No comments about In Her Father's Eyes: A Childhood Extinguished by the Holocaust.

4 comments about My War against the Nazis: A Jewish Soldier with the Red Army (Alabama Fire Ant).

1. This book is a valuable resource for students of Eastern European History. Adam Broner's first person narrative skillfully connects the author's personal story with the larger events surrounding his life. The wide scope and long time period provide a neutral perspective and a greater understanding of the events. Broner's personal stories draw the reader into history and bring it to life in a new way. The book would easily fit into a curriculum covering World War II, Communism, Eastern Block History, Anti-Semitism, and particularly Poland. This remarkable biography can be enjoyed by anyone, but it will be especially appreciated by all scholars of history.



2. This man's story has touched this woman's heart. It is a simple, easy to read, straightforward, historical and personal account of the human and his indomitable spirit. This eye-opening account leaves me with a lifetime education. I am humbled by this man's love for his faith, family and country.



3. A fine book about the history of these trying times reported by a person that lived the story. It reflects great memory and great research. It should be read by all students now and in the future interested in this period of world history.



4. Adam Broner's book is a well-written, very readable one person's story of the most important event of the 20th century, World War II. It is a remarkable, I would even say unique story. At that turbulent time, most people let themselves be pushed where the changing fates of war were throwing them. Not so the young Adam Broner. He repeatedly made his own decisions, sometimes risky but right and courageous. The most important of these was to desert the "working battalions" in Siberia, and to join the army fighting the Nazis. It may sound strange, but Adam Broner's story is also unique because it tells the plain truth. He has not adapted his narrative to the now prevalent ideas. Broner simply tells us how it was. A good book. Richard Fenigsen, M.D., Waltham, Massachusetts.

5 comments about The Iron Furnace: A Holocaust Survivor's Story.

1. This book is both brilliant and hideous. It is brilliant in its clarity and writing style; it is hideous in the unfortunately all-too-true events that it depicts. This book tells the story of the author's life from the outset of the Nazi domination of Poland until the eventual liberation 6 long years later. It is a story told in a deceptively simple style, eminently readable, revealing beneath the horrible picture of what evil truly is. It is a book that everyone, whether a student of history, humankind or good and evil, should read. The author comes across as a remarkable man. And this is a remarkable book.



2. This book is both brilliant and hideous. It is brilliant in its clarity and writing style; it is hideous in the unfortunately all-too-true events that it depicts. This book tells the story of the author's life from the outset of the Nazi domination of Poland until the eventual liberation 6 long years later. It is a story told in a deceptively simple style, eminently readable, revealing beneath the horrible picture of what evil truly is. It is a book that everyone, whether a student of history, humankind or good and evil, should read. The author comes across as a remarkable man. And this is a remarkable book.



3. The book is unique among survivor's stories that I have read for its clear, straightforward writing style. The story, while frightening, is told in a mannner that does not terrorize the reader; this book should therefore appeal to a wide audience. The author's survival of these events is as surprising to us as it was to him, and marks with compassion the many of his fellow men and women that did not survive those awful events. His subsequent enlistment in the US Army is a heartening testament to human stamina and determination. Bravo!



4. Reading "The Iron Furnace: A Holocaust Survivor's Story," you experience practically the entire repertoire of human emotions. In January 1939, the author was a 15-year-old Jewish boy living in Warsaw. When the Nazis invaded Poland, they turned his and his family's lives upside down. His schooling ended, he and his family were interned in the Warsaw ghetto (except for George's stays in two German work camps), and then they were all shipped to various concentration camps. George was the only one in his immediate family to survive. After his liberation by the U.S. Army, he volunteered to serve (without pay) in that army and did so with distinction. He then went on to lead a rich, productive life.

   The reader feels horror, revulsion and fury at the hideous acts of the oppressors, described in chilling detail; admiration for the courage, intelligence and quick wits displayed by the author; deep sorrow at the sad plights of so many; wry enjoyment of the black humor that appeared even in the direst of circumstances; respect for the author's prodigious memory for events, conversations and people (whom you come to know intimately in these pages); awe at his ability to retain his religious faith throughout his journeys into Hell; inspiration at the demonstrated indomitability of the human spirit; jubilation at the author's rich subsequent life; and gratitude to this historian for having given his testimony so powerfully that it has to silence anyone who dares to deny that the Holocaust took place.




5. George Topas' memoir begins with his testimony before a German court in Kiel against a SS guard. This event triggers his memory of his five years under the Nazi boot. He relates life before the war in Warsaw, the Warsaw Ghetto and Uprising, deportation and life in a number of concentration camps. Mr. Topas is a trained historian and he provides the reader with historial asides and explanations. He goes into the false assumptions Jews had before and during World WarII. The writer provides a number of footnotes, includes an index and wraps up his narrative with an long epilogue which tell what happened to characters introduced in the book. This is a mature learned memoir.

1 comments about Till They Meet Again.

1. Great Read!!This novel is fast paced and riveting. I could not put it down. Ms. Elovic's character development is superb. The storyline is unique. I would highly recommend this novel.

3 comments about Anne Frank.

1. There are two editorial reviews here that summarize the book quite well. I would like to concurr with another Amazon reviewer that states this would be a good book to read to students prior to any discussion in detail of " The Diary of Anne Frank." The art work is like the story itself; a stark portrait of one of the darkest time periods in man's history. It is a somber subject and should be treated as such I suppose; there is only one smiling group family portrait in the book. I would read this book to fifth graders and above only because of the subject matter and the questions and answers that will arise might be difficult for some youngsters to understand. This is a good picture-book biography for a parent or teacher to use if they feel the audience is mature enough to handle hard questions and answers. This book would make a worthy addition to the school library or community synagogue so that young people may better understand the injustices of the past and how they relate to contemporary times.



2. I think its a great book that we should read I found it both sad and happy. Anastasia



3. The retelling is stark, compassionate, unsentimental. The art is reminiscent of ROSE BLANCHE, in grays and browns. This would be a good readaloud intro in any classroom before launching into reading the diary, no matter the students' age. An end page lists the chronology of events, has contact info for Ann Frank House in Amsterdam. This is really for all ages.

5 comments about Until We Meet Again: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Holocaust.

1. In the small town of Hrubieszow Poland, two lovers Meyer and Manya attempt to escape to terrible hands of the German Nazi Soldiers. When many atempts to escape fail, both lovers suffer deportation, seperation, and close-to-death situations. Going to camps such as Flossenburg and Aushwits both Manya and Meyer struggle to hold on, but at the same time rely on one day being together back in Hrubieszow. When both of them believe they will never be reunited with they're families after the war has ended, Meyer and Manya's son Michael Korenblit finds out some informations on his mothers family while making this book.
   
   This book is the most amazing, Holocaust book I have ever read. There is not one book that has takin my breath away or have drawn tears to my eyes such as this one has. Imagine having nothing to hold on to, Do you think Manya and Meyer would have survived without one another? As hard as it got, thoughts of being with eachother kept Meyer and Manya still holding on. I recomend this book to anyone, because out there there really is a God and if you ever loose everything, faith is one thing you cant loose.



2. I'll admit that this book started out a little slowly for me, but by about chapter 18, I began to be drawn more and more into the story of teenage sweethearts Manya and Meyer, Manya's little brother Chaim, and their friends (even though the writing style employed wasn't always that dramatic or riveting). The story begins when Manya and one of her brothers, Chaim, make the very difficult decision to leave their family in the hiding place in the wall of their house in the ghetto of Hrubieszow to join Meyer's family hiding in a haystack, in 1942. Perhaps I would have been more drawn into the story initially had it begun earlier on and slowly introduced the characters and situation, instead of starting off rather in media res. And perhaps the events might have come even more alive for me had the book been written in the first person instead of by two secondhand parties. It also kind of kills the dramatic surprise by revealing at the beginning that Chaim was discovered in early 1982, with the reader knowing all along he survived instead of only saving it for the epilogue, when it would have had far greater dramatic effect.
   
   All that said, however, the book does a rather good job at conveying the increasingly trapped and horrific situation the characters found themselves in. Many of the decisions they made, and breaks from outsiders they got which ended up contributing to their eventual survival, could be attributed to only luck, since many other people in similar situations might have had far different fates for making or not making those same decisions. After leaving the haystack, Manya, Meyer, and Chaim returned to the new ghetto in Hrubieszow, where they were put to "legitimate" work, though always in constant danger of brutality and deportations. Sometime in 1943 (the book isn't very good at all about giving a specific timeline of when exactly a lot of this stuff happened), Chaim was taken, and then a bit later on Manya, Meyer, and a few of their friends were deported as well. Initially the young lovers were in the same camp, but were eventually separated, promising to meet again in Hrubieszow at the end of the war. The two of them went through a seemingly endless stream of camps over the next two years, suffering bestial treatments and conditions, but got through with a little help from their friends, and, most importantly, their love for one another. Under such intense times, what would have been just a routine teenage romance in ordinary time turned into something much more serious, emotions magnified as people turned and clung to those they already had a powerful connection to, nurturing and keeping alive the one remaining thing that they still knew for sure, that kept them sane, human, hopeful, normal. It seems amazing to people living in comfort in the present day that love could have survived and even flourished under such awful inhuman conditions, but after reading a powerful story such as this one, it doesn't seem like a surprising phenomenon at all.



3. I think this is an incredible book and I don't think the Editorial Review does it any justice. The Editorial Reviewer understood that the story was incredibly moving and wanted it to be written more fairy tale-like, however it is not any fantasy-like because it is and was SO REAL and I think Korenblit perfectly captures its highly-emotive atmosphere. I suggest this as a read not only for historical information about the Holocaust but as an overall life-lesson that love can make you strong and that among all evil there will always be some good.



4. I met M. Kornblit, received his book, and read it in two days! It caused me to be thankful for every minute I live in a peaceful country, every morsel of food I partake, every single material thing I have...It is truly the most unforgettable book I'll ever read.



5. I had the the privilege of meeting Mr. Michael Korneblit during a recent book signing at the Holocaust Museum in DC. He personally shared what the book is about, then apologized for "making me cry". I could not wait to read the book! Let me admit that I am an audible learner and not an avid reader, but this book is a turning point. It is easy to read and definitely holds one's interest. The authors wisely chose, in this case, to focus on the love story more than the atrocities of the holocaust -- yet certainly get the point across. This is a lovely story about commitment and integrity tested to the limits. God bless these families and all survivors or relatives of those lost. Thank you for this book.

2 comments about Eyes of the Blind.

1. Dr. Hoogstraten's account of going into hiding as a young medical student in Nazi-occupied Holland is gripping. A firmer editorial hand might have focused the tale, which occasionally strays into a few too many family reminiscences that, although adding color, do not advance the story. The tale itself needs no such embellishment. However, having said that, those interested in daily life in occupied Holland and in life after liberation will find much here that is not normally recounted in texts on the subject. A thoughtful book from a erudite author.



2. A fast paced, true to life thriller. A brilliant look at war through the "Eyes" of those who experienced it first hand. Hoogstraten tells a wonderful story, that is truely his to tell!

No comments about People Who Made History - Oskar Schindler (paperback edition) (People Who Made History).

1 comments about The Hidden Children of the Holocaust: Teens Who Hid from the Nazis (Teen Witnesses to the Holocaust).

1. This is a short book, only 64 pages, with large print and lots of photos, so it is quick to read. Although I think the book could be longer, I still give it 5 stars because any book that makes people, especially the younger generation, aware of what happened during the Holocaust is an important contribution. The book is designed to inform teens as it relates the stories of several people who were teenagers at the time they were in hiding during WWII. Because the stories are short, young people who might not ordinarily take the time to read historical text, will find it easy to become generally informed about what these survivors went through, and the circumstances of their persecution by the Nazis.

   Each of the biographies in this book tells a unique story...some teens were hidden in private houses, often moving from place to place, and one 12-year-old girl survived in the forest, eating insects and raw rats. Once she had hidden in a haystack with other refugees, but they were discovered and attacked by anti-Jews who stabbed the haystack with pitchforks. When all was quiet, she climbed out and found the others' mutilated bodies lying on the ground.

   The book ends with updates about those teens' lives today.

   This book and the other seven in the series (Teen Witnesses to the Holocaust) would be useful for a quick study on the Holocaust.

4 comments about Off-White: a memoir.

1. Laurie Gunst's book takes you inside the world of the country-club South and gives a unique portrait of the "upstairs/downstairs" relationships. Her topic is supposed to be race. She provides a compelling account of her relationships with the blacks in her life, and how she has won her struggle to create human relationships that overcome the distortions prescribed by society. But I also found the work very powerful in talking about the hidden intensity of surrogate mothering -- in her case, the black caregiver who was emotionally available to her in ways that her biological mother could not be. There are passages of great beauty in the writing, as well as painfully honest self-examination. This is not a perfect book, but it is brave, admirable, and unfortunately still necessary in a society that continues to take comfort in certain forms of self-deception.



2. as a young southern "christmas tree jew", i found this book to be touching, and sad. as someone who did not feel the direct sting of jim crow and still seeing the ghost of it everywhere, i thought the story of the 'unsavory grandfather' fascinating. the duality and doubly binded mentality is examinined, tho not as thoroughly as i would have liked it to be in her later years. i think gunst's story is triumphant in many ways, and what my hope for it is is, not to piss off black folks (which i am sure it will) but to make white folks think about their own relationship with their own whiteness in the world. i think this book is a good tool to educate and open discussion - the childhood memories (mythic thought) and adolescent (romantic) are honest and true and well written. however, in the end, in adult life, she does not quite make it to the higher level of thinking (philisophical). she is on the cusp. i felt certain questions were unanswered, for fear of failing to do so. maybe her next novel will cover that one. maybe it will only raise more questions. i liked this book. it's gutsy.



3. This is just more mammy business. If you're white, you're white. Period. Nobody knows or cares about what went on in your house or wherever. This is America, and you're American, and you're white. That means racist.
   Stop trying to act like you're better than everybody else.



4. Somewhere between the harsh lines of black and white lie the inevitable shades of gray, as Laurie Gunst so adequately describes in her memoir, OFF-WHITE. Growing up in Richmond, Virginia, Gunst formed a strong bond with not only her nanny and caretaker Rhoda, but with all of the faces of color that shared her life.
   
   Already marked different because of being Jewish, Gunst felt her insides were different as well. In many ways, she saw herself as a white face with a black psyche due to her family's racially liberal ideals and her environment. She was the surrogate child of many African-Americans who were not only workers in her family's wealthy home, but also genuine adopted family members. She takes her readers on an identity pilgrimage throughout her childhood and adult years, adventures at Harvard and in Jamaica, and climaxing with the search for ancestors of both blood and spirit.
   
   While I thought OFF-WHITE started out a little slow, once I got to know the cast of characters in Laurie Gunst's life, I was smitten, intrigued, and enthralled with every last one of them. Gunst's writing is pensive and reminiscent without being too philosophical or academic. While the prose is certainly intelligently written, it was done so in a way that I felt she was telling me a story rather than relating mundane facts. Valuable lessons and awakenings abound in Laurie Gunst's memoir, and I am glad I got to know her and the people who touched her life.
   
   Reviewed by CandaceK
   of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers