Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book
Review: This book will really open your eyes. The only criticism I have of the book is that at times it doesn't give the full picture. For example, it denegrades Jews who have power and authority in American society as being selfish and self-serving for pursuing their own agenda. True, but most people in any society who have a vested interest in their own power and well-being will tend to be pursuing their own agenda.Secondly, even though I don't support zionism, I feel that the Israeli state is now a Fait Accompli. If anything, Israel stands as a testament to the Arab's ineptitude and squandered opportunities. And if any person says that they would prefer to spend a night in a Palestinian jail rather an Israeli jail, they are lying. Finally, the following quote from the book just about says it all: On page 136,
... took note of an episode particularly fraught with pathos. Under the headline "Israeli Teens Frolic With Strippers After Auschwitz Visit," the newspaper explained that, according to experts, the kibbutz students "hired strippers to release the troubling emotions raised by the trip."
Rating:
Summary: Impressively well-documented and scholarly written work
Review: This is a somewhat relieving book that describes what Norman Finkelstein calls "a double shake-down" taking place through what the author calls a shameless "capitalization" of the Holocaust and its Jewish sufferings and sufferers. The orchestrated multi-billion dollar shake-down takes place on a multi-layered level (right-wing politics, local financial interests, mainstream Hollywood, left-wing media, strange forms of politicized christianity, etc. etc.), and it is not only European nations as victims of the lately more and more vindicative and patronizing-moralizing tone of the US that are being squeezed and pushed (in what appears today to have been pretty close to a blackmail strategy, at least as far as the Swiss banks are concerned) to open up their wallets, but it is also the remaining few real sufferers of the Holocaust that are put into play for what appears to be only meager and derisory sums of monetary compensation (peanuts, as sadly and very undiplomatically put forward by a former Swiss banker...). Now does this do any Justice at all to what really happened, or does it rather end up looking like a some kind of a maccabre theatrical trailer?... You could have guessed by yourself that there are many Jewish voices strongly discenting the broad hollywoodization, and standing in opposition to the sharp tone that things related to the Holocaust and its victims seem to have been taking on more and more lately (yes, there were Jewish Holocaust victims that refused any form of compensation, as a matter of pure principle), and eagerly looking left and right for some people to voice some kind of a different opinion and point of view... Well, after the vociferous and highly vocable D'Amato and consort, the vindicative and self-righteous Eizenstadt and the often self-flogging mumbling Swiss, here is finally a Voice in the desert appearing in printed form, asking for a little more respects towards what really happened, and towards the victims thereof... Having said that, it is my strong belief that such Jewish Voices coming from Jewish descendants of the Holocaust are instrumental in averting wide and rampant forms of anti-semitism, so-called "semitism" being more than often nothing less and nothing more than a politicization of so-called global Jewish interests, if there ever was such a thing... Semitism alas often had the sad tendency of making dogmatic slaves out of its adherents, but not all of them seem to succumb to the sweet voices of totalitarian bias... Yes, pro-semitism and anti-semtism are alternating conditions that can hardly be stopped or done away with, probably they can only be dampened, but sadly enough there has and always will be people to profit from the different tidal waves thereof, like from something akin to stock-market fluctuations, just standing there in order to "milk-it"... So, my question: Is the derivation of financial profits from a rising tidal wave of anti-semtism (as for example the Nazis and countless others have done before them) any different (better or worse) than to profit from a tidal wave of pro-semitism? That is the question you might ask yourself after reading this book... But in my mind, it often appears that one generates the other in an alternate pendulum swing, the more the exacerbated and politicized the swing on one side is, the more it will be on the other side, and if it is usually a portion of the Jewish people themselves that will end up profiting from a beneficial tidal wave, sadly enough, it will be another portion of the Jewish people that will be left holding the bag, as the emblematic sufferers from the reversal of the tidal wave or pendulum swing... Now, is that just? Hardly, it seems, although I cannot and do not know the answer, but the fact seems that the biggest unjustices often end up being perpetrated among the Jewish people themselves, and I came to believe that the appearance of what some people have come to call "Jewish anti-semitism" has come to play a very healthy and self-regulating role... The house needs to be cleaned from within, peacefully and dilligently... So if you ever doubted that politics and power always end up being just another nasty play of short-term and often base self-interests, like some kind of a Middas turning everything into dirt, your doubts will vansih like thin air after reading this book... Lately, there have been those that shouted aloud, now there also seems to be a few that dare to think aloud, and also dare to put it into printed form... Norman Finkelstein is one of the few of the latter sort, a blessed Voice for the Conscience of Man, of decent Americans, of the rampaged Swiss and, last but not least, of Jewish dignity and of its countless WWII victims... As far as the contents of the book are concerned, you can check the facts out for yourself, and realize that there was not a single voice of opposition, re-buttal or even argumented answer to the way Finkelstein has presented what ends up being, alas, well-documented historical facts.
Rating:
Summary: A Truthful Man
Review: Mr. Finkelstein is a truthful writer. He also sprinkles the
seriousness of the Holocaust Industry with very funny and not expected statements.Like when he writes: "The Israeli flag, don't leave home without it!"
He is an excellent writer and informs of things that we would had never known , had he not written this book.
highly recommended but ONLY for those that can stomach the bare truth.
If you're the type that wants to keep yourself in ignorant bliss,
because it's easier for you, then this book is not for you.
Norman Finkelstein is the little boy , in the story of the "Emperor's Clothes" that screamed : The Emperor is NAKED!!!!!!
He screamed the TRUTH, the FACTS .
The FACT is that the nazi holocaust has been turned into a HOLOCASH by the holocaust industry and its greedy,sneaky, abominable makers and followers.While the REAL nazi holocaust victims got no money or hardly any money or much needed help there were people becoming wealthy from the sufferings and misery of the poor REAL victims.Including that "Weasel" guy that charges $25,000 to give an interview. .First , Jews were horribly victimized by the Nazis and then equally by their own people the Jews .Though, there were other MILLIONS of people victimized by the nazis that are NEVER mentioned by Jews.These makers and followers of the Holocaust Industry are EXACTLY as the Nazis themselves.
Still, I wonder ...how many people after that little boy screamed the truth, accepted it or kept on denying it.The story never does tell us that.
Finkelstein has screamed the TRUTH in this well written book...it is up to you....to face it. It's a book that after you're done reading it will never be forgotten. Thank you Norman Finkelstein for opening my eyes to the the facts .Thank you!
Rating: 
Summary: Startling assertions, sparse evidence
Review: Much of the drama in "The Holocaust Industry" springs from assertions that memorials and compensation demands since the late 1960s related to Nazi persecution and killing of Jews were driven by ulterior motives, including power and profit. Most reviewers of Prof. Norman G. Finkelstein's book focus on its fiery conclusions rather than on the way it develops evidence and presents arguments. Finkelstein's book will be difficult for readers who have not closely followed the history of Palestine and Israel, the political history of the United States, and the emergence of Jews into the mainstream culture of the U.S. since World War II. The book will offer readers a name, a date or an event without context and associations that may be well known to the author but mysterious to readers. The narrative is wandering, erratic and polemical, cutting rapidly among topics and repeating assertions at many turns. Thanks to the efforts of its publisher, the book is printed with a research apparatus in running footnotes rather than endnotes. This helps alert readers to arguments typically supported by paper sources, often secondary and tertiary ones. For a subject like that of "The Holocaust Industry," such an approach is often less than persuasive. It is unlikely that such conspirators as the book names, said to be clever and diabolical, would leave a public trail of evidence about their motives for a paperbound scholar to discover. Many of the strongest items of evidence that Finkelstein cites concern what he calls claims of "exclusiveness" for the Nazi holocaust. Writers like Prof. Yehuda Bauer and institutional leaders like Rabbi Seymour Siegel have helped scholars like Finkelstein by recording their objections to memorials that might mention Nazi persecution and killing of people from other groups: the disabled, Roma, homosexuals, Socialists or Catholic priests. The book says that the motives for these objections are fears about "loss of Jewish 'moral capital'," but it cites only commentary and not direct sources. Unfortunately this is typical of instances in which Finkelstein takes readers to the gates of knowledge but does not open them. Readers are left without much evidence to understand key assertions of the book: those about ulterior motives. The opportunity remains open for other historians pursuing private papers and memories of individuals who participated in the events that the "The Holocaust Industry" reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Courage to say what needs to be said
Review: I don't agree with Dr. Finkelstein on everything, of course, but I salute him for saying what needs to be said about this era's greatest religion, the religion of the "Holocaust." There is no denying that Jews suffered terribly during World War II, from SS brutality to starvation and disease as a result of Allied terror bombings and their inevitable consequences. However, unlike the sufferings of millions of other European residents, Jewish suffering during WW II has been pushed into the realm of religion, using the same types of irrationality and "eyewitness" accounts as fanatics did centuries ago during witch trials "proving" consorts with Satan himself. Even "law" has been used to make it a "crime" to question the "body-count" or the alleged method(s) of extermination ("Denying the 'Holocaust'" is today what "Denying the Earth is flat" was 600 years ago). What should be a sacred, solemn rememberance for Jews of their ancestors' tragedies (as my family does for the seven million dead of my grandmother's Ukrainian nation), has been turned into the ongoing "Shoah business" circus it is now. As with most modern day religion, this one makes big bucks! Dr. Finkelstein is one of the few to challenge this circus, and deserves your attention.
Rating: 
Summary: A bitter disappointment
Review: This book almost borders on outright anti-semitism in its claims that the Holocaust has been turned into an 'industry' where 'hucksters' vie to 'shakedown' the Germans and the Swiss to get at Jewish money that was stolen and to pay for the slave labor of World War Two. A far better account can be found in 'The Seventh Million' by Mr. Segev. This book tries to critique efforts by elderly Jews to reclaim that which was stolen from them in the Holocaust and the author insinuates that men like Simon Wiesenthal have been trying to lay their hands on money in the name of Jewish victims for selfish reasons. Yet the reasons are not selfish. The money that people like Mr. Wiesenthal have gotten has gone to good causes like tracking down Nazis and telling the story of the Holocaust to new generations. Probably the only highlight of this book is that it illuminates the dearth of scholarship and interest in the Holocaust prior to 1967 when America and Israel became obsessed with the Holocaust. The book makes the ludicrous assertion that it is wrong that Americans know more about the Holocaust then they do about the Civil War, thus perpetuating the hateful claims of Mr. Vidal that Jews are 'un-american'. This is where the book fails and borders on becoming anti-semetic. A disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: This guy is an anti-Semite. Oh wait, he's Jewish?
Review: Then in that case, we will call him a self-hating Jew. This binary scenario basically sums up the depth of the thinking about the Jews and their ethnic pride in the US, by most Jews and non-Jews alike. Mr Finkelstein is to be applauded for having the courage to tear off the blinding PC wool that has been pulled over our eyes and examine a sensitve issue critcally.
Rating:
Summary: Consider the ethical consequences of this book.
Review: This is one of those cases where readers have none of the facts, independently, and writers are being selective--not to say deceptive--to make emotionally charged points. Who to believe? Operating without the facts, this much seems sure: that human nature being what it is, it is unlikely that the holocaust story is not being exploited by some and manipulated by others. Those who would maximize or absolutize the holocaust have interests. Those who would minimize or relativize the holocaust have interests. A lot depends on where you are making your case, and why. The question is what to make of human nature in the face of history. I would say that the factual enormity of the Jewish holocaust is not going to go away, nor its uniqueness, no matter how many other illustrations can be found of man's inhumanity to
man, each just as unique and horrible in its own way. Genocides do not eclipse one another; they stand side by side stretching from the beginning of tribal life to the indefinite future. We just need to reduce the number of situations in which descendants or survivors (of holocausts) are made to compete (i.e. more for me means less for you) for some scarce resource on the basis of the relative magnitude of their suffering per capita. God has no shortage of consolations to offer. Nor should we. It seems that the only way to judge post-holocaust literature is by its likely ethical consequences: in other words, prefer accounts that will make holocausts less likely in the future. On that score, the Finkelstein book, judging by its title and aim, might not be a good thing, as on-target as some of its accusations might be. However, best would be for you to read it, and come to your own conclusions. Then you can write the author and let him know what you think.
Rating:
Summary: Critics of this book are hiding from indisputable truth
Review: I am dismayed at all the shallow and baseless criticism this book has received on this site by people who are well trained in rhetoric and illusory speech. Any person with even a fraction of rationale in their minds can see the truths presented in this vital piece of work. Finkelstein's arguments and proofs shatter any form of concealment that so many corrupt and selfish people have attempted to pile on top of the facts. The facts are as they are. Rather than spitting accusations of "self-hatred" and cowardly sitting there behind a computer screen, do the research yourself and try to disprove what has already been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Perhaps then you may have any semblance of credibility to your criticism.
This book is an essential read for every American, for we should be vitally concerned with where our tax dollars are going and who our votes are truly supporting.
Rating:
Summary: Very well done scholarship with frightening implications
Review: Let me say a bit about myself. I'm an American Jew (living in Canada at the moment) whose grandparents are Nazi holocaust survivors. My entire family has been affected by the losses sustained during WWII, and the effects will no doubt persist for some time to come. This being said, I have absolutely no compunction in stating that this is one of the most important books of our time, and should be read by everyone, survivors included (indeed, I think they especially would agree with many of Dr. Finkelstein's conclusions). This book is a well-documented, well-argued thesis and a just indictment of the bigwigs who claim to represent me, my family, and my fellow Jews. I should point out, as many reviewers have done already, that Finkelstein categorically does _not_ deny that the holocaust occurred! Those who would seek to attack him on these grounds are shameless apologists who have probably not taken the time to actually read what Dr. Finkelstein has to say.
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