Editorial Review

Daniel Mendelsohn's Read more

Reviews (8)

A Letter To My Children
I am about to be 60 and am reading a book that fills me with regret, THE LOST, by Daniel Mendelsohn, the story of how he tracked down the final days of his grandfather's brother and that man's four beautiful daughters. I have finished the first fifth of the book and am convinced that it is the greatest literary work that I have read since my youthful exposure to Proust and the early novels of Saul Bellow. Mendelsohn combines a personal memoir of growing up in a "modern" Jewish family in America with historical detective work based on old photographs, recovered letters, interviews, trips, internet sites devoted to the little towns of Eastern Europe and Jewish genealogy, and couches it in the most beautiful and evocative and thoughtful sentences, often based on the style of Proust (to whom he has given the opening epigraph of the book), organizing his discussion around an analysis of the first book of the Torah (even mentioning my Haftorah passage, Lech lecha) and Homer's Iliad. He brings to life long lost people, places, philosophical issues, with drama and mystery. He has assembled a complete genealogy of his family and has testified to the power of memory, language (Yiddish, Hebrew, German), family love, pride and humor. He is unfailingly generous in his descriptions and conclusions. The book is illustrated with photographs taken by his younger brother. The parallels with our own family history, our life in New York and in Florida, the impact of parents on the intellectual growth of their children, the impact of religious stories and scholarship, the diaspora to America and Israel, are incredibly resonant and moving, and all this in the first 70 pages. I am writing to urge each of you to read this great book and learn how you came to be, how your own grandfather and I came to be, the people that we are. I am sorry that I never accomplished a similar work on the history of our own family. I can only hope that one or all of you will take on this important task and assemble a similarly amazing chronicle before the people who can help you are gone, the Magdas and Pop Pops, the grandma Lillys and "Uncles" from all the remaining branches of our living candelabra. On page 41 he lists the major sources by which he accomplished the feat and by which you, like Proust, can recapture the past and recapture Time.I will never have the time to do it, my life wrapped up in other kinds of scholarly pursuits and my nature so bent to the seductions of poetry. But you have a chance to do it, to accomplish something of great value for yourselves and for others. In the meantime you will have the consolation of reading sentences sculpted by a master and it will fill your hearts with unimaginable pleasure.
Wide-Ranging Journey, Brilliant Synthesis
Mendelsohn has brought together the disparate elements of his five year worldwide search for the fate of six family members in the Holocaust in a masterful act of synthesis and distillation. This book combines a detective's doggedness, a Biblical scholar's critical exegesis and a Yiddishist's love of an Eastern European shtetl whose remaining Jewish inhabitants are scattered over the globe, a "remainder of those who fled". That Mendelsohn pulls this off, combines his disparate goals into a moment of Biblical clarity and discovery, leaves me frankly, amazed. Because close to the end of the book, I had doubted he would be able to learn anything that could be counted on, and he would be forced to resort to a book about his search rather than real conclusions. But at that penultimate moment, Daniel found an ancient survivor who brought him to the very spot, the terrible moment, he had been searching for. The author obviously has a wonderful rapport with elderly people which made his many interviews possible. He is meticulous and brings order to a mass of material. An insistent humanity pervades his writing. While not a Biblical scholar himself, he has perception, essential insight into human nature, so his Biblical research finds fertile ground. While his realization that many people will present many different versions of the same story is not exactly news, the manner of his telling of the story beguiles and ultimately, inspires.

I couldn't put it down
An amazing journey into the past of Daniel Mendelsohn's perished family members - the family of Shmiel Jager, Mr. Mendelsohn's great-uncle.Mr. Jager's siblings (one of whom is Daniel's grandfather), fled Poland before the Holocaust and had no clear idea of how Shmiel's family died, only that they did die. All that they have are tiny, often conflicting, pieces of the story about what happend to the Shmiel Jagers. Daniel begins a 5+ year journey to talk to the few Jewish survivors who lived in the same small Polish town in which the Jagers lived and died. The survivors were now living all over the world, and Daniel travels extensively to meet and interview them, to try to find out, not only how the Jagers died, but how they *lived* and who they were. As the years continue in the search, you feel Daniel's angst at having so little time to track down and speak to the few survivors from that town. They are all in their 80s and 90s and some of them would prefer to not think about that time at all. And yet, an amazing story emerges, a story of strength and sorrow. A story of wanting to know "what happened?". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Biography    3. Bolekhiv    4. General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Holocaust    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    11. Jews    12. Personal Memoirs    13. Ukraine    14. United States    15. History / General   

Editorial Review

In Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel's memoir Read more

Reviews (461)

A powerful read !! A personal saga of survival against all odds
Elie Wiesel's book, "Night" was one of the first books I had read on the Holocaust when I was in high school back in the mid 1970s. His painful and searing account of the unspeakable horror, known as the Holocaust is the single most defining event of the 20th century.
Never again
'Night' is the heart-wrenching true story of a young Jewish boy who is rounded up by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz. The young boy is none other than the author, Eliezer Wiesel. He recounts his horrific experiences as an inmate of the Nazi concentration camp system and his struggle for survival. Amid the death and desperation, young Elie struggles only to remain near his father, without which, he would have no will to live. 'Night' is also a story about lost faith, as the once devout, young Elie defiantly rebukes the God that did nothing to stop these indescribable horrors. I found myself thinking that I would have never submitted to this inhuman treatment. That I would have preferred to die on my feet than to live on my knees, and would have somehow fought back. But this is all too easy to say in hindsight, from the comfort of my warm, safe home. I put this book down with a heavy heart. I was angered and saddened, and I can honestly say that this is one of the most moving books that I have ever read.

storm of storms
Though the word 'Holocaust' has become the most common cipher for one of mankind's greatest crimes, many Jews and other rememberers of 1939-1945 object to the borrowing of this biblical term to name Hitler's mass murder.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    4. Historical - Holocaust    5. Holocaust    6. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    7. Personal narratives   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (252)

One of the best you will ever read
This is an easy to read book, which managed to make profound points about life, pain, and fate.I enjoyed reading the first part of the book and learning about what it was like to be in such a hellish place (a concentration camp), and yet still being able to be positive about life.What more can I say than its an excellent book?

I learned: All the Auschwitz survivors, including the author, had something significant yet to do with their lives!
MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING
fascinating!
this is simply a must read for those interested in the human experience.Some of the positions concluded in this book may not be the only way to think on the issues involved, but still, this book is a great psychological workout with deep insights. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Austria    2. Biography    3. General    4. Holocaust    5. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    6. Personal narratives    7. Psychological aspects    8. Psychologists    9. Psychology    10. Psychology of Religion    11. Philosophy    12. Philosophy / General    13. Psychoanalysis & psychoanalytical theory   

Reviews (164)

Heart-Warming, Moving Account of the Holocaust
The story of Corrie ten Boom and her family and their work in the Dutch underground during World War II has been around 35 years but this is the first time I've sat down to read this amazing story.I am so glad I did!Built on the premise that love will conquer all, the story shows what relatively normal people can accomplish in extraordinary times.
A Tale Of Love, Courage, And Compassion
In Corrie Ten Boom's book "The Hiding Place", she gives an exciting account of how during the terrifying years of the Holocaust and World War 11 her entire family strove to hide as many Jews as they could from Nazi forces.
A Moving Tale
This is a beautiful, beautiful book. I could read it over and over, and feel touched, inspired, and renewed again. I first tried to read it when I was about twelve years old, but it was two heavy for me. Then I read it a few months ago, and it came alive. This is one book I would definately want to add to my library soon. I love the Ten Boom family - especially Betsy. I am looking forward to meeting them all in heaven someday. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Historical - Holocaust    4. Personal narratives, Dutch    5. Ravensbruck (Germany : concentration camp)    6. Religious    7. Ten Boom, Corrie    8. Women    9. World War, 1939-1945    10. Biography: general    11. History / Holocaust   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (151)

vgmani
I dont know how to rate this!! The book... I am yet to read! But I received collectorS edition within a collector edition! The book is printed upside down while the cover page is printed straight!

The Life of Vladek
The combination of volume one and volume two of Maus instills emotion, unfelt by any Holocaust story.Spiegelman (hey that's me; so of coarse it's a must read) implements humor, details, and characters that allow for a stunning plot of the life of his father Vladek. The relationship between Mala and Vladek, is humorous and tragic at the same time. I don't want to reveal too much plot, but would like to end writing the animals characterizations of personalities is ingenious.

Excellent Book
I am ordinarily very uninterested in graphic novels. Just seems like a stupid format to me. BUT, this was a great book. It is just the right story and right presentation for someone like me to enjoy. I highly recommend it and will probably give other graphic novels a chance ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Children of Holocaust survivors    6. Comic books, strips, etc    7. General    8. Historical - General    9. Holocaust    10. Holocaust survivors    11. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    12. Poland    13. United States    14. Biography & Autobiography / Literary    15. Biography: general    16. Jewish studies    17. The Holocaust   

Editorial Review

A beloved classic since its initial publication in 1947, this vivid, insightful journal is a fitting memorial to the gifted Jewish teenager who died at Bergen-Belsen, Germany, in 1945. Born in 1929, Anne Frank received a blank diary on her 13th birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Her marvelously detailed, engagingly personal entries chronicle 25 trying months of claustrophobic, quarrelsome intimacy with her parents, sister, a second family, and a middle-aged dentist who has little tolerance for Anne's vivacity. The diary's universal appeal stems from its riveting blend of the grubby particulars of life during wartime (scant, bad food; shabby, outgrown clothes that can't be replaced; constant fear of discovery) and candid discussion of emotions familiar to every adolescent (everyone criticizes me, no one sees my real nature, when will I be loved?). Yet Frank was no ordinary teen: the later entries reveal a sense of compassion and a spiritual depth remarkable in a girl barely 15. Her death epitomizes the madness of the Holocaust, but for the millions who meet Anne through her diary, it is also a very individual loss. Read more

Reviews (560)

'Anne Frank, better than ever'
'The Diary Of A Young Girl: The Definitive edition' is more or less the un-cut version of the book that was originally published in the late 1940's. it contains approx. 30% more material, and in my opinion makes Anne more relatable than ever, particularly to adolescents.
Diary of Anne Frank
Anne Frank "The Diary of Anne Frank"
Unbelivable story
I have just finished the Diary Of a Young Girl and i have the strong feeling that i was moved back in time, as if it was 1944.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Historical - General    5. Historical - Holocaust    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jews    9. Women    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. History / Holocaust   

Reviews (1)

National-socialism
I always wanted to know what Hitler tells to masses. I have big interest in his speeches, in his style of talking. It is a great book for me because it unclude the most important Adolf's public speeches. I enjoied reading it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1933-1945    2. Europe - Germany    3. Germany    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Politics and government    8. Sources    9. European history: Second World War    10. Fascism & Nazism    11. Second World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (2)

Vive La Marthe
On October 7 and 8, 2006, C-SPAN 2 featured this book and author on Book TV. The author, now in her mid 90s, spoke in impeccable English for about one hour without notes. Because she used the active voice, her adventures were easy to follow. It was a tour de force.
A tale of courage and hope
This is a story of great personal courage in the midst of horrible tragedy. It is the story of Marthe Cohn who was born in the city of Metz, raised in a devout German- speaking Jewish religious household. Circumstances including the loss of her fiance led her to become a fighter in the French Resistance. Courageously she worked behind enemy lines to provide vital intelligence for the Allies.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Holocaust    5. Political    6. Biography & Autobiography / Political   

Reviews (1)

BOOK REVIEW:`Bad Faith' Reminds Us How Anti-Semitic Many French Were in 1930s, WW II; Catholic Hierarchy Force Behind Jew Hatr
By David M. Kinchen
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Subjects:  1. Antisemitism    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography And Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Europe - France    8. France    9. France - History    10. Historical - General    11. Historical - Holocaust    12. Holocaust    13. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    14. Public officers    15. Vichy    16. Biography & Autobiography / Historical   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Arab countries    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jewish Studies    9. Jews    10. Middle East - General    11. Middle East - History    12. Persecutions    13. World War II    14. ASIA    15. Arabian peninsula    16. Ethnic studies    17. International relations    18. Second World War, 1939-1945   

Editorial Review

During the three years (1993-1996) Samantha Power spent covering the grisly events in Bosnia and Srebrenica, she became increasingly frustrated with how little the United States was willing to do to counteract the genocide occurring there. After much research, she discovered a pattern: "The United States had never in its history intervened to stop genocide and had in fact rarely even made a point of condemning it as it occurred," she writes in this impressive book. Debunking the notion that U.S. leaders were unaware of the horrors as they were occurring against Armenians, Jews, Cambodians, Iraqi Kurds, Rwandan Tutsis, and Bosnians during the past century, Power discusses how much was known and when, and argues that much human suffering could have been alleviated through a greater effort by the U.S. She does not claim that the U.S. alone could have prevented such horrors, but does make a convincing case that even a modest effort would have had significant impact. Based on declassified information, private papers, and interviews with more than 300 American policymakers, Power makes it clear that a lack of political will was the most significant factor for this failure to intervene. Some courageous U.S. leaders did work to combat and call attention to ethnic cleansing as it occurred, but the vast majority of politicians and diplomats ignored the issue, as did the American public, leading Power to note that "no U.S. president has ever suffered politically for his indifference to its occurrence. It is thus no coincidence that genocide rages on." This powerful book is a call to make such indifference a thing of the past. Read more

Reviews (165)

This is an awesome book
In this book Samantha Power focuses on the history of genocide in the 20th Century and the American government's responses in a way that goes beyond simply recounting the horrific details. By juxtaposing these two elements the book lead me to view this ever-current topic - the penchant to kill ethnicities - in a way that left me asking questions I'd never thought to ask before.
A devastating chronicle of 'reasonable' villains and 'unreasonable heroes'
June, 1989. Samantha Power, just finished with her freshman year at Yale, is working at CBS in Atlanta, preparing sports footage for the news. It's a dream job; she loves sports. Then, on the "feed" --- live, unedited footage, broadcast only within the network --- she sees Chinese troops attack students in Tiananmen Square. It's the most shocking thing she's ever seen. And she thinks, "Oh, my God. What am I doing with my life?"
Long read, well worth it!!!!!!!!!
I purchased ''A problem from hell'' in March and took me almost a month to finsh. But it was really worth it! Samantha Power walks us through the major genocides that happened in the past century. From the Killing fields in Cambodia(1975-1979)to the Killing fields in Rwanda(1994),she writes about America's responce to genocides and truth be told, we are inveloped in national self-intrest.She also examines of how the word genocide came to be and the creation of the genocide convention. For anyone who is interrested in foreign policy and human rights (as I am) this book is a must read!!!
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Foreign relations    3. Genocide    4. History    5. History - U.S.    6. History: American    7. Holocaust    8. Political Discontent And Violence    9. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    10. Political History    11. U.S. History - 20th Century (General)    12. United States    13. United States - 20th Century    14. History / Holocaust   

Editorial Review

Author Simon Weisenthal recalls his demoralizing life in a concentration camp and his envy of the dead Germans who have sunflowers marking their graves. At the time he assumed his grave would be a mass one, unmarked and forgotten. Then, one day, a dying Nazi soldier asks Weisenthal for forgiveness for his crimes against the Jews. What would you do? This important book and the provocative question it poses is birthing debates, symposiums, and college courses. The Dalai Lama, Harry Wu, Primo Levi, and others who have witnessed genocide and human tyranny answer Wiesenthal's ultimate question on forgiveness. ... Read more

Reviews (29)

A Sunflower among books---unforgettable
This book has touched me and remained with me since I read it my Senior year of high school.It facilitated numerous discussions on the issue of forgiveness--a complex issue that is actually quite simple.It also helped me to face some of my own issues and grudges so that I was finally able to begin understanding true forgiveness and hope.
Never forget the sunflower
Simon Wiesenthal's death prompted me to read "The Sunflower" for the first time. The book recounts Wiesenthal's haunting encounter with a dying SS soldier. The author was a concentration camp prisoner at the time. The tormented soldier desperately implored absolution for the atrocities he committed. The book passionately explores guilt, penitence, and forgiveness as Wiesenthal invited and printed the commentary from others about what they would have done if they had been in his place.
One who did not forget
I am writing this review the day after Shimon Wiesenthal died. He was ninety- six years old. Thousands of words have been written about him and his life- task. Certainly one of the major contributions he made was to make people aware of the enormity of the crime which was the Holocaust. After the war many wished to forget, but he out of a strong sense of duty to those who had died, to those who had been murdered and suffered so much , made it his business to make the world remember. And he too made his business to bring to justice those who committed the crime. And as he said many times he did this not only for the victims, but for the future generations of mankind so that such an evil would never come again not only to Jews but to all of humanity.
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Subjects:  1. Church And Society    2. Concentration camps    3. Ethics    4. Ethics & Moral Philosophy    5. Genocide    6. History    7. Holocaust    8. Jewish Holocaust    9. Personal narratives, Jewish    10. Philosophy    11. Religion    12. Sonnenblume    13. Wiesenthal, Simon    14. World War, 1939-1945    15. Europe    16. Judaism    17. Practical & applied ethics    18. Religion / General    19. The Holocaust    20. Reading Group Guide   

Editorial Review

Some historical events simply beggar any attempt at description--the Holocaust is one of these. Therefore, as it recedes and the people able to bear witness die, it becomes more and more essential that novel, vigorous methods are used to describe the indescribable. Examined in these terms, Art Spiegelman's Read more

Reviews (129)

Why are so many amazed that its a "comic" book?
...I loved this graphic novel, and so many accolades have been heaped upon this book that I need'nt say more. However, in reviewing some of the readers responses, and colligiate papers regarding the works of Maus, many seemed surprised or shocked that such amazing storytelling could be attributed to the comic book form. Why? I have been a lover and reader of comics for many years and this so - called "low" art form has produced some of the most memorable, touching, exciting, and thought-provoking material I have ever read. Granted, a large percentage of "comic" books cater to the stylized "men-in-tights" brigade, however even this attitude has changed much within the industry and modern comics. Even the long-running "hero" titles touch upon modern issues with a compexity that some people might find surprising. It should also be noted however that largely indie, underground, and other "non-mainstream" works really drive the graphic novel and comic industry in terms of content. If you thought comics simply "silly childrens stories" or "lame escapism" you should read some of the highly recommended titles of the genre and see why "comics" are being used as source material for a lot of current and upcoming films.

An Incredible Historical Perspective
Making one man's story about his life during the Holocaust into a comic book isn't contrite or demeaning. It's brilliant.
Ja! Like lightning!
Despite all the press and hype regarding it, I had never heard of Maus until mid-last year when browsing through a book store. The image of Hitler as a cat with two mice seemingly losing all hope on the cover really struck me, and I then made a blind purchase. I didn't even flip through the pages to see the art style, or read the back of the book or inside flaps to get an idea of what it was about. All I knew was that Nazis = cats, and Jews = mice. Having loved my experience in various history classes, I figured I'd get something out of this comic. Then I read it, and didn't. It all seemed bland, some parts rushed, and I didn't like the art style too much. Then, almost a year later, I reread it, and I don't know what it is, but my view changed. I actually got the characters, loved the story of survival, and understood just how bad the times were from the narrator's point of view. I still hated the art style, but everything else was meaningful. While most stories of the Holocaust rub in your face how bad things were, giving you every tiny detail about the pain and suffering, Maus takes things in a different direction. Art Spiegelman, the semi-author and artist, interviews his own father, a Holocaust survivor, and tells his story in comic form. It's not "normal" though- his father, Vladek, is a cranky old man now, and Art even makes a comment that he's now the stereotypical Jew. Maus takes both the real story of the Holocaust as Vladek experienced it, as well as the in-between portions of getting together with his father and the difficulties the two experience together in trying to make things work out. It's these little things that make the story so much more real than just simply a survivor telling their story straight forward.