Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism: Five Interventions in the (Mis)Use of a Notion

Rating:
Summary: An intensely searching evaluation and analysis
Review: Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism?: Five Interventions in the (Mis)use of a Notion is an intensely searching evaluation and analysis of precisely what totalitarianism is, and how the term has been misused -- particularly in twentieth century political science and philosophical discussions. Individual chapter sections address diverse, unusual, and controversial topics such as "The radical ambiguity of Stalinism"; "A plea for material creationism"; and "The Pope versus the Dalai Lama". Deviously written by Slavoj Zizek (Senior Researcher, Institute for Social Studies, Ljublijana) to unweave conundrums about the cross-purpose classification of totalitarian power and governance, Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism? is a complex, thought-provoking philosophical accounting and a highly recommended addition to academic Political Science and Philosophy Studies departmental reference collections and reading lists.

Rating:
Summary: Incomprehensible
Review: I found this in the philosphy section of a local store and was intrigued by the timely theme and title. Nothing else proved commendable about this book. This is the sort of book that gives philosphy a bad name. A dense fog of jagron so abstract that it almost seems like a parody. I must admit I could not finish this book. I was barely able to penetrate the first two chapters. Several honest attempts to scan the rest of the book read like pure gibberish.