If you've read the introduction or either of the first two chapters of the book, you're probably already aware that Arendt's most famous (perhaps infamous) book was/is
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. Jerome Kohn, the editor of the present volume, is careful to give a quick summary of what that book was about, as well as to present its context, and while I doubt that familiarity with
Eichmann will be necessary to understanding the essays in
Responsibility and Judgment, given that both the writing and reception of
Eichmann seem to have had a major effect on Arendt's career, it may be worthwhile having a small thread in which to talk about that book.
Obviously, I don't expect anyone to run out and read the copy as an adjunct to our discussion of
Responsibility and Judgment.
Eichmann is a very thorny book, both because it tackles a difficult subject and because Arendt's approach to that problem is uncompromising. It's definitely a book that I recommend to most anyone interested in either the Holocaust or the issues pertinent to the concept of human rights and so-called "crimes against humanity", but it stands just a little outside our perview for the moment. For a brief but fairly competant survey of the book's contents and reception, check out the
wiki on the book.
If references to the book cause any confusion while you're reading the essays in
Responsibility and Judgment, feel free to use this thread to ask about it. Unfortunately, I've loaned my copy out (I never seem to have my favorite books in house), but my notes are still around here somewhere, and if I'm not mistaken, a few other BookTalk contributors have read
Eichmann as well -- I'm sure they won't mind taking a few moments to address any questions that crop up.
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