2 comments about Stella : One Woman's True Tale of Evil, Betrayal, and Survival in Hitler's Germany.

1. The power of this book comes from the pity one feels for Stella, despite that she is guilty of a thousand betrayals of her fellow Jews.
   
   She was an ordinary person caught in an extraordinary circumstance. Might any one of us have behaved better? The author seems to understand this perfectly.
   
   I came away from this book with the feeling that Stella was as much a victim of Nazi Germany as any other Jew. It was Nazi Germany that created her; twisted her.
   
   Very powerful book & highly recommended. For the other side of the coin, I also recommend "When Courage was Stronger Than Fear".



2. I wrote a review already, where is it? how come it's not listed? you let people write reviews with no intention of putting it there?

5 comments about Goebbels: Mastermind of the Third Reich.

1. This book is a monumental biography of the man who was, arguably, the Nazi leadership's most fascinating personality, with the possible exception of Hitler himself. Cultured and university educated, Goebbels belied the Nazi stereotype while using his genius to influence the shape and course of the Third Reich in many areas which are usually attributed to Hitler. A man whose stock in trade were words and ideas, Goebbels also proved himself a master of logistical organization, as he fought against a complacent and corrupt German leadership to squeeze every last drop of men and materiel from a wasteful and redundant economy for a total war of resistance against the Allies. And finally, a man who had so often been personally and ideologically out of favor with his Fuhrer, finally proved himself a loyal, true believer by staying with Hitler to the very end and beyond.
   
   Based almost wholly on the missing diaries of Goebbels, which Irving himself discovered in the Moscow archives, this copiously footnoted masterwork unveils Goebbels' most intimate thoughts from his university days to the end of the Third Reich. There are many interesting revelations: Goebbels' half-Jewish girlfriend, his sole responsibility for Kristallnacht, the surprisingly ineffective and indecisive leadership of Hitler, especially on the Jewish question, the dizzying scale of Goebbels' womanizing, his wife's own sordid romantic escapades, their resultant poisoned marriage, as well as many other details of the Reichsminister's public and private lives.
   
   What fascinated me the most though were the passages exposing Goebbels as a flesh and blood man, of deep emotions, artistic ambition and romantic inclination. To those who become apoplectic at any hint of "humanizing" a Nazi (although I've yet to hear that biological taxonomy has classified them as anything but homo sapiens) I'll simply submit that Goebbels' diaries, at least his pre-war passages, add new dimensions to the man. However, I was surprised not to see any reference to the incident, which I believe I read in some other David Irving work, when Goebbels- in defiance of Hitler's wishes, offered to resign his offices and become ambassador to Japan or some other insignificant posting, if he would be allowed to divorce his wife and marry his great love Lida Baarova (a Slav no less!). In any case, despite the womanizing of his later life, his diaries show that great devotion to a woman was not a foreign concept to Joseph Goebbels. And even though he earned his name through his political work, it's clear that in a less chaotic time, his life's theme would have been literary and academic. However, Goebbels felt that his people's need called him to a life of concrete action rather than detached reflection. A philosopher once wrote that each man is the poet of his own existence; all of Joseph Goebbels' ideals may have been utterly destroyed in the fires of 1945, but his decision to pursue an existence worth writing about was his one dream that endured.
   
   A few criticisms: the book seemed somewhat rushed. Typographical errors and eccentricities abound (for some reason, the names of religious bodies are not capitalized: e.g. the "catholic" church, the "lutheran" church). The writing as well didn't seem as crisp and taut as "Hitler's War" for instance. Given the way that Jewish pressure groups sabotaged publication of this book, and the fact that other historians were trying to claim credit for Irving's discovery of the diaries, it's not surprising that he wanted to get this into print as soon as possible, and ended up self-publishing it. I understand Irving's anxiety to publish his findings from the diaries, but I wish the book had a bit more perspective. I would have liked to have known more about what the other Nazis thought of Goebbels. What did the German people think of him? What about important foreigners? What psychological role, if any, might his handicap have played in his decisions and ideology? Also, even though it's well known that Irving disdains most of his peers, I would have liked to have learned what history's judgement of him has been so far. Has his influence on the post-war public relations industry been more than we've been led to believe? Whatever the criticism, this is a great and important book. This is the_only_Goebbels biography written in English since the discovery of the diaries. It is a must-read for students of the Nazi era.



2. My main criticism of this book is that it contains simply too much information. The indefatigable Irving includes much boring information on Goebbels, which bloats the book to a staggering 750 pages. This is especially true during the Kampfzeit in the 1920's, where every move, drive, nap and reverie is dutifully recorded by the author. It becomes almost ludicrous and it's tedious to wade through such extraneous information in order to get to the heart of the matter. Had Irving culled the biography to a neat 400 pages, the results would have been pleasing. As it stands, the book is compromised by a plethora of useless, trivial facts.
   
   However, there are some fascinating new revelations here, and anything new in a book on Nazi leaders is a coup. Goebbels relates that Hitler in the 20's was anything but the ascetic, uptight and sexually repressed person he's been depicted as in so many other inferior books. Goebbels constantly scribbles in his diary that Hitler's rampant womanzing was jeopardizing the party.
   
   And what of Goebbels notorious reputation as a lady killer? Incredibly, Irving misses the boat here and inexplicably claims Goebbels was a virgin until he married Magda in 1931. Never mind that there are boatloads of evidence to show Goebbels had numerous love affairs before his marriage, and dozens afterwards. Irving also sides with Goebbels in his long dispute with Leni Riefenstahl, which Leni aptly detailed in her memoirs.
   
   I've always admired Irving as a researcher and one able to dig out little-known nuggets. But increasingly he throws in ludicrous opinions which are contrary to fact (to put it mildly). Goebbels was obviously fanatically anti-Semitic, but this doesn't fit into Irving's M.O., so he claims Goebbels used anti-Semitism solely as a "political device." By this time, the reader is wishing the book would come to a conclusion, after 700+ pages of unnecessary detail and some truly tedious asides.
   
   After 40 years of writing on the subject, Irving should have learned he needs an editor, especially with this offering. In addition, he needs to reign in his ridiculous political opinions which needlessly compromise an otherwise reasonable book. It's hard to praise a biography where the author believes Goebbels didn't despise the Jews and merely used them as a political pawn. It's not only delusional, it's bad history.



3. This is an incredible biography of Goebbels. Irving was the first to translate the missing portions of Goebbels own diaries, which lay hidden for decades in the cold war Soviet union files. Making a nonsense of many histories of the Nazi era, Irving has come up with a priceless work.
   The internal rivalries of Nazism are fascinatingly revealed, Goebbells spiting vitriol about rivals Goring, the Strasser brothers, and occasionally the fuhrer himself. Debunking the myths of kristallnacht, Irving shows Goebbels to be the orchestrator of the violence against Jews and their businesses, much to their rage of Hitler and the other Nazi leaders, who called an immediate hault to their mayhem.
   
   On a personal level, Goebbels comes across as an intriguing, often bizarre individual. Afflicted with a club foot, and of Gandhi-esque proportion - 5 feet 4 and barely 100lb. One of the most intellectual of Nazis, his formative years were a mix of academic achievements and periods of poverty inbetween. Irving portrays these years vividly, against the backdrop of WW1 and the years afterwards.
   
   In other works, Dr Goebbels is portrayed as a lifelong womaniser, in this biography the peculiar and complicated evolution he goes through belies this notion. Though having numnerous 'girlfriends' in his Univiversity years, the Doctor conducted these intense relationships on a platonic basis, only losing his virginity in hie early 30's.
   
   To touch on even a fraction of the themes worth reading in this book would take hours. It offers a deeply personal portrait of the man himself, but also reveals a greater depth on the Nazi era, both individual events and the time as a whole.



4. rediculous that people have to systematically review all his books with the same garbage about his "lies"
   
   see what germans say about his work!
   
   get off your American Propaganda please!
   this is an attempt at exposing goebells that isn't American/British Biased like every other work that comes out of these countries...
   
   some people aren't interested in the holocaust aspects, just the factual history of the third reich and a particular writer's opinion on it... people can publish what they want, if you don't like it, DONT READ IT
   
   He has the right to write and you have the right not to read
   
   should we ban Mein Kampf too? or Karl Marx works? or the Protocols of the wise men of zion?



5. It's amusing in the extreme to see so many people froth at the mouth over David Irving. If he is "so discredited," why is he thrown such a fit about? The fact of the matter is that history should never be written about until fifty years after the occurences in question.

   Remember, Watergate was first derided as lunatic conspiracy theory, and one that eventually toppled Richard M. Nixon...

   Here, Irving neither "apologizes" for Nazi Germany or its architects, nor does he simply goose-step in unison with the current gospel according to the cereal box. What he has done was to obtain 1,200 plates of glass upon which were written heretofore unavailable Goebbels diaries entries, that were "missing" when Louis Lochner released his work of Goebbels' diaries circa 1943-1945, and utilize them to take the reader into the mind of the man who was Hitler's "false prophet."

   A brilliant portrait of a perverse, twisted and sad soul that impacted the world in an (ultimately) destructive fashion.

   I suggest you read, and judge for yourself.

   I suggest you read, and decide for yourself.

No comments about When the Sky Rained Umbrellas.

5 comments about Pitching My Tent: On Marriage, Motherhood, Friendship, and Other Leaps of Faith.

1. What impresses me most about Anita Diamant's book, Pitching My Tent, is how she conveys so much warmth and love is so few words. She is a talented writer. I bought the book for some light summer reading. During the summer, while vacationing at the beach, I always like to a have a book or two to read in the afternoons when we retreat from the heat and glare of the sun. When my book order arrived, instead of putting it aside and saving it for the beach trip, I read the introduction and the first story. Big mistake. I then had to finish reading all the stories. Now I will have to find another book to take to the beach.



2. Long before The Red Tent and Good Harbor, Anita Diamant was a columnist. For some twenty years, her columns delivered her own refreshing takes on life. Written with warmth, common bonds of womanhood, a sense of spirituality, and her own unique take on adult life, these essays are personal and yet universal.
   
   The author of several books on contemporary Jewish life as well as her two popular fiction works, Diamant shares her classic essays with readers in this new publication.
   
   Subtitled "On Marriage, Motherhood, Friendship, and Other Leaps of Faith," the book promises much and delivers even more. Ms. Diamant draws the reader into her world with a personal invitation at the end of her introduction:
   
   "My tent is filled with friends and songs and books and memories. My tent and I hope yours too, is filled with blessings. Come see."
   
   Throughout these essays, the author's passion for life reaches out and beckons her readers to look within. By interjecting aspects of her Jewish life and customs into her essays, Ms. Diamant brings a higher degree of understanding to those unfamiliar with contemporary Jewish lifestyles. Her essays speak of tolerance, acceptance, enjoying life to its fullest, and counting blessings in each of life's passages.
   
   Pitching My Tent is divided into six parts. Each section looks at an integral part of adult life and offers wonderfully enjoyable readings. My favorite essay is "Girlfriends, In Particular." Opening with a profound statement, Diamant's brief essay speaks volumes about the mystique and wonder of the bonds formed by women. "Women's friendships are, I think, one of the great secrets of the social universe." By the time I finished reading, I was so touched that I had to connect with my own dear friend and sister of my soul. It is the ability to stir such inner emotion that sets these essays apart from most I have read in recent months.
   
   This book is a gift to give yourself, your friends, your sisters, your mothers, and any other woman whose life is somehow a blessing to yours.
   
   by Lee Ambrose
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



3. A wonderful and inspirational collection of stories and insights on life, love, and faith. Diamant does a beautiful job of making a uniquely Jewish meditation palatable and applicable to people of all faiths. Anyone who has ever raised a child, made a friend, lost a lover, or wondered about the world should invest in a copy of this fantastic collection. I borrowed it from the library, got to the end and flipped back to the front to start again. As soon as I could, I bought my own copy. I know it will never be far from reach in every heartbreaking, wonderful moment when a kind word or new insight will make all the difference. It's like having a stunningly insightful and delightfully funny friend living on your bookshelf. I know from reading the book that Diamant occasionally reads the comments on her books on Amazon, so if you're reading this, my friend, thank you. For this, and many of your other works, I'll be forever grateful.



4. I've ordered this book on December 22, 2006, and I am still waiting for my order. I am very dissapointed...



5. I picked up this collection of essays after reading "The Red Tent" which absolutely adored.
   
   Half-way through the book I thought, "Converting to Judaism might be a good idea!" I don't mean to jest about a serious subject...and it is Diamont's friendly, heartful, down to Earth tone (and the fact that she shares her being vis a vis her judaism)that makes me want to adopt some of her ways.
   
   I zipped through this book in record time, and I know I will read and re-read and give copies to many friends.

5 comments about Head of the Line: A Holocaust Survivor's Memoir.

1. Very well written. I couldn't put it down! The author transported you into his experiances, and left you wondering at the human capacity to adapt to his condition in order to survive.
   
   I highly recommend this book



2. I enjoyed this book not only because it was well written and easy to follow, but mainly because it depicted yet another way in which the Jewish population was "used" for slave work during the war. It's news to me that some Jewish people worked/slaved for the Germans but weren't actually assigned to a concentration camp.



3. A very well told memoir. Heartrending and yet uplifting. Certainly a different tale from many and adds more detail to this awful period. Very worthwhile reading.



4. It's hard to imagine that a society could tolerate the killing of 6 million Jews. It's even harder to imagine how this happened only six decades ago. I have studied and read many Holocaust books, but I can not remember one that affected as deeply as Michael Jackson's memoir and story of survival in Head of the Line: A Holocaust Survivor's Memoir. Mr. Jackson not only recounts a personal tale, but he tells the story of European Jews prior to World War Two. His use of Yiddish reminded me of a language past that my grandparents spoke about. Mr. Jackson gives a first-hand account of growing up as a Jew in the Carpathian Mountain region of pre-World War II Czechoslovakia. He proudly recounts his days growing up surrounded by a large extended family that treasured life, religion and freedom. His memoir traces his journey through the Holocaust as he bore witness to the atrocities of the war and the destruction of his family. He tells his story of survival in detail, from his deportation from his home, to forced labor marches and slavery to Dachau and eventually America. It is through acts of unexplained miracles, courage and a strong will to survive that Mr. Jackson is able to share his story. In just a few years time, we will rely on books like Mr. Jackson's to teach and explain the Holocaust. It is from this memoir that I will teach my children and my children's children about the Holocaust. It is for that reason that I recommend this book. Mr. Jackson's memoir will forever remain on my bookshelf.



5. It's hard to imagine that a society could tolerate the killing of 6 million Jews. It's even harder to imagine how this happened only six decades ago. I have studied and read many Holocaust books, but I can not remember one that affected as deeply as Michael Jackson's memoir and story of survival in Head of the Line: A Holocaust Survivor's Memoir. Mr. Jackson not only recounts a personal tale, but he tells the story of European Jews prior to World War Two. His use of Yiddish reminded me of a language past that my grandparents spoke about. Mr. Jackson gives a first-hand account of growing up as a Jew in the Carpathian Mountain region of pre-World War II Czechoslovakia. He proudly recounts his days growing up surrounded by a large extended family that treasured life, religion and freedom. His memoir traces his journey through the Holocaust as he bore witness to the atrocities of the war and the destruction of his family. He tells his story of survival in detail, from his deportation from his home, to forced labor marches and slavery to Dachau and eventually America. It is through acts of unexplained miracles, courage and a strong will to survive that Mr. Jackson is able to share his story. In just a few years time, we will rely on books like Mr. Jackson's to teach and explain the Holocaust. It is from this memoir that I will teach my children and my children's children about the Holocaust. It is for that reason that I recommend this book. Mr. Jackson's memoir will forever remain on my bookshelf.

5 comments about Hidden Children.

1. Jane Marks has collected and compiled the survival stories of 23 childhood survivors who were hidden during the Holocaust. She has included an insightful preface by Hidden Child Abraham H Foxman, an historical perspective by another Hidden Child as well as a chapter devoted to The Psychology of Being a Hidden Child.
   
   This work of non-fiction is a horrifying record of the atrocities committed by the Nazi's. Something that should never be forgotten.



2. In Nazi-occupied Europe the pre-war Jewish child population came to about 1.6 million. During the war an estimated 1.5 million Jewish children where killed , leaving only 6 to 7 percent of them alive at the end of the war.
   Through 60 interviews with former child survivors, the author puts togehter a fascinating book that traces the story of a few of the Jewish children who survived the Holocaust , hiding in attics , convents , sewers and forests. In some cases they where helped by having fair hair and looking less 'obviously Jewish'.
   It provides a compassionate and inspiring account , always reminding us of the humanity and childhood of the hidden children.
   It also deals with the lives of hidden children , after the war , as it traces their adult lives , and the effects of having to hide their identity , living in fear , and often , seeing their loved ones murdered.
   
   They where often faced with the imminent threat of discovery and saved by a series of miracles.
   
   These accounts are important to preserve in an age where genocide continues in places like Darfur in the Sudan , and has taken place in Cambodia , Rwanda and Kurdistan.
   Today influential voices are calling for an end to the State of Israel (which was in many cases built by holocaust survivors), which would certainly lead to a second holocaust aginst the Jews living there.
   It is up to us to prevent a second holocaust from occuring, by fully supporting Israel in her struggle to survive and fighting anti-Israel prejudice.



3. heartfelt and well written- it was great to have the interviews written and turned into short stories by a writer who wasn't directly involved in the holocaust. having jane marks writing it, she sees it from the perspective you and it do- from the outside. great book



4. This is an unforgettable book about the fate of many Jewish children who survived during World War II all over Europe. From a very young age they had to learn to hide the truth about their origin.
   Many among the very youngest could not hide with their families because the risk was too big (they could be noisy, cry or tell the truth). Many were placed in foster care, and the toddlers would grow up believing that their foster parents were their real parents. After the war many children in this category were traumatized when they were given back to their real parents.
   
   One of the really interesting aspects of this book is that it follows the hidden children from pre-war era until the 1990s. In this way we are told also about the problems and benefits they 'harvested' after those hidden years.
   
   I also found it very interesting to read the two last chapters:
   one puts the Hidden Child's experience into a historical perspective and one telling us about the psychology behind being a Hidden child. These two chapters are written by Nechama Tec, Ph.D. and Eva Fogelman, Ph.D.
   
   This is an easy and very interesting book to read. It is well written and highly recommendable.



5. This is a must-read, along with "Suddenly Jewish" by Barbara Kessel, and "The Mezuzah in the Madonna's Foot" by Trudy Alexy. Several years ago at Temple beth Israel, we heard true stories from others in our Community who had been raised as Gentile, only to hide, or remember, or discover, that they are actually Jewish; it will make you laugh, cry, and pray for those among us who suffered so much to glorify The Name. Please honor them by educating yourself and others in reading of these things.

2 comments about Judgment in Jerusalem: Chief Justice Simon Agranat and the Zionist Century.

1. Fascinating book tracing the ideological and judicial development of Simon Agranat. Agranat's changes over time mirrored Israel's and reflected the tensions within the developing state of Israel-- democracy and pluralism versus unity and nation-building, progressivism and universality versus particularism, human rights versus "security," etc. The sections on the Eichmann trial and the ongoing "Who is a Jew" controversy are the most powerful sections, while other sections, such as that on the powers of the Attorney General, are a bit dense. Since Israel is still confronting virtually all of the issues and conflicts which Agranat faced as a judge over many decades, this book provides essential historical background and context.



2. "This is a judicial biography in the grand style, one which looks not only at the central actor, but at the law he influenced as well as the times in which he lived. We learn not only about Agranat, but about Israel, and about an area on which relatively little has been written in English, the development of Israeli constitutional law and the impact of American legal traditions on that development." Dr. Melvin Urofsky Director, Center for Public Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virgini

4 comments about Ana Pauker: The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Communist.

1. "Ana Pauker" is an excellent and compelling account that blows old notions of East European communists out of the water. While not glossing over Ana Pauker's serious delusions and often cynical compromises, Robert Levy convincingly demonstrates that Pauker was remarkably resistant to Soviet dictates during the most perilous period of Stalin's reign. Meticulously documented with a massive amount of archival documents and interviews of participants and eye-witnesses, this wonderfully written book is a must-read for anyone interested in communist and East European Jewish history.



2. "Ana Pauker" is an excellent and compelling biography that blows old notions about East European communists out of the water. While hardly glossing over Ana Pauker's serious delusions and often cynical compromises, Robert Levy meticulously and convincingly demonstrates that Pauker was remarkably resistant to Soviet dictates during the most perilous years of Stalin's reign. This is a fascinating, well-written account based on recently unearthed communist archives and personal interviews of participants and eye-witnesses. Anyone interested in communist history or contemporary East European Jewish history will find this book utterly informative.



3. This is a sound and wise biography of Ana Pauker. An exceptional volume. An examination of the Romanian communist system and its leaders was long due--beyond false anxieties. And Levy does it so superbly, blending history with years of archival and interview-based research. A lucid cut in the political life of a controversial Romanian communist leader, Ana Pauker.



4. Sorry, no arguments will convince me to relativize the following fact: at the time of her political activity, Ana Pauker had to know the criminal (genocidal, to be accurate) nature of the political party she was a leader of. My mother still cringes when she remembers the slogan "Ana Pauker si cu Dej - baga spaima in burgeji" (Ana Pauker and [Gheorghiu] Dej scare the bourgeois) cried out at forced mass rallies. The "bourgeois" mentioned in this aggresive rhime had reasons to be scared of Pauker. Hundreds of thousands Romanians are estimated to have been emprisoned for political reasons, thousands of them tortured and killed, burried without a grave. Pauker believed she can "change things from inside?". Would _you_ join the Nazi party (for example) to improve its ethics???

No comments about The Sword of Moses, an Ancient Book of Magic: From an Unique Manuscript.

No comments about Every Person's Guide to Jewish Philosophy and Philosophers.