About the Author

Ben Kiernan is the A. Whitney Griswold Professor of History, professor of international and area studies, and the founding director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University (www.yale.edu/gsp). His previous books include How Pol Pot Came to Power: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Communism in Cambodia, 1930-1975, published by Yale University Press.

Reviews

. . . the first synthetic, single-authored global history to connect state power and formation to violence through the willful extermination and attempted extermination of peoples. Its reach is not only global, it is also temporal, as the book examines violence through time. "Journal of Asian Studies"
""
--Audra Simpson "Journal of Asian Studies ""

""Blood and Soil" is a stunning achievement. The idea for the project was clearly a prompting of the heart, but the argument itself is a thing of pure intellect. It surveys thousands of years, visits every corner of the world, and stares with scarcely a blink at the worst horrors the world has ever known. As an act of scholarship, it simply stands alone. Kai Erikson, Yale University
--Kai Erikson"

"In exploring the global 'prehistory' of the horrific forms ofsocietal violence usually associated with the twentieth century, Kiernan identifies key factors that have been consistently associated with genocidal episodes. His book makes an original contribution to our understanding of the phenomenon." Michael Adas, Rutgers University
--Michael Adas"

Ben Kiernan s "Blood and Soil" is a major work explaining myths and metaphors that have underwritten genocide for six hundred years earlier within the bowels of the western tradition; now commonplace practice far beyond that tradition.In seeing genocide as linked to issues of land as well as race, nation, and expansion, Kiernan has opened up social, political, and economic analysis to the struggle for land and the control of property.Such an approach is unique as it is provocative.It is inspired by the author s profound reading of Cambodia and Southeast Asia."Blood and Soil" provides an angle of vision rarely found in those who start (and stop) with a European base of scholarship.The book opens up new questions and formulations on the nature of state inspired murder. It merits a close reading of the dark side of terror, often commented upon, but rarely probed. Irving Louis Horowitz, Rutgers University
--Irving Louis Horowitz"

"Ben Kiernan's "Blood and Soil" is a major work explaining myths and metaphors that have underwritten genocide for six hundred years--earlier within the bowels of the western tradition; now commonplace practice far beyond that tradition. In seeing genocide as linked to issues of land as well as race, nation, and expansion, Kiernan has opened up social, political, and economic analysis to the struggle for land and the control of property. Such an approach is unique as it is provocative. It is inspired by the author's profound reading of Cambodia and Southeast Asia. "Blood and Soil" provides an angle of vision rarely found in those who start (and stop) with a European base of scholarship. The book opens up new questions and formulations on the nature of state inspired murder. It merits a close reading of the dark side of terror, often commented upon, but rarely probed."--Irving Louis Horowitz, Rutgers University
--Irving Louis Horowitz

." . . the first synthetic, single-authored global history to connect state power and formation to violence through the willful extermination and attempted extermination of peoples. Its reach is not only global, it is also temporal, as the book examines violence through time."--"Journal of Asian Studies"
""
--Audra Simpson "Journal of Asian Studies "

"Genocide scholars and those with an interest in world history should be grateful for Kiernan's latest stimulating work."--;i>Holocaust and Genocide Studies
"--Donald W. Beachler "Holocaust and Genocide Studies "

"In exploring the global ''prehistory'' of the horrific forms of societal violence usually associated with the twentieth century, Kiernan identifies key factors that have been consistently associated with genocidal episodes. His book makes an original contribution to our understanding of the phenomenon."--Michael Adas, Rutgers University

--Michael Adas

0;Ben Kiernan7;s "Blood and Soil" is a major work explaining myths and metaphors that have underwritten genocide for six hundred years2;earlier within the bowels of the western tradition; now commonplace practice far beyond that tradition. In seeing genocide as linked to issues of land as well as race, nation, and expansion, Kiernan has opened up social, political, and economic analysis to the struggle for land and the control of property. Such an approach is unique as it is provocative. It is inspired by the author7;s profound reading of Cambodia and Southeast Asia. "Blood and Soil" provides an angle of vision rarely found in those who start (and stop) with a European base of scholarship. The book opens up new questions and formulations on the nature of state inspired murder. It merits a close reading of the dark side of terror, often commented upon, but rarely probed.1;2;Irving Louis Horowitz, Rutgers University
-- Irving Louis Horowitz

"Blood and Soil" is a stunning achievement. The idea for the project was clearly a prompting of the heart, but the argument itself is a thing of pure intellect. It surveys thousands of years, visits every corner of the world, and stares with scarcely a blink at the worst horrors the world has ever known. As an act of scholarship, it simply stands alone."--Kai Erikson, Yale University

" Ben Kiernan ' s Blood and Soil is a major work explaining myths and metaphors that have underwritten genocide for six hundred years -- earlier within the bowels of the western tradition; now commonplace practice far beyond that tradition.& nbsp; In seeing genocide as linked to issues of land as well as race, nation, and expansion, Kiernan has opened up social, political, and economic analysis to the struggle for land and the control of property.& nbsp; Such an approach is unique as it is provocative.& nbsp; It is inspired by the author ' s profound reading of Cambodia and Southeast Asia.& nbsp; Blood and Soil provides an angle of vision rarely found in those who start (and stop) with a European base of scholarship.& nbsp; The book opens up new questions and formulations on the nature of state inspired murder. It merits a close reading of the dark side of terror, often commented upon, but rarely probed. " -- Irving Louis Horowitz, Rutgers University& nbsp;

" Blood and Soil is a stunning achievement. The idea for the project was clearly a prompting of the heart, but the argument itself is a thing of pure intellect. It surveys thousands of years, visits every corner of the world, and stares with scarcely a blink at the worst horrors the world has ever known. As an act of scholarship, it simply stands alone. " -- Kai Erikson, Yale University

" "Blood and Soil" is a stunning achievement. The idea for the project was clearly a prompting of the heart, but the argument itself is a thing of pure intellect. It surveys thousands of years, visits every corner of the world, and stares with scarcely a blink at the worst horrors the world has ever known. As an act of scholarship, it simply stands alone." -- Kai Erikson, Yale University

" Ben Kiernan' s "Blood and Soil" is a major work explaining myths and metaphors that have underwritten genocide for six hundred years-- earlier within the bowels of the western tradition; now commonplace practice far beyond that tradition. In seeing genocide as linked to issues of land as well as race, nation, and expansion, Kiernan has opened up social, political, and economic analysis to the struggle for land and the control of property. Such an approach is unique as it is provocative. It is inspired by the author' s profound reading of Cambodia and Southeast Asia. "Blood and Soil" provides an angle of vision rarely found in those who start (and stop) with a European base of scholarship. The book opens up new questions and formulations on the nature of state inspired murder. It merits a close reading of the dark side of terror, often commented upon, but rarely probed." -- Irving Louis Horowitz, Rutgers University