Customer Reviews

Atlas of the Diasporas, The Penguin

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A beautifully illustrated pioneering reference guide examining the forced exile and voluntary migration of ethnic communities across political borders in search of safety, sanity, and freedom. This fascinating work expands the original definition of "diaspora" beyond the Jews to study the nature and history of minority groups in new lands. Detailed, color historical maps accompany this ambitious, informative survey of the Jewish, Armenian, Gypsy, Black, and Chinese Diasporas across centuries and under many oppressive governments. While diasporas spread ideas, expand trade, and make significant contributions to cultures, these minority groups frequently have faced brutal persecution as outsiders without basic rights in host countries. The American and French revolutions established new principles of tolerance, but the Armenian genocide and Nazi Holocaust prove that evil was still alive in the 20th century. Far shorter sections also outline other ethnic diaspora communities including the Indian, Irish, Vietnamese and Korean while placing the current global refugee crisis within a larger context.

I read this book last year and wound up returning it due to what I thought was missing content (and a misleading title that caused me to buy it in the first place). Although this book gave an in depth look at the Jewish diaspora (covering nearly half the book) and a good discussion on the definition and introduction on diasporas, it gave less coverage to many of the other diasporas. The Armenian and African diasporas were worth a look, but other nationalities were glossed over (i.e. Greek, Kurdish, etc...).