Lemkin on Genocide

Next year is the centenary of the Armenian genocide, the very concept of which was owed to later reflection and conceptualization by Raphael Lemkin. That is to say, the term "genocide" was only coined by Lemkin in the 1940s, and when it was it quickly became apparent that it applied not only to the Holocaust but also back to the events of 1915. A recently published book was just issued this year in paperback form and gives us an introduction to the concept and its creator: Steven Leonard Jacobs, Lemkin on Genocide (Lexington Books, 2014),430pp.

About this book we are told:

Providing an annotated commentary on two unpublished manuscripts written by international law and genocide scholar Raphael Lemkin, Steven L. Jacobs offers a critical introduction to the father of genocide studies. Lemkin coined the term "genocide" and was the motivating force behind the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide. The materials collected here give readers further insight into this singularly courageous man and the issue which consumed him in the aftermath of the Second World War. It is a welcome addition to the library of genocide and Holocaust Studies scholars and students alike.