Preface ix Note on Spelling and Translation xv Abbreviations and Foreign Terms xvii 1 Introduction 3 2 Preconditions 27 3 Pretext 54 4 Cold War 82 5 Mass Killing 118 6 The Army's Role 148 7 "A Gleam of Light in Asia" 177 8 Mass Incarceration 208 9 Release, Restrict, Discipline, and Punish 237 10 Truth and Justice? 264 11 Violence, Legacies, Silence 292 Notes 315 Bibliography 391 Index 413
Geoffrey B. Robinson is professor of history at the University of California, Los Angeles. His books include The Dark Side of Paradise: Political Violence in Bali and "If You Leave Us Here, We Will Die": How Genocide Was Stopped in East Timor (Princeton). Before coming to UCLA, he worked for six years at Amnesty International's Research Department in London. Robinson lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.
"Winner of the George McT. Kahin Prize, Association for Asian
Studies"
"Winner of the Distinguished Book Award in Non-U.S. History,
Society for Military History"
"Winner of the Raphael Lemkin Book Award, Institute for the Study
of Genocide"
"Longlisted for the 2019 ICAS Book Prize in Humanities,
International Convention of Asia Scholars"
"One of the Financial Times' Best Books of 2018: History"
"One of Foreign Affairs' Picks for Best of Books 2018"
"[Robinson’s] book skilfully combines a human rights advocate’s
anger with academic rigour."---Julia Lovell, The Guardian
"In this masterful account . . . the killings receive the
comprehensive, scholarly treatment they have long needed."---Tony
Barber, Financial Times
"Robinson [displays his] ability to combine, with chilling calm, a
broad theoretical analysis and comparative analysis with a detailed
understanding of events."---Adrian Vickers, Times Literary
Supplement
"A useful contribution to regional history and a much-needed voice
in the ‘path of silence’ that followed a murderous time."
*Kirkus*
"Robinson’s work is painstakingly careful and deserves as wide a
readership as possible. . . . The real importance of this book is
that it exposes in meticulous detail a modern genocide from the
inside out. Governments and politicians could learn from this to
prevent genocides before they even happen."---Richard Cockett,
Literary Review
"This meticulous scholarly analysis of the country's institutions
comprehensively investigates the economic, religious, ethnic, and
socioeconomic factors behind the arrests, rape, torture, and murder
that were inflicted on communist true believers and innocents
alike. Robinson's authoritative scholarly work is an indispensable
resource for specialists seeking a comprehensive overview of this
little-studied period in Southeast Asian history."
*Publisher's Weekly*
"Crucial. . . . The Killing Season is clearly and elegantly
written, the prose often driven by a controlled anger."---Alex de
Jong, Jacobin
"The facts and horrors of [the Indonesian massacres of 1965-66] are
the subject of Geoffrey B. Robinson’s essential volume, The Killing
Season. In careful detail, Robinson lays out the background for the
slaughter and its execution, laying blame squarely on those
Indonesians and Western powers responsible for what he calls a
crime against humanity—the aftereffects of which are still apparent
today."---Mitchell Abidor, Jewish Currents
"Robinson’s The Killing Season is a vital work in documenting one
of the worst mass killings of the 20th century — and exposing the
complicity of Western governments."
*Green Left Weekly*
"An authoritative and harrowing account of the massacres in
Indonesia and their aftermath. . . . Robinson spares no one, but
his indictment is nuanced and rises above Cold War passions. . . .
The findings of Robinson’s painstaking scholarship may shock those
accustomed to triumphal readings of the Cold War, but Robinson
provides a more accurate, if less inspirational, perspective on
U.S. policy."---Gary Bass, Foreign Affairs
"This is an important and extensively researched account about the
activities and consequences of state terrorism, using the
Indonesian experience as its case study."---Joshua Sinai,
Perspectives on Terrorism
"Robinson’s work is a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate
on the 1965 events that draws on a rich body of primary and
secondary sources. The book is an easy read when it comes to
language and an enlightening read when it comes to the details of
army operation and strategies. It is a must-read for
Indonesianists, and many part of the book might also draw the
attention of people dedicated to genocide and military studies in
general."---Timo Duile, Austrian Journal of Southeast Asian
Studies
"Robinson’s masterly account of the terrible slaughters that took
place in Indonesia offers important reflections on the nature of
mass violence."---Christopher Hale, History Today
"An authoritative and harrowing account of the massacres in
Indonesia and their aftermath."---Gary J. Bass, Foreign Affairs
"This book is recommended for those trying to understand the
causes, both domestic and international, behind the massacres of
1965-66. It is also an insight into Indonesia’s continuing struggle
to come to terms with this painful episode in its history."---Frank
Beyer, Inside Indonesia
"Robinson, an expert on human rights, concludes with a thought
provoking analysis of why mass killings and illegal detentions take
place, and considers the long-term consequences of the events of
1965-1966 for Indonesian society. He has written a clear and well
documented book which is essential reading for anyone interested in
modern Indonesian history."---Roger Hamilton, Asian Affairs
"An encyclopedic exploration into this event, why it happened, who
supported it, and what its impact on the nation has been. . . . The
Killing Season is a very powerful book. I strongly recommend
it."---Erik Loomis, Lawyers, Guns & Money
"Geoffrey Robinson emphasizes that one of his main objectives in
writing this book was to ‘disturb the troubling silence.’ I have
waited many years for such a book to appear, one which I hoped
would help to pierce the West’s historical amnesia. Robinson has
written an extraordinary work that does full justice to this
neglected topic. Deeply researched and packed with fascinating and
revelatory information, The Killing Season is considered,
scholarly, well-argued, and absolutely gripping reading. As soon as
I finished reading this book, I wanted to dive right back into it
again."---Gregory Elich, CounterPunch
"Remarkable."---Ken Silverstein, New Republic
"I see The Killing Season as a must-read for anyone interested in
Indonesia and broadly defined human rights issues of Southeast Asia
for its unparalleled comprehensiveness, solid archival research,
and elegant writing style."---Kankan Xie, New Books Asia
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