Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History

In this powerful, searing book, Paris studies the manipulation of history in selected international settings. Her central question is, How do countries reinvent themselves after cataclysmic events? To gather evidence, she traveled through several "stricken lands": Japan, Germany, and France, which are still trying to come to terms with the legacy of World War II and the Holocaust; South Africa and Bosnia; and the United States, which still suffers from the "shadow of slavery." In Europe and South Africa, she examined the workings of courts and commissions and interviewed public officials and prominent citizens. Paris was particularly impressed by "how fiercely people will fight to chronicle their personal and collective experience in the face of an official history that has been falsified." Stories of such people permeate the book. Many of the personal vignettes are unforgettable, especially those dealing with American racism.