Reviews (15)

Under A Cruel Star & Reflections of Prague
My mother's book, in print since 1973 under various titles, the last being 'Under A Cruel Star', inspired me to write my own side of the story about my lost father, JUDr Rudolf Margolius. Now published and called 'Reflections of Prague: Journeys through the 20th century' it fills gaps in my mother's book provided by further research and historical information, some of which was not available to her and which many readers of her book had asked us for over the years. Hopefully this companion volume provides answers to these questions. I hope you find this book interesting and would welcome your feedback.

A mother's undying love for her son; a son's undying love for his mother...
When I finished reading Heda Margolius Kovaly's stunning chronicle of continuous struggle, concentration camp survival, and eventual triumph, I had to stare out my window onto the street below for a long while, watching the people.
extraordinary memoir in several languages
I am the English-language publisher of Ms. Kovaly's extraordinary memoir, that is now being read in major universities around the world for an eyewitness view of twentieth century totalitarianism --in this case Nazism and Stalinism -- in Central Europe. This translation has been the basis for the UK, French, German, Dutch and Japanese editions of this book. There are very few books in any language by or about Czech Jewish women. Another excellent one is my wife Helen Epstein's journalistic memoir of her maternal line of Bohemian Jews titled Where She Came From: A Daughter's Search for her Mother's History, which covers the years 1800-1948 in the Czech lands. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1938-1945    2. 1945-1992    3. Czechoslovakia    4. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    5. Eastern Europe - General    6. Eastern Europe - History    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Kovaly, Heda    11. Kovâaly, Heda    12. Biography: historical    13. Eastern Europe    14. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    15. Kovály, Heda   

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

Reviews (10)

Prague:More Black than Gold
Professor Demetz is especially strong in exploring the religious history of the city.I wondered how he could be so erudite in explaining both the Hussite revolt against Catholicism and Rabbi Loew's conflict with the Jewish establishment.He explained in his beautiful, elegiac afterword that his father's family was Christian; his mother's, Jewish.He spent time in a Nazi labor camp for half-Jews.My suggestion would be to read the afterword first.The bibliography is also very helpful, with rather blunt appraisals of cited works.

Wandering bit of storytelling
What, I wonder, was the point of Prague in Black and Gold? The back cover actually refers to Peter Demetz's book as a city guide - why I have no idea, since it certainly is not even close to that style of writing. It looks suspiciously like a history text, and so I shall treat it, but problems remain. A comprehensive piece on Czech people and history
I have just returned from my first trip Prague and Ostrava. The history of the region is a bit confusing to us who are not familiar with this part of the world. This is an important part of the world, after all the genesis of the First World War is connected to the Bohemian Prince who was also a successor to the Habsburg throne.Read more

Subjects:  1. Central Europe - History    2. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    3. Eastern Europe - Czechoslovakia    4. Europe - Former Soviet Republics    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History Of Individual Cities    8. History: World    9. Prague (Czech Republic)    10. Social Science / Sociology / Urban   

Reviews (6)

A Book on Every Page
When reading this book I was struck by how many human lives are mentioned in passing, summed up in a paragraph and lost.The volume and diversity of tales told in this book reflects the number and diversity of people Mr. Vrba came into contact with during his horrific ordeal.Most of them died.
Trying to understand why it happened.
This is an extraordinary book about a teenager's journey through the Nazi extermination camps.Rudolf managed to escape from Auschwitz and warn the Hungarians Jews about the real purpose behind the upcoming transports thus saving hundreds of thousands.
A proven fraud and liar....
Sorry, but Mr. Vrba was exposed as a fraud before a court of law in Canada in 1988. This has nothing to do with " holocaust denial", only with his gross errors of fact. The three most obvious were:
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. Historical - General    6. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    7. Jewish resistance    8. Jews    9. Military - World War II    10. Persecutions    11. Personal narratives    12. Slovakia    13. Vrba, Rudolf    14. World War, 1939-1945    15. Biography & Autobiography / General    16. Europe    17. European history: Second World War    18. The Holocaust   

Reviews (13)

Thick growth of trees, no forest
Over the last century or so, a large number of nations have become sovereign entities, recognized by others, members of the United Nations, with flag, airline, World Cup football team, and anthem.These range from Tuvalu and St. Lucia to Nigeria, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan. Everyone knows that there are others, equally deserving of such recognition, that don't achieve it.Kurdistan is a prime example; Tibet, Chechnya, Euskadi, and national states for Native Americans come to mind too.It is interesting to ponder on the historical currents or maybe even accidents that determine whether or not a nation comes into existence.Slovakia's history could serve as a prime example.Never really a nation on its own, the Slovak people endured a millennium of Hungarian rule, only---on coming close to national recognition---to be subsumed for another seven decades into Czechoslovakia, in which country they played perpetual second fiddle.This history could have been written around such a question---why some and not others ?It was not.
A scholarly work
Being interested in the history of my people, I was happy that
Overview of Nation-building/ Survival in a Volatile Region
My desire to learn about this obscure Central European country over-rode my hesitancy ... a hesitancy which stemmed from potentially being over-whelmed with names, dates, and historical events of which I knew litte. Not being a historical buff yet wanting to learn, I forged ahead. Fortunately, the writing style of the author allayed my concerns with the first few chapters which set the pace for a comfortable reading experience. Read more

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    2. Eastern Europe - General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Slovakia    7. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)   

Reviews (2)

Beautiful Photologue
Simply beautiful in its layout, this book explores the popular and hidden corners of this old city, untouched by the wars that so damaged much of old Europe. The photos are simply perfect in bringing the feel of Prague.
Unbelievably great book at an unbelievably low price
Buy now!I was busy the day this book arrived in the mail but I had to stop and look through the whole book page by page - all 136 of them.Large format book with spectacular pictures of all the well-known and many of the lesser known sites around Prague.Every page is jam-packed with beautiful pictures and concise legends.Not an academic-type book but plenty of text present as well for those who can stop looking at the pictures long enough to read it.Highly recommended and worth many times its price.Only drawback at all is I would have liked to have seen more on Vysehrad and those 4 incredible statues in the park next to Sr. Peter and Paul Church but that is only a personal wish and in no way detracts from this spectacular book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    2. Eastern Europe - Czechoslovakia    3. History - General History    4. Pictorials    5. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Europe    6. Travel    7. Sale Books   

Reviews (1)

Compelling Memoir
A scrupulous,heart-rending account of a Jewish childhood in Slovakia during WWII. Eva Gossman and some of her family were saved from hideous local anti-semitism and the Nazi onslaught by a Slovakian woman and her daughter, who sheltered and fed them. It is a shattering portrait of terror and of the redemptive power of love. Gossman does not pretend to remember everything clearly, but what she does recall is enormously powerful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. History - General History    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Personal narratives    9. Righteous Gentiles in the Holo    10. Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust    11. Biography: general    12. European history: Second World War    13. Other prose: from c 1900 -    14. Slovakia    15. The Holocaust   

Reviews (2)

"A faithless lover's letter of apology" for this city
John Banville, in many of his novels, conjures up the alchemical and scientific wonders of early modern Europe: Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, Dr Faustus. His prose always has daunted me from taking on his dense, serious fiction, but perhaps, after this wonderfully self-deprecating, nimbly observed, and precisely rendered collection of thoughts inspired by events and people in Prague, I will try his novels! As Banville prefaces this small but pleasingly compacted assemblage of ruminations, it is not a guidebook but (my words) a momento urbi, a reminder of this city.
Exquisite writing and wonderful anecdotes
Lovers of Banville's fiction will appreciate the same feel for language and beautiful writing which is this writer's hallmark. His knowledge of Prague spans more than 20 years of both pre- and post-communist rule, and very nicely gives the flavour of these two very different periods, without reverting to clich�s about the Cold War, etc. Filled with wondeful personal anecdotes as well as more general interesting knowledge, the book may to some seem incoherent. However it not only makes you want to visit Prague, but gives much appreciated sections on Czhech art photography (I fell in love with the cover - especially the back), astronomy (perhaps not too surprising, given some of Banville's novels), and the strange behaviour of European royalty. Its wide span is to be applauded rather than seen as a shortcoming - it is after all not *meant* to be a traditional travel guide. I finished this book while on vacation (regrettably not in Prague), moved on to some currently popular crime novelist, and almost immediately threw that book away in disgust when comparing the prose to what Banville (true to form) serves up in this little gem. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Banville, John    2. Czech Republic    3. Description and travel    4. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    5. Europe - Eastern    6. Europe - General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. Prague    10. Prague (Czech Republic)    11. Travel    12. Travel / Europe / Eastern   

Editorial Review

In 1946, a Russian-born American psychologist named David P. Boder toured displaced-personscamps throughout Western Europe, interviewing victims of the Nazi terror, most of them Jews. Hispublished reports were not widely circulated, writes editor Donald Niewyk, and in any event few peoplewanted to talk or hear about the Holocaust so soon after it had ended. With the passage of half a centuryand the passing of the generation of Shoah, Boder's reports, collected in Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Europe - General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    9. Jews    10. Personal narratives    11. "Jewish Studies; David P. Boder; World War II; survivors' testimonies; ""Displaced Persons"" camps; Europe; Poland; Lithuania; Germany; France; Slovakia; Hungary; Jewish resistance; "    12. Biography: general    13. Europe    14. History / Holocaust    15. Jewish studies    16. The Holocaust   

Reviews (1)

excellent work on all aspects of this notable type of art glass
The large middle section, pages 136-370, is a catalog of mostly color photographs of Czech glass of the period covered done by the leading, most artistically skilled, glassmakers. This bountiful catalog demonstrates why Czech glass has in the relatively short time since the 1970s when it became widely known throughout Europe and other Western countries one of the most sought-after types of art glass. But the catalog is only the beginning of the varied, extensive content of this coffee-table size work of value to those with a specialized, well-developed interest in the field of glass. Eight introductory essays by experts cover Czech glass from its artistic and historical origins through its worldwide recognition largely from a 1959 exhibition in Moscow and designs for glass works kept at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. Back matter (appendices) include bibliographical annotations of the glass artists; which besides their photographs, includes awards, exhibitions, and references in printed works. The back section after this has facsimiles of all of the artists' signatures. There are also informative sections supplementing the essays preceding the catalog. From aesthetic appreciation of the glass to information on the artists and the industry to crucial technical material such as signatures and more, "Czech Glass" contains everything anyone could be looking for on this subject. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. European    5. Glass & Glassware    6. History - Contemporary (1945- )    7. Sculpture    8. Ceramic arts, pottery, glass    9. Czech Republic    10. Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000    11. Slovakia   

Subjects:  1. Czech Republic    2. Dolni Vestonice Site (Czech    3. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    4. History - General History    5. Human remains (Archaeology)    6. Hunting and gathering societies    7. Paleolithic period    8. Paleontology    9. Pavlov Hills    10. Science    11. Science/Mathematics    12. Anthropology    13. Anthropology | Biological & Physical Anthropology    14. Early man    15. Science / Paleontology   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Former Soviet Republics    2. General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Slovakia    7. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)   

Reviews (1)

Informative and enjoyable dictionary of Czech popular culture

Read more

Subjects:  1. Czech Republic    2. Dictionaries    3. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    4. History - General History    5. Popular Culture - General    6. Popular culture    7. Reference    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Reference works   

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. 19th century    3. Czech Republic    4. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    5. History - General History    6. Identity    7. Intellectual life    8. Jewish - General    9. Jews    10. Religion    11. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    12. European history: from c 1900 -    13. Former Czechoslovakia    14. Jewish studies    15. Judaism    16. Religion / Judaism / General    17. c 1700 to c 1800    18. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (1)

The true story of a Jewish child who grew up estranged from his mother to the point of hating other Jews
Mother And Me: Escape From Warsaw 1939 by documentary flimmaker Julian Padowicz is the true story of a Jewish child who grew up estranged from his mother to the point of hating other Jews. Virtually ignored by his mother and raised by his Catholic governess Kiki -- who taught him that God didn't love Jews because of what they did to His Son and that the only way Julian could go to heaven was to become bapitized. Julian's world transformed forever when World War II came to Warsaw. Kiki had to return to her family; his stepfather joined the Polish army; and the mother who once barely made time for him assumed responsibility for raising him. Determined to provide for her son, Julian's mother cut in food lines and later, under Soviet occupation, befriended Russian officers for extra rations of food and fuel. In the winter of 1940 as conditions for survival deteriorated, Julian's mother brought him in a daring escape to Hungary on foot, through the Carpathian mountains. Mother And Me is an unforgettable memory of blood bonds being thicker than water, and a family love that burns most fiercely when family is threatened. Highly recommended.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Childhood Memoir    5. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    6. Historical - General    7. Historical - Holocaust    8. Jewish Studies   

Reviews (3)

affirmation
Being of eastern European descent, I found Hampl's book revealing and intriguing as it spoke of what my grandparents often alluded to when referring to "the old country."
A tale of two cities
Elegant, meditative, and special, Patrica Hampl's memoir of growing up in St. Paul and visiting her ancestral home of Prague deservedly won her a Macarthur genius grant, and remains a classic of its genre. When it was published in the early 80s, the gorgeous Bohemian captial of Prague was sheltered from the American line of vision by the Iron Curtain, and much less familiar to American readers than it is today; Hampl's book details her trip in the 70s to that loveliest of cities to visit her family's origins and learn something about her place in the world. But the book is also a beautiful meditation on another exceptionally romantic, and often still neglected, city, Hampl's hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. Stunningly situated on the high bluffs overlooking a chasmic portion of the Mississippi, the home of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Empire Builder James J. Hill, St. Paul has declined in cultural significance over the decades, overshadowed by its younger and more prosperous twin city across the river. But Hampl lovingly evokes what it was like to live in this atmospheric city of decaying Victorian mansions overlooking the downtown from the heights of Summit Avenue, both as a grandchild of Czech immigrants working as servants for the enmansed and as a young woman striking out as a student and a writer. It's an unusual, romantically-staurated memoir.

Elegant and lyrical
I first read Patricia Hampl's I Could Tell You Stories when I took a 1st person essay writing class, and all of us in the class became instant fans. Her book provoked endless discussions about the reliability (or Unreliability) of memory and the role it plays in memoir writing. Hampl's A Romantic Education allows us to continue following her down her chosen path as she returns to Prague in search of her heritage during the gray pall of socialism. This edition of A Romantic Education is a reissue following the Velvet Revolution and is full of richly nuanced detail that we have come to expect from Hampl. It's an elegant piece of writing that allows us to taste and dabble in the trickling stream of history running beneath the surface of the everlasting riddle of personal memory. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1946-    2. 20th century    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Czech Republic    8. Czech art    9. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    10. Hampl, Patricia,    11. Historical - General    12. Journeys    13. Literary    14. Poets, American    15. Prague    16. Women   

Subjects:  1. Collaborationists    2. Criminal Law - General    3. Czechoslovakia    4. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    5. Europe - General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Legal History    10. War crime trials    11. War criminals    12. World War, 1939-1945    13. Czech Republic    14. European history: postwar, from c 1945 -    15. History / Europe / General   

Subjects:  1. History: World    2. Pictorial works    3. Slovakia   

Reviews (1)

Comprehensive in scope, energetic and engaging in style
I really enjoyed this book, which is a comprehensive and fast-moving account of the history of the Czechs and their lands.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Czech Republic    2. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    3. Eastern Europe - General    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World   

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - Czech Republic & Slovakia    2. History - General History    3. Magick Studies    4. Renaissance    5. History / General