at the time, the political and military events, the personalities who determined the lives and fates of millions and the lessons needing to be learned from it all. The subject-matter is not always easy but is tackled well by the author. An essential read and, together with other accounts of the period in question, a necessary reminder of war and its consequences for ordinary lives.
5.0 out of 5 stars WW2 and lessons for us all
By Peter F on 18 April 2016
Verified Purchase
This book is a delight! It gives a moving, and often witty, account of life growing up in pre-war Vienna. This is contrasted beautifully with the challenges of moving to the UK in 1938 and life and work in wartime London. Difficult issues are addressed, such as what ordinary people from both sides of the conflict really knew about the atrocities being committed by their own sides. We are all victims of history and the author is unequivocal about the need for the world to adopt common codes of social ethics and human rights to prevent such disasters in the future.
"Let's Mention The War" by Edmund Bush is available in paperback from Amazon UK at:
www.amazon.co.uk/Lets-Mention-War-Edmund-Bush/dp/1781484201
Press/Media Contact Details:
Grosvenor House Publishing
Tel. 01483 243 450
E-mail: info ( @ ) grosvenorhousepublishing dot co dot uk
ISBN #978-1781484203
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