Book Review East West Street by Philippe Sands

Philippe Sands’ book is a triumph.  He sets out to understand the origins of the terms ‘genocide’ and ‘crimes against humanity’, and in the process constructs a book of remarkable complexity and character.  He connects the lives of four men – his grandfather, Hersch Lauterpacht (who formulated the term ‘crimes against humanity’), Rafael Lemkin (who formulated the term ‘genocide’) and Hans Frank, a Nazi and governor of occupied Poland.  Not only are the lives of these men interconnected, but the geography connects them through the city of Lviv (not in Ukraine), that had been known as Lemberg and then Lwow.  A fascinating book – as much for the historian as those interested in the law, but more importantly, for all humankind.

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