From Book News, Inc.
Dadrian, a former professor at SUNY, Geneseo, currently directs a genocide study project supported by the Guggenheim Foundation. The present study analyzes the devastating wartime destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire as the cataclysmic culmination of a historical process involving the progressive Turkish decimation of the Armenians through intermittent and incremental massacres. In addition to the excellent general bibliography there is an annotated bibliography of selected books used in the study. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

CHOICE
Dadrians study is a highly detailed yet accessible account of the attempt of the Ottoman Turkish state to deal effectively with its Armenian question, under both the Abul Hamit and the later young Turk Ittihadist regime, through the mass murder of this nationality group. The book is richly documented by an abundance of primary source materials. Particularly telling are commentaries by representatives of foreign governments during the period under consideration that attest to these killings and the reasons behind them. Dadrians main conclusion is that these series of massacres, cumulating in the 1915 genocide were a resolution of the Turko-Armenian conflict based on a sense of impunity on the part of the respective Turkish regimes. The policy was a direct result of the absence of effective deterrence form the European powers that had repeatedly pressured the Ottoman government to protect its Armenian minority. Dadrian makes a compelling argument for German complicity in the genocide. He also documents the failed attempts at limitations of international law in this regard. Recommended for students.

The Armenian Reporter
"...Dadrians extensive research in European archives demonstrates persuasively that the anti-Armenian measures were not only genocidal in character bu that htey were premeditated and predesigned. Finally, the reviewer commends Prof. Dadrian for choosing to examine and analyse the Armenain genocide in a historical perspective, calling the published volume an exceptional book.

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