They can live in the desert but nowhere else

The Book in 3 Sentences

1. History of Armenian and the Armenian Genocide, what caused it and who were involved in it
2. An account of everything that happened during the First World War in the Ottoman Empire
3. An account of how Turkey eliminated its Christian minority by the way of massacre, exile and conversion over the years and specifically during the First World War

Impressions

Effect of the book on me was grim and dark. The naked cruelty which the Armenians and other minorities of the Ottoman Empire experienced made me squirm with discomfort and empathize with them for the grave injustice visited upon them by fate and design. It showed me how dangerous success is when all around you is unsuccessful. 

But I still don’t understand how this catastrophe could have been avoided. Maybe if the Ottoman government toned down the rhetoric of Kafir and threat against Armenians and instead relied upon their loyal millet statements more and tried to genuinely understand their problems and address them so that they would never need to go after other nations for aid, or to form an independent nations. 

This would have been possible if the empire was democratic. But it was not. Neither was its people. They were every bit intolerant and entitled as the government. Muslims of the empire knew that they were better stock than the Armenians, they knew that Armenians were a subordinate caste of people. They had more in common with worms and dogs than Turks. Now when I say this this would seem hard to believe for the ordinary ears. Because how can a whole people believe such vile bigotry. But that is only because the average person lives in a peaceful and prospering new world developing or developed nation, where we have found ways to connect and interact with each other in a way that we may see more things and dreams in common between various groups, rather than the profound sense of othering the Turks had towards the Armenians and other Christian minorities. 

As the Social media age accelerates and glorifies the differences and othering of communities again, we might yet again learn to understand the mindset and attitude of Turks who lived in Ottoman Empire during the genocide; why did they let it happen? How could they participate in such vile acts? And how they learned to forget and justify it so much so that even after so many years Armenians are yet to receive an acknowledgment let alone an apology.

How I Discovered It

I discovered the book while I was searching for books on Armenian Genocide on Audible. I wanted to read about the genocide after hearing about it on Hardcore history Podcast by Dan Carlin

Who Should Read It?

Must read for everyone who does not know about the Armenian Genocide and extermination of other minorities in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Because this is a balanced account providing insight from all angles, explaining the viewpoint of both perpetrators and the victims with as little bias as possible, which is really difficult to achieve considering the fact that this is one of the most contentious an hotly debated topics since early twentieth century. The contention cuts deeper than just claims about the specifics of the atrocities and genocide, but it even debates the very existence of such atrocities and genocide as the Turkish government has never officially accepted the Genocide.

Also everyone who is interested in the journey of humans as species should also read such books. Because it shows the extent of human cruelty and paints a picture of how division othering and polarization leads to committing of vile acts by relatively normal people

How the Book Changed Me

It gave me deeper insight into

• What really led to the Armenian Genocide
• The manner in which genocide was conducted and who was responsible for it
• What were its repercussions
• How it affected Armenians as race
• How it affected the further course of history

✍️ My Top 3 Quotes

• “The story here is that the genocide was neither religiously motivated, nor a struggle between two contending nationalisms (one of which destroyed the other), but rather the pathological response of desperate leaders who sought security against a people they had both constructed as enemies and driven into radical opposition to the regime under which they had lived for centuries.”
• "As the assassin [Tehlirian, assassin of Talat, former Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire] picked up his revolver and descended to the street, he descends as the representative of justice versus brute force. He descends as the representative of humanity versus inhumanity”
• Talat reportedly told friends with pride, “I have accomplished more toward solving the Armenian problem in 3 months than Abdul Hamid accomplished in 30 years.”