Customer Reviews

A History of Political Trials (The Past in the Present)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Behold! A man who actually thinks his own thoughts. A contradictor who pulls no punches. This book deals with the kangaroo courts which again and again during the course of our history have made a travesty of justice. Mr. Laughland starts off with Charles I versus Cromwell, and finishes his presentation with the heart-rending words of a profoundly stoic Saddam Hussein on the eve of his execution. The most moving chapter of all is the one dealing with Philippe Pétain, who showed a saint-like nobility in defeat. We also read of the Tokyo trials with the defiant verdict of Radhabinod Pal, who found the alleged Japanese war criminals not guilty on all counts. Erich Honecker's memorable performance deserves to be mentioned as well: "The Federal Republic is not a state of law (kein Staat des Rechts) but instead a state of right-wingers (ein Staat der Rechten)." Mr. Laughland demonstrates with admirable precision that the trials of the defeated have nothing at all to do with justice. Rather, it is in shedding the blood of the defeated that the courts and regimes of usurpers and scoundrels, hypocrites and occupiers, gain political legitimacy. Finally, one must laud the truly remarkable impartiality of Mr. Laughland.