Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland | 
 enlarge | Author: Christopher R. Browning
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
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Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 22451
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0141000422
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN: 9780141000428
ASIN: 0141000422
Publication Date: June 28, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from UK Mainland. Delivery is usually 2 - 3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 An important work with implications for the modern day. April 18, 2007
Gillyfish
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Amongst historians this book has quickly reached the status of a classic. But it deserves to have a much broader readership as the subject it tackles - that of how 'ordinary men' can end up doing morally repugnant deeds - has implications that go far beyond its historical context. There is a human tendency to categorise and blame groups of people because it is easier than facing the possibility that anyone is capable of horror. An example would be the claim that 'religion causes wars' - it places the burden on an external agency, on the 'other' rather than the fact that anyone can commit an atrocity.
This is what Browning's book illustrates beautifully; the gradual steps these ordinary men take on the path to atrocity. Browning refers to a number of psychological studies as well as the historical record to illustrate his points and the book is nothing if not frightening in that you can see how this could all to easily happen again. From a reluctance to let down their comrades to the difficulty of disobeying orders from a higher authority you can see how some of these men ended up becoming killers.
Browning's prose is succinct and he explains his points clearly and logically. Whilst the complex ideas don't always make for easy reading, Browning deftly provides examples and explanaions that illustrate his point.
This is an important book and it deserves a wide audience.
A sobering little book January 25, 2005
Teemacs (Switzerland)
13 out of 18 found this review helpful
The question of how "ordinary men" living in Germany became the tools of one of the most monstrous crimes in history has long been asked. Perhaps there is no real answer, but this book goes a long way towards providing a perspective. Reserve Police Batallion 101 was made up of, as the title says, "ordinary men", too old for military service in the German Army and used in what the Germans call "Ordnungspolizei" (Order Police), literally to keep order behind the lines. In the case of 101, "keeping order" meant helping make Poland "judenfrei" by rounding up and executing Polish Jews. It shows that, for every policeman who refused to obey orders, there were many others who went along with varying degrees of acquiesence, for fear of "standing out", discipline, racial indifference or hatred, etc. The frightening lesson is that these men weren't especially evil, they were "ordinary men", just like you and me - and if you put ordinary men in such situations, you get the same result. As we are again seeing ordinary men doing dreadful things in Guantanamo Bay and Iraq, this book is a very timely read.
A worrying morality tale from the Holocaust January 22, 2003
Dobester (Istanbul, Turkey)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
This book shatters all reassuring fantasies that atrocities - on whatever scale - are carried out by drooling sadistic monsters. It shows how ordinary men can gradually lose their humanity and lightly, casually murder men women and children in order not to let their mates down or be considered soft.Sickening but necessary reading, and despite the horrific nature of the story told, beautifully written by Christopher Browning.
 Unsettling and frightening... July 30, 1999
If you still are amazed that the holocaust ever happened, reading this book will help to provide some answers. Some of the details are a bit boring, but the basic purpose for the book is well defined. Frightening to realize that just about "anyone" can be coerced to do "anything."
Unsettling and frightening... July 30, 1999
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you still are amazed that the holocaust ever happened, reading this book will help to provide some answers. Some of the details are a bit boring, but the basic purpose for the book is well defined. Frightening to realize that just about "anyone" can be coerced to do "anything."
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