Reviews (11)

Massively researched, lucidly written, and cogently argued
In this massively researched, lucidly written, and cogently argued narrative, as Edward Alexander of the University of Washington wrote, Levin tells the appalling story of what has been called the greatest self-inflicted wound of political history: Israel's embrace of Yasir Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the Oslo accords of September 1993 and its dogged adherence to its obligations under them even as its "peace partner" was blatantly flouting its own.
Overdue Historical Review of the Folly of Appeasement
This is a seminal book, that should be must reading for anyone interested in the Israel-Arab conflict. The author is a psychiatrist with a Ph.D in History from Princeton.It is a very thoroughly researched, carefully documented review of the long history of Jewish wishful thinking responses to oppression and aggression directed against them, starting long ago in Europe and brought up to date in the Middle East.The lessons for the current situation in the Middle East are clearly drawn, and demand thoughful consideration by the reader.
A Must Read for Anyone With An Open Mind
This is, by far, the best written analysis of the apparently mindless descent into potential oblivion that Israel appears headed to. It begins by setting the stage of Jewish self-hatred and self-effacement as a reaction to anti-semitism, as it developed in the Diaspora during this last millenium.Specifically, there is a detailed analysis of this phenomenon in the "civilized" world of 19th and 20th century Germany, as contrasted with the more "primitive" Eastern European Jewish experience.The author shows how the constant self delusion of the Jews - in its myriad of forms and expressions - is the basis for the present day erosion from within that the Jewish State is undergoing.I believe that this book should be mandatory reading in any Middle Eastern course, or for that matter, for anyone seeking to understand this unique group psychological phenomenon.As a proud Jew and a Zionist, I wish that this book would be sent - gratis - to journalists, academics, politicians, and to other people who collectively can influence the course of history. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1993-    2. Arab-Israeli conflict    3. History    4. History: World    5. Israel    6. Jewish Studies    7. Jews    8. Judaism    9. Middle East - Israel    10. Peace    11. Psychological aspects    12. Psychology   

Reviews (27)

An entertaining romp through 5000 years of Western Civilization
Jews, God and History is a sobering but very entertaining romp through 5000 years of Western Civilization, which as Dimont so carefully points out, is in many essential respects, the invention of Jews. Simply great
It's hard to believe this was Dimont's first book.As a fan of historical nonfiction,this is one of the best I've read. Its breadth is not limited to the Jewish people but also includes the many cultures into which their story has been incorporated throughout the past- this is one of the most engaging and easily readable works I have come across.It does indeed read more like a detective novel than a historical chronicle,yet it always maintains it's balance and factual integrity.It is about as objective as one can hope to get when it comes to so sweeping and potentially volatile a subject as Jewish history.
Good overview of Jewish history for the general reader
This is an outstanding overview of Jewish history for the general reader. It is tremendously rich in information and written with an underlying warmth and sympathy that move the reader greatly. It is a good introduction but should not be the only book the reader reads on the subject. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. Jewish - General    4. Judaism - History    5. Religion    6. Fiction / Classics   

Reviews (3)

An essential set of insights.
Students of ancient or Jewish history will find MAIMONIDES an important biographical study, telling of a rabbi, physician and philosopher whose works blended science with spirituality, and who has served as a model for Jewish doctors since the 12th century. Chapters provide a focus on Maimonides' works and perspective with an eye to drawing connections to the modern world, and make for an essential set of insights.
Dr. Maimonides
Dr. Nuland "biography" of Maimonides focusses mostly on the sage as a physician, with much of the rest of his life sketchy at best. In fact, the first chapter virtually ignores the subject and instead describes the author's views on why so many Jews became physicians over the centuries.That being said, Dr. Nuland's book is well written, gives historical insights into medicine in the 12th century period, and is easy to read.I have not read any of the other biographies of Maimonides, several of which are cited by Dr. Nuland, and therefore cannot judge whether the paucity of details of Maimonides life presented other than medical is a intentional or the result of the actual absence of data.

A Hero for Our Time
The great philosopher, physician and leader is brought vividly to life by Sherwin Nuland, himself a writer-physician.Although this is a relatively brief book, it touches on all the points of Maimonides's life with authority and clarity.Nuland positions his subject's writings within the issues of his time and ours.With a well-annotated bibliography this is a fine entry into a fascinating life. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1135-1204    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Egypt    7. Jewish Theology    8. Jewish philosophers    9. Jewish scholars    10. Judaism - General    11. Judaism - History    12. Maimonides, Moses,    13. Medical - General    14. Philosophy Of Judaism    15. Rabbis    16. Religious    17. Biography & Autobiography / Religious    18. Jewish studies    19. Judaism   

Reviews (12)

Good resource, bizarre notes
This is a nice, cheap, one-volume resource.However, the notes and commentary are very unhelpful.For instance, Maier holds that Josephus was an Ebionite Christian, a thesis which is in the extreme scholarly minority.
Josephus by Flavius Josephus
Josephus was born to an aristocratic family in 37AD. The work
A Must Read for the Serious Historian
This book was a serendipitous purchase.I was reading "James the Brother of Jesus, and that author recommended having three other works available while studying.One was "Josephus."I have not, unfortunately, finished "James" yet, but am totally fascinated by Josephus.One sees him as a bit puffed up about himself at times, as the detailed historian, the passionate supporter of causes, but most of all as a realist of the time.So valuable because organized religion seldom provides the lay person seldom insight into the actual social and political pressures that moved events that we take for granted in an almost legendary way.Again, a fascinating work is Josephus. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History Of Jews    5. Jewish - General    6. Jews    7. Rebellion, 66-73    8. Religion    9. To 70 A.D    10. History / Ancient / General   

Subjects:  1. Apocalyptic literature    2. Christianity    3. Dead Sea scrolls    4. History and criticism    5. Judaism And Christianity    6. Origin    7. Rabbinical literature    8. Relation to the New Testament    9. Religion    10. Religion & Beliefs   

Editorial Review

China has endured much hardship in its history, as Iris Chang shows in her ably researched Read more

Reviews (629)

A good book on an (unfortunately) almost forgotten tragedy
This book is not by a professional historian, but by a non fiction "populizer". Due to her training, and she is a talented woman, Ms. Chang does a very good job with her writing, and a respectable job in creating a historical monograph. Some things could have been done better by a professional historian, such as putting the event in the context of military operations, but it is clear that Ms. Chang has an emotional investment in the subject. The actions by the Japanese were vicious and brutal, every bit the equal in barbarity to the Nazi treatment of Jews. Its hard to tell from this book if the Japanese engaged in a policy of extermination regarding the Chinese as the Nazi's did for the Jews & Gypsys. Certainly, there were deliberate attempts to "depopulate" areas, but the book does not really nail down whether there was a policy of Chinese extermination on the highest levels. Reading this book I think not, but of course that did not really matter to the 300,000 Chinese the Japanese killed in Nanking. The book is very, very well written and I recommend it. It is a fast read. However, its a fair criticim to note that the BIG (and in terms of research really, really tough) issue of Japanese policy on exterminating Chinese is left for another author. What this author does very well is show the reader how the Japanese, even after more than 60 years, just cannot come to grips with the truths of the massacre, or even WWII in general. Interesting commentary on Japanese society, vis a vis Germany. Chang mentions that the blame likely goes to US Cold War policy towards Japan, but is that the full answer? The US needed West Germany during the Cold War but the West Germans (eventually) delved into the issues of the Holocaust and very critically examined themselves & their actions(I'm a Jew, have been several times to Germany, and am satisfied they have). Yet, the Japanese just can't seem to wrestle with the same issues the Germans did, and still do. Let's be politically incorrect and say that it must be something different about Japanese, or Asian, society & thinking. Ms. Chang also makes it clear that many of the Western angels of mercy during the massacre (including a committed Nazi)ended up completely physically and mentally broken by their experiences.

History Surpressed
"The Rape of Nanking" is not for the squeamish or faint-hearted. However, it is a work that should be applauded.The text, as well as pictures will disturb you. All wars yield stories of atrocities, but the treatment of the Chinese by the Japanese military, sanctioned, I believe, by the Japanese heirarchy, bear a great resemblance to the Nazi's treatment of the Jewish people of WWII.
History should be remembered...
I am writing this review because I am very disturbed by the review from the reader called "0000 teecee0000" and his/her serious lack of basic history knowledge.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Asia - Japan    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. History: World    6. Military - World War II    7. Military History - World War II    8. Nan-ching shih (China)    9. Nanking Massacre, Nan-ching shih, China, 1937    10. Nanking Massacre, Nanking, China, 1937    11. Prisoners Of War    12. Asian / Middle Eastern history: from c 1900 -    13. China    14. History / Military / World War II    15. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    16. Japan    17. The Holocaust    18. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (8)

Memoirs of Glueckel of Hameln
Fascinating description of an educated Jewish woman's life in the 1600's with an amazing amount of travel in Northern Europe pertaining to family matters and business.It was not a small world by any means.She was a bit effusive in her thanks and acceptance of her life with moralising, but her description of her life is outstanding.

Awellworth-reading document of historical significance
Almost all of the human beings who have lived on this earth have left behind no name or story. This is also true about the vast majority of Jews even when the Jews are a people for whom remembrance is a sacred act. The great great majority of Jews who have lived on this planet too have no names and no stories.
A window into the past
I loved this book.Perhaps I should say that I like old memoirs and journals, particularly by women [and there are so few of them!] and that I also enjoy reading historical documents and about history of certain places and certain centuries.That may be one of the biases of these lines.I might also add I am not Jewish.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1646-1724    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Germany    6. Glueckel,    7. Historical - General    8. Jewish - General    9. Jews    10. Jews in Germany    11. Women    12. of Hameln,    13. Biography: historical    14. Biography: political    15. European history: c 1500 to c 1750    16. Glueckel    17. Jewish studies    18. Social Science / Women's Studies   

Reviews (5)

A Great Historical Perspective
Overall, a well-researched and balanced account of the topic.Without repeating the accolades from others reviewers, let me just add that this book also offers some truly "humorous" quotes (if you can call them as such).My favourite one: [A Jewish man confronted with the choice of converting to Christianity] "How can I believe in Christianity when I don't even believe in Judaism, which is the only true religion?".The wide spectrum of views expressed by German Jews pre-WWII with respect to the level of anti-Semitism in Germany is quite intriguing.

AN OUTSTANDING WORK OF UNIVERSAL SCOPE
This is one of the finest works of history, in any subject, I have ever read.
A superb, sad, brilliant book
Amos Elon's book is a masterpiece. I read it cover to cover and could not put it down. Filled with crucial historical data and drawn from a wide variety of sources, it is engrossing while being perhaps the saddest book I ever read. Elon captures the poignancy of the German Jews wish to be true parts of Germany, their heartfelt efforts. Yet throughout, despite the times when it feels like they are on the threshhold of acceptance, you know the end of the story and sense its tragic inevitability.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History Of Jews    5. History: World    6. Jewish - General    7. Western Europe - History +    8. World - General   

Reviews (2)

Just superb!!!!
Jeffrey Herf's THE JEWISH ENEMY is a masterpiece. It is meticulously researched, beautifully written and solidly argued. Above all, it is a true original in that it tells us something genuinely new about the much-researched world of National Socialism and the Nazi genocide of the Jews. To be sure, age-old anti-Semitism DID play a major role in framing the Nazis' singular crime. But as Herf shows irrefutably, the REAL reason for the Nazis' decision to commit what has come to be known as the Holocaust and/or the Shoah, had less to do with their being part of a Europe-wide anti-Semitism, and everything with their viewing the Jews as their number one enemy that had to be destroyed. This is a great book. Kudos to its author.

Suggestive New Interpretations
Herf's materials are powerful and unsettling, even to readers who are well acquainted with the literature on Nazism.He shows, in detail that has not previously been seen, how the Nazi war-time hate propaganda combined verbal attacks against Jews with attacks against the Allies.To these Nazi propagandists, the Jews were the overall enemy, standing behind and stage-managing the Allies.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antisemitism    3. Europe - Germany    4. Germany    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Holocaust    9. Jewish - General    10. Nazi propaganda    11. Propaganda    12. World War, 1939-1945    13. European history: Second World War    14. History / Germany   

Reviews (4)

Second Jewish Book of Why
Authoritative, covers topics Jews and others would focus on, well-written.

Very good!
This is a great book. Not as goos as the first, but well worth the money.

A satisfying appetizer
Rabbi Alfred J. Kolatch, author of The Second Jewish Book of Why, has such a winning way with the written word that he has managed to turn out oneappealing book after another 34 times!The Second Jewish Book of Why ishis 26th, and five years after its publication, still available. Mycollege student nephew recommended Kolatch's `books of why,' and I pickedThe Second because the questions and answers in The First were morefamiliar.The Rabbi's second book left me feeling as if I had had a verygood appetizer, satisfying enough, but ready for more, much more. Read more

Subjects:  1. Customs and practices    2. Judaism    3. Judaism - Rituals & Practice    4. Religion - Judaism    5. Jewish studies   

Subjects:  1. Comparative Religion    2. History    3. History: World    4. Holocaust    5. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    6. Influence    7. Judaism    8. Memory    9. Moral and ethical aspects    10. Religion - World Religions    11. Religious aspects    12. Europe    13. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    14. The Holocaust    15. World history   

Editorial Review

Claudia Roden, author of Read more

Reviews (31)

The Book of Jewish Food - an odyssay from Samarkand to New York
Even if the recipes weren't superb (which they are!) reading the history of a people through its food is totally enjoyable. I've read and reread it learning something new each time.

A Superb Story
The narrative that comprises a large amount of the book is the most fascinating informal history of the Jewish people that I have read.The old photographs alone are worth the price of the book.I have glanced at the incredible variety of recipes from all over the world and someday I may try one.A gourmet cook will have a field day.A historian will be enthralled.

Culinary exploration
This book is a history of a nation intertwined with smell and taste. As you read you can picture yourself observing themagic of the preparation of food. Wonderful.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery, Jewish    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Regional & Ethnic - Jewish & Kosher    5. Cooking / Jewish & Kosher    6. Jewish studies    7. National & regional cuisine    8. COOKING/WINE    9. Kosher   

Reviews (15)

Great Progressive resource
I got an extra copy of this book at my first meeting with the (Reform) rabbi who did my original conversion.It's really an incredible concise guidebook for establishing a Jewish home and working rituals and traditions into everyday life.Ms. Diamant doesn't operate under any assumptions about the reader's prior experience or lack thereof in living a Jewish life and maintaining a Jewish household, so there isn't any talking down to the reader nor failure to explain something due to falsely assuming this is basic knowledge to everyone.There are chapters and sections on all sorts of subjects, such as the b'rit, Kashrut, Jewish publications, what to look for in a shul, weddings, new traditions (such as marking the arrival of menopause with a special celebration, like one last special visit to the mikveh), how to decorate the home, all of the holidays, and b'nei mitzvah.Ms. Diamant explains what to do and why it is done, though she never preaches to the reader and dictates that this absolutely has to be done, and that it can only be done in this certain way, or else.She acknowledges that within liberal/progressive Judaism, there are many new traditions and ways of doing things, as well as old longstanding traditions that are still widely done, and that there is more than one right way to do these things.For example, in the section on naming a baby, she mentions that it's still common for people to name a baby after a relative, sometimes with the tenuous connection of the first initial, but doesn't say that a baby must only and always be named after a relative the way a lot of (Ashkenazic) North American Jews seem to believe.She also explains that there are multiple ways to observe the laws of Kashrut, with different levels.Some people are going to go whole hog and be glatt kosher, others will only keep kosher at home, others will keep kosher at restaurants but will eat kosher fish and things from the salad bar in non-kosher restaurants, and others will eat meat from the kosher animals (such as cows, chickens, and turkeys) but won't mind if the meat doesn't come from the kosher butcher or doesn't have a hechsher on it at the supermarket.
Limited
When reading the author's mention of driving to synagogue on Shabbat, or cooking on Friday Nights, a voice at the back of my mind told me that such a thing (breaking the Sabbath) would have been abhorrent to my ancestors and 4,000 years of Jewish tradition. Although the author's Judaism fits very well in the context of contemporary American society, for those of us interested in the Religion of our Forefathers.
GREAT BOOK
This book is incredible, leaves you always wanting more.The writing style is easy to read and this book covers anything you would need to know in a basic overall summary of jewish life and traditions.I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get more in touch with their jewishness or anyone considering converting to judaism or interested in the hows and whys of judaism. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Customs and practices    2. Jewish way of life    3. Judaism    4. Judaism - Rituals & Practice    5. Religion    6. Religion - Judaism    7. United States    8. Jewish studies    9. Religion / Judaism / General   

Editorial Review

Was IBM, "The Solutions Company," partly responsible for the Final Solution? That's the question raised by Edwin Black's Read more

Reviews (61)

a tale of two maniacs
Once upon a time in America there was a tabulating company executive who had almost done time for illegal business practices.This executive believed that the only way that he could stay in business was by selling the best tabulating machines on the market, and mercilessly crushing his competitors.Unfortunately for humanity, this maniac was doing business in a country run by another maniac, who had come to power by fomenting ethnic hatred.Even as things went down the drain, and the persecution of the Jews and other minorities reached loathsome heights, the American business executive didn't want to terminate his activities in Germany, and was supportive enough of the Nazis to accept the highest medal the Nazis could give him.
This book is chilling, and is a "must read"
Reading this book, and the knowledge that IBM had during WWII and thegenocide of millins of humans puts a face on cooprorate greed and hate unjlike any of the comparisions given to Halliburton today. IBM aided Hitler in his termination of the Jews, and others, and it has never, to my knowledge owned up to this, nor have they done any actions to make changes in the way companies help with genocide. Great book, great writer.

An Extraordinary Work
As proud as I am to be an American, this thoroughly documented, utterly revealing book, has for the first time made me look at the extents to which U.S. corporate greed and the amorality of one man, Thomas J. Watson, chairman of IBM, will go to satisfy there lust for money and power.
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Subjects:  1. 1933-1945    2. Corporate & Business History - General    3. Data processing    4. Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen G    5. Economic aspects    6. Europe - Germany    7. Germany    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. Holocaust    12. Holocaust, 1933-1945    13. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    14. International Business Machine    15. Jews    16. Statistical services    17. History / Military / World War II   

Reviews (2)

True stories of moral courage and goodness
On the front cover of "Rescuers" are 12 photographs of some very nice looking people. They are pictures of people that you might meet every day; of friends and family, or someone that you might pass by on thestreet. They are the faces of very ordinary people, but they are also muchmore than that. They are the faces of people that risked their lives tosave the lives of others during the Holocaust. They are the faces of therescuers. There are many more photographs inside the book, of rescuers fromcountries all over Europe. Author Malka Drucker and photographer Gay Blockinterviewed and photographed the rescuers, seeking the heart of compassionand moral courage. They found that heart in men and women; the young andthe old; and in people from all walks of life.Every story told by therescuers is very moving. Some rescuers saved one person from death; somesaved many thousands. All of the rescuers are worthy of the greatestrespect and honor. The rescuers were sometimes asked the question of whythey helped others to live, when so many other people stood by and didnothing. The rescuers would answer that question by saying that they wereonly doing what they knew was right. By caring for other people, they wereacting the way that everyone should have been acting. One of the mostinspiring truths found in the book, is the thought that we all have thatsame spark of goodness within our hearts, that was shown so nobly by therescuers. We all have the capacity for doing what is right, even in timesof the greatest fear and terror. This is a book that will warm your heart,and it is well worth reading.

A beautiful photo-interview essay on altruism...
This book is wonderfully formatted, arranged by geographic area of Europe. Each interview starts with black and white photos a person who helped Jews and other persecuted people during WWII. A personal narrative of that timein their lives follows, and each interview closes with a color photo ofthat person as they were in 1992 when the interviews were done. Acomplicated and moving picture of altruism emerges, and one gets a glimpseof how individuals chose to protect others at the risk of threat tothemselves and their families. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. History    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1933-1945)    8. Jewish - Ancient    9. Jews    10. Rescue    11. Righteous Gentiles in the Holo    12. Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. Europe    15. Second World War, 1939-1945    16. The Holocaust    17. World history: Second World War   

Reviews (29)

"Physician, Heal Thyself"The Nazi Doctor and the Holocaust
In this detailed and well-researched account, psychologist Robert J. Lifton chronicles the Holocaust from a unique perspective:the role played by Nazi medical doctors.In doing so he explains the Nazi philosophy that formed the basis for mass murder:the necessity to heal the ills of German society by eliminating all its corrupting influences.Healing was and is the raison d'etre for the medical profession.Doctors were thus compelled to become killers in the application of this all encompassing "cure."
In our own time...
This book is relevant to our nation and society in the present time.With the Terry Schiavo case in the forefront of the news, one can only reflect on the position of the courts, and the doctors, in Germany in the 1930's.The book carefully shows the slippery slope which can confront a society that fails to protect the least among us. It is not a book about another place and another time.It is a book about us, in our own time. Strongly recommended that one reads this with open eyes and and open heart to the decisions we make today.
Fascinating
This is a fascinating look not only at what the Nazi doctors did during the reign of the Third Reich but also how they perceived what they were doing and the legislative precedents that culminated in the general acceptance of medicalised killing by many German doctors.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Germany    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Human experimentation in medic    9. Human experimentation in medicine    10. Medical scientists    11. Military - World War II    12. Psychological aspects    13. Psychology    14. Fascism & Nazism    15. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    16. Medicine    17. Second World War, 1939-1945    18. The Holocaust   

Reviews (33)

Night is moving
This was one bound volume of Wiesel's first three books, which concern the Holocaust, survival, and humanity. Night is Wiesel's personal memoir, which relates his personal story before and during World War II, as he and his father are separated from his mother and sister and interned in a series of concentration camps. Dawn is the story of a member of the movement to free Palestine from British occupation and Day concerns how one could move from a past that consumes one's every thought (or even if one should).
Life after Death.
Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, for his tireless work in addressing the Holocaust, wrestling with its almost incomprehensible moral questions, and most importantly working to ensure that it never happens again. NIGHT, his memoir of his own experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, was perhaps the earliest first-hand account to be widely published. Totally authentic, written in blood and tears, it quite defies criticism. To assign four, five, or even ten stars to it would be an obscenity.
Night and Dawn
I was given the first two stories of the trilogy to read in my Nazi Germany and the Holocaust class this year and found them to be excellently written and very meaningful. With the help of an excellent teacher who posed all the right questions I was allowed to see the full meaning of these two stories.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Fiction    3. Historical - Holocaust    4. Literary   

Reviews (34)

The 'Angels' have come!
This remarkable play writen by the best playwrite since Shakespeare has achived not only rocking your mind with it's beautiful prose, language, and story, but also has gained the title of the most wonderufl play in modern liturature (counting plays). Its star-stricken plot will not make you put it down! It is truly wonderful.

The 'Angels' have come!
This remarkable play writen by the best playwrite since Shakespeare has achived not only rocking your mind with it's beautiful prose, language, and story, but also has gained the title of the most wonderufl play in modern liturature (counting plays). Its star-stricken plot will not make you put it down! It is truly wonderful.

I love this book!
I'm a college student majoring in Theater Design.I had to read this play for one of my