The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the discussion thread for the Spring 2019 Group Read Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine K. Albright. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

For various reasons, I never really had any effective history instruction in high school and the one course I took in college was focused on the civil war. This means that my knowledge base regarding the events leading up to and surrounding World War I, WWII, and the Cold War were basic at best. As a result, I thoroughly enjoyed Madeleine K. Albright's clear and conversational tone as she explained how Fascist dictators such as Mussolini, Hitler, and others were able to rise to their powers as well as how they fell from them. The parallels to today's political climate around the world and here at home (in the US) were chilling. This book has left me with a lot to think about as well as a desire to read more nonfiction regarding a few time periods and persons of interest mentioned in the book to continue to broaden my knowledge base. I will also be checking out more of Albright's books as I very much enjoyed her writing style.

I'm not a big fan of history as I have trouble keeping events that occurred in far flung parts of the world in sync with other events occurring at the same time.Today with modern means of communication it should be much easier, but events that happened before I was born (albeit that was some time ago) are harder for me to put in context. It was educational to hear what Ms. Albright had to say especially about WWII. Obviously the events effected her family directly. It does not take much imagination to see why she decided on the career path that she pursued. Concepts such as Fascism which I only vaguely understood are much clearer to me now. I am not sure I agree with all her ideas on how the world should be run, and her attitudes toward various world leaders. What am most concerned about is the rapidity with which knowledge of global events are dispersed worldwide, and am even more skeptical of journalists opinions because their jobs depend on people reading what they write and the truth may not sell as many books, papers, or listeners to news broadcasts

I listened to the author read the audiobook. I really did not know much about Madeleine Albright when she was serving as Secretary of State, so I am glad to have had the opportunity to become more informed about her and her life and to hear her insights into the history of fascism and connections to our current political situation. This is an important book! I wish everyone would read it and understand the implications of our current fascist-leaning regime in the US. This book left me feeling pretty angry and depressed. Though there are some possibilities for change, it’s hard to see how we can recover from the extremes of attitudes that landed us here where we are now.

I admire Madeleine Albright and I really enjoyed this book. She describes the origins of fascism and how it manifested in the 20th century, then goes on to describe several of our more dictatorial world leaders now in the 21st century that are exhibiting many of the same behaviors. The parallels are really alarming, and her point that democracy breaks down in stages wasn't lost on me. I enjoyed her personal anecdotes about meeting with Kim Jong-Il, Slobodan Milosevic, Vladimir Putin, and Hugo Chavez - that really hammered home to me that this is someone who really knows her subject. I really liked Albright's humor and writing style and I'd like to read her autobiography at some point.

I have admired Madeleine Albright for some time and so I was looking forward to reading this book. My parents grew up in Czechoslovakia like she did, leaving around the same time when it became Communist so I feel a connection to her personal story. I also enjoy history and foreign affairs.

I especially liked her highly readable style in describing the history of Fascism and various Fascist governments throughout history. Her own anecdotes of conversations and meetings with world leaders were very interesting.

I hope many people read her book and take the important lessons in it to heart as we face a rapidly changing world that to me feels like it is once more at the crossroads.

I have admired the work of Madeline Albright for many years. Her contributions in the area of foreign policy were and continue to be a bright shining star for our nation. I so enjoy reading her books as there are entertaining and informative as well as educational.

In this latest eork, she has excelled. The book is a thorough and at times chilling explanation of the development of Fascism. A chapter is devoted to the past and present leaders who have exhibited the tenets of Fascism.

Her writing style is comprehensive and engaging. This book is a must read for not only the student of foreign policy and history, but also for anyone who recognizes the dangers to democracy now present in the United States.

I agree with just about everything others have said. While reading this I was ashamed about my lack of knowledge of events that have happened around the world in my lifetime. (I might go back and read that article in the paper about the upcoming elections in Asia.)

Not being American, I see some things from a different angle and I don't agree with everything Madeleine Albright says but I acknowledge her superior experience in world affairs and find her conclusions intelligent and reasonable.

I admit I didn't know much about Madeline Albright before reading this book, other than being the first female Secretary of State of the U.S. That alone, in my opinion, qualifies her to speak about fascism, but her upbringing and studies add to her qualifications.

Albright's outlining of past and present fascist regimes is excellent and enough to scare me about global politics today. There are a lot of parallels today to the time around WWII, which in itself is frightening, but realizing the potential impact of going against our European allies is enough to keep me up at night.

After reading this, I do plan to seek out other Albright works.

As others have said, I agree with pretty much all the comments made previously.

While I already knew quite a bit about Hitler and Mussolini, I did not know nearly as much about the more recent leaders - and I found those discussions particularly fascinating since she had actually met with them. It definitely was frightening, and the parallels with current events in the US were particularly scary.

I guess I take heart from her description of herself as an optimist who worries a lot!

I have read Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box so the anecdote about the hot-air balloon pin with Putin reminded me of all the subtle ways of her diplomacy.
I did appreciate the concise summaries of the current conflicts. I didn't agree with everything she says, but I think the subtitle says it all: a warning.
I kept thinking of the quote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

honestly i'm struggling with this right - I have a degree in history and most of my classes focused on military/political history - nothing really is screaming as new info to me - but that being said, i think that this book being so popular screams that maybe the history curriculua in schools should be examined (I had a whole portion of my senior history class dedicated to Europe between the Wars - when we studies Mussolini, hitler etc)

I enjoyed this book and agree with many of the previous comments. I was not familiar with Madeleine Albright's background before reading this book, but she is an intriguing person. I would be interested in reading her memoir. Her writing style kept my interest throughout. I did not agree with all of her views but I liked her personal accounts of world leaders.

While I had a rough idea of what happened in the lead up to WWII, this book helped cement some things into place. Again I had a rough idea of what was/is happening in other countries. I fully agree many countries feed off others and just push their aggrandize a little bit more every year.

I will be seeking out Madeline Albright’s other books. This one was so informative.

History in school was always centered around what the United States was doing. I was always an average student, so I didn't qualify for the "advanced" courses, which included World History.
Yes, Dee, the education system needs quite a few changes.

I've enjoyed since, (while being depressed) learning about other sides of histories through other's experiences, this book being one of them.

This book was an eye opener in many regards, not the least of which was to give a better sense of what Fascism is. Her drawing similarities between different leaders, as well as their different approaches. I truly hope her book helps open people's eyes to the dangers facing this world. A lot is changing, climate being a big one. With the environment changing, peoples livelihood and food sources are vanishing. The responses to that type of change is rarely good in people and they'll follow anyone who promises to fix it for them. We all need to work together. Pitting one against the other helps few. Yet people are inclined to think of the immediate, themselves, first.

It’s said that those who refuse to study history are doomed to repeat it. I’ve studied some history, and yet I found much new information in this relatively slim volume.

Albright clearly, methodically and logically lays out the foundations to bring understanding of Fascism. She cites numerous examples, using not only right-wing but left-wing and centrist ideologies to illustrate the concepts and realities.

I was particularly struck by the way that "small incremental changes" slowly but surely result in a society that I may not recognize until it's too late.

I have read everyones comments and agree that it is an easy to read book on a subject that can be difficult to grasp. I chose this book as the group read mainly because i have sworn off books about girl groups in the War and Young Adult books are not my thing. I am not a person who has studied History in any depth but I had looked forward to reading this book for which i had high hopes.

However like Dee I was disappointed for me it lacked depth in its treatment of the subject. I had a struggle to get through it as it wasn't really firing my interest.

I question whether the same book would have been written if Hilary Clinton had won the 2016 presidency. Albright suggests it would but I feel the emphasis would have been very different. I do share some of her worries about the world I just don't feel as if she has brought a great deal new to the topic into discussion in this book.

A very enjoyable book that I probably wouldn't have read if it wasn't chosen for this seasons read. I seem to have a little more prior knowledge than some of the previous commentators on the world events that Ms Albright covers due to a large interest in reading history books and also some really good historical fiction which drives me to Wikipedia after finishing the novel and get background on the country, people and events it covered. Brutal regimes seem to make a great backdrop for really excellent literature!

What I mostly got from this was a sense of how these things all tie together in the 'bigger picture' and a real admiration for Madeleine Albright as a person. I knew nothing about her before reading this and I'm glad to have rectified that in some small way. She seems to be a very admirable person.

hoenstly after struggling with this for like 2 months, i'm putting this aside - i do have the audiobook on hold at the library but likely won't see before the end of the challenge - so i'm going to re-read one of the other 2 books

I definitely found this interesting -- even in sections on people I knew quite a bit about, there were new bits of information and ideas. It was interesting (though depressing) to have such a long parade of fascist leaders, one after the other, and to see their similarities and differences. I think what struck me the most was how many different ways there were for a fascist leader to take power -- if the goal is power, there seem to be endless ways for it to happen!

Thanks to the Reading Challenge, I had the motivation to pick up a book otherwise I'd have been reluctant to read. I’m well aware of the current and historical case studies in authoritarianism, but in a day and age where the threat and the pain induced by current events bombard one’s mental well-being, it’s just hard to stay calm and approach this issue objectively.

That’s why the book surprised me. No opinionated take on current events, no diatribe again the current administration or lament about the state of the world, just a concise, direct, and oftentimes personal guide by Madeleine Albright through the world’s most notorious totalitarian states and leaders in the twentieth century. Most of us probably have learned about these events at school; many would have lived through them. What Albright gives me through this account is a broader historical perspective about totalitarian regimes, the individuals behind/ on top of them, AND an argument. By linking their characteristics, ruling styles, and the circumstances leading to the citizens’ support for each leader, Albright provides a level-headed and accessible analysis to what she takes to be fascism.

Perhaps the scope of the chapters discourages some readers who say that the book lacks depth. However, I’d counter by saying that it *obviously* is not meant to be academic nor historical in its focus. The point is to provide a cause for alarm and to educate the populace of the reasons behind Albright’s belief that there’s a possible *current* threat many might be oblivious to. The history is there as evidential support, and since the writer is one directly influenced by fascist regimes when she was young, and later became deeply embedded in international politics, it is clear her book is a personal, subjective take. We don’t all have time to take a whole course in Fascism, so, as a newbie, I’m content with this book as a quick introduction.