The Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption?
YA-Heller does a laudable job of providing the pre-20th-century history, the Nazi-associated infamy, and the punk-era appropriation of this graphical image. The clear, comprehensive, and cogent narrative is illustrated with abundant prints that range from symbol dictionaries and propaganda posters to photos of architecture and textile designs. The author brings into stark illumination how thoroughly the emblem has come to embody Nazi ideology and how its meaning has been changed for, seemingly, all subsequent generations. This is a book that is accessible in language and content to most readers, yet it will force even the most sophisticated to rethink and rework their ideas of how images work in the world. A valuable purchase for school and public libraries, as well as for art and design collections.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CACopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.