Reviews (17)

A Source of Inspiration
Mr. Ratz has recorded his experiences at the hands of the Russian communist, then later Nazi invaders in Latvia starting in 1940.It is an inspirational story of survival under the most brutal conditions. Mezmorizing and Eternal
I hold in my hand a copy of the Congressional Record Vol. 144 No.1 24 Dated September 17,1998 code S10532.(i give this information for those skeptics who don't believe that I speak the truth, GO LOOK IT UP!) Senetor Patrick Moynihan adresses President Clinton. ''Jack Ratz's memoirs is aneloquent refutation to those who would dare to trivialize, distort, or evendeny the Holocaust's important lessons. His book well reflects theaffirmative message that Jack Ratz shares with New York City schoolchildren during his regular visits to the city classrooms. As the survivorsof the Holocaust succumb to old age there are fewer and fewer eyewitnessesto this tragedy. Jack Ratz has provided an invaluable service with hismoving account of the Latvian Holocaust experience.'' The record continuesto print and article from the Jewish Week dated August 14, 1998. Thiseternal book has become part of our NY school system, being aproved by theBoard of Education; and it has become a part of our US history beingemblazened onto a Congressional Reocrd. A book with such powere should bein every household and as the author says, ''it is a book you can read in aday and remember for a lifetime.''

A man and a book you'll never forget.
Definitely worth reading!Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Eastern Europe    5. General    6. Historical    7. History    8. Holocaust    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    11. Jews    12. Latvia    13. Persecutions    14. Personal narratives    15. Ratz, Jack    16. Riga    17. Riga (Latvia)    18. Råiga    19. Biography: general    20. Europe    21. European history: Second World War    22. Jewish studies    23. Nonfiction    24. Oral history    25. The Holocaust   

Subjects:  1. Baltic Sea Region    2. Cities and towns    3. Congresses    4. Eastern Europe - General    5. Europe - Baltic States    6. Europe - Great Britain - General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Sociology, Urban    11. Development studies    12. Eastern Europe    13. Population & demography    14. Rural communities    15. Urban communities    16. Russia    17. Estonia    18. Latvia    19. Lithuania   

Reviews (1)

INSULA Latvian DP Assembly Center
Excellent....brought back many memories...Only thing is it has my mother Elfride Tomsons and my sister Vija Tomsons but somehow left my father Janis Tomsons and me, Egils Tomsons out of the roster...also has my mom and sis born on the same day...only a Latvian can be born the same day as her daughter....Latvian joke...Egils ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Berchtesgaden    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Germany    5. History - Military / War    6. Latvians    7. Military - World War II    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Personal narratives, German    10. Personal narratives, Latvian    11. World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (1)

My perspective
Good book.The reader sees the world through the eyes of the character. It will give a perspective of where the former immigrants that make upAmerica are coming from.It shows how much love these newly arrived folkshave for their new country.Was the main character fighting for America orwas he still at war with the Russian and Gerrmans that left his nativecountry all but uninhabitable, or was it a mixture of the two.I'm lookingforward to his rumored sequels about his experiences and the politicalclimate he survived. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1918-1940    2. 1939-    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Communism    7. History    8. History - Military / War    9. Latvia    10. Latvians    11. Military    12. Military - General    13. Military Personal Narratives    14. Pakis, Vick,    15. Political Ideologies - Communism & Socialism    16. Soldiers    17. United States    18. Pakis, Vick   

Subjects:  1. 1929-    2. Barovka    3. Bermant, Chaim,    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Childhood and youth    9. Ethnic Cultures - General    10. History Of Jews    11. Jews    12. Latvia    13. Literary    14. Bermant, Chaim   

Reviews (1)

Latviansin Michigan
Latvians in Michigan is a wonderful book full of factual and personal glimpses of the Latvian families who came to America in the late 1940s when the Communists took over their homeland.The history is facinating and the personal journeys many of our Latvian neighbors and friends made were captivating reading.I have a new understanding and reverence for their customs, intelligence, the many gifts they bring to our communities and their commitment to preserving their country's traditions.There are many recipes for Latvian food and I loved the personal accounts told by those who attended and sent their children to the Latvian camp at Long Lake, Three Rivers, Michigan.I highly recommend this book for its readability, history and humanity. Bravo, Dr. Meija!Janet Howell-Obert ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Emigration & Immigration    2. Ethnic Studies - General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History - U.S.    6. History: American    7. Immigrants    8. Latvian Americans    9. Michigan    10. Social conditions    11. United States - State & Local - General    12. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    13. Latvia   

Subjects:  1. History    2. Latvia   

Reviews (2)

So much in such a little book...
This book can be interesting for many categories of people.If you want to read more about Latvia and its people, the oral history in the book will give you a good idea of what Latvians were forced to go through in WWII andthe second half of the 20th century.The sometimes heart-wrenching storiesare a good supplement to political reviews of the events of the time andgive a more accurate view of how Latvians survived WWII and the Sovietoccupation.If you want to do a sociological, psychological, oranthropological study, the testimonies of the Latvians provides aninteresting backdrop to test and evaluate various academic theories orstart a new study.Since I am not a researcher or a student ofanthropology, the only criticism I have of the book is that it sometimesdwells a bit too much on academic theory.However, I understand that Ms.Skultane meant this to be an academic work, so I just skipped those bitsand still enjoyed the book as a whole.

A Great Book For Understanding Latvia.
This book gives such a deep and often painful look at the horrors of the lives of most Latvians who remained in Latvia after World War II. It becomes easy to understand the bitterness some Latvians still feel towardsthosee who stole the land from them. It shows how a small country, tornapart century after century by their bigger and more powerful neighbors, byinternal conflicts, by exile, famine and horrors beyond the grasp of mostcivilized people, continue to to dream and work for independance.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1940-1991    2. Anthropology - Cultural    3. Biography    4. Eastern Europe - History    5. Europe - Baltic States    6. Europe - Former Soviet Republics    7. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    8. History    9. History: World    10. Latvia    11. Oral History    12. Skultans, Vieda    13. Sociology    14. 20th century    15. Anthropology    16. Biography: historical    17. Biography: political    18. European history: from c 1900 -    19. Social Science / Sociology / General    20. Social history   

Reviews (3)

Excellent Book on the Holocaust in Latvia
In addition to providing a detailed account of the Holocaust in Riga, Latvia, this book is an excellent description of pre-WWII Jewish life and culture in Latvia.Due to the lack of survivors, there are relatively few accounts of the Holocaust in Latvia.The author is an engineer, and he understands the importance of detail.I found the description of his family life very interesting from a cultural standpoint.Overall, I think this an excellent account, especially interesting for someone who is interested in how the Holocaust affected people in different countries and the the kinds of people and cultures that disappeared.

Growing up in Riga
This is a very wordy description of one Jewish family and its various branches. The first 80 pages could have been done in 30. After the first part it becomes an interesting description of one person's view of survival. Good book if you are studying the Holocaust.

This is an important book
Max Michelson's chronicle of his life in the ghetto in Riga, Latvia during the Nazi occupation is an incredible tale that can't be told by anybody else, because most people died.The story is told so simply that the miracle of his survival lives outside the pages in what we know of history and what we realize from the few statistics he gives.Everyone should read this book.It is the actual, human story that those of us who haven't faced death at the hands of an evil power have tried to create in our own heads to understand.Considering world events today the kind of education that Max Michelson provides is just the kind we need. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1924-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Eastern Europe - General    5. Historical - Holocaust    6. History    7. History: American    8. Holocaust    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    11. Jews    12. Latvia    13. Michelson, Max,    14. Personal narratives    15. Riga    16. Råiga    17. Biography: general    18. The Holocaust   

Subjects:  1. Europe - General    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Holocaust    6. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    7. Jews    8. Jews, German    9. Latvia    10. Persecutions    11. Riga    12. Råiga    13. European history: Second World War    14. History / Europe / General    15. The Holocaust   

Subjects:  1. History    2. Latvia   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Baltic States    2. History - General History   

Subjects:  1. Citizenship    2. Contemporary Politics - Former Soviet Republics    3. Current Affairs    4. Democratization    5. Ethnic relations    6. History & Theory - General    7. International Relations - General    8. Latvia    9. Nationalism    10. Political    11. Politics - Current Events    12. Politics / Current Events    13. Politics/International Relations    14. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    15. International relations    16. Political Science / International Relations   

Subjects:  1. Boston    2. Boston (Mass.)    3. History    4. Latvian Americans    5. Roxbury (Boston, Mass.)    6. Social life and customs    7. Sources   

Reviews (1)

The 1950s; a time for robbery by the Newfoundland government
Dr. Gerhard Bassler, a History professor at Memorial University, reveals, in great and gripping detail, the business dealings of the Newfoundland government, more specifically the underhandedness of economist Alfred Valdmanis and former premier Joey Smallwood.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1908-1970    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Canada    5. General    6. Latvia    7. Latvians    8. Newfoundland and Labrador    9. Political    10. Political Science    11. Political corruption    12. Politics/International Relations    13. Valdmanis, Alfred,    14. Biography: general    15. Central government    16. History / Canada    17. Valdmanis, Alfred   

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    2. History    3. History: World    4. Holocaust    5. Slavic Languages   

Subjects:  1. History - Military / War    2. Military - World War II   

Subjects:  1. Unassigned Title    2. History: World    3. Europe - Baltic States   

Subjects:  1. Balkan Peninsula - History    2. Politics/International Relations   

Subjects:  1. Autonomy and independence move    2. Autonomy and independence movements    3. Baltic States    4. Contemporary Politics - Former Soviet Republics    5. History    6. Nationalism    7. Politics/International Relations