2 comments about Requiem for a German Past: A Boyhood among the Nazis.

1. I took courses in the History of Education under Dr. Herbst (1967-69)and found him to be a very engaging teacher--one of the best I had in graduate school. I knew nothing about his past, except that he was German-born, until I heard of this book. This man has a way with words! In this brief but very compact and vivid memoir, he deals with some of the great dilemmas of life--in any period--,although of course he focuses on the period 1928-1948, his first twenty years. Herbst's memoir reminds me of another memoir of a childhood that can teach us all many valuable lessons (Irving Louis Horowitz, DAYDREAMS AND NIGHTMARES). REQUIEM is profoundly gripping. A must-read (and probably re-read) to help us understand our own times . . .and our own selves.



2. Primarily a memoir for his first twenty years of life, Jurgen Herbst goes into great detail about his coming-of-age experiences in the Third Reich. He was raised in the Prussian military tradition emphasizing a strong sense of family, country, and church, and thus spends his adolescence trying to reconcile these notions with the propaganda and events of Hitler's Reich. He joins the Jungvolk (as all youths in Germany were required) and sees it primarily as a means to advance into the military career he has always dreamed of. Along the way, through his experiences, he sees that the Third Reich is not all it claims to be.
   
   Herbst's book, which reads very much like a novel, is one-of-a-kind; not many books describe the life and experiences of boys in the Jungvolk or the Hitler Jugend. Even if you only have a cursory interest in Nazi Germany, I highly recommend reading this book.

5 comments about The Sergeant in the Snow.

1. I am shocked to find the great many people who are unaware of Mussollinni's ill-fated pursuit of glory in the east. His broken dreams left many Italian families orphaned and widowed. This well written account of the brutality of combat on the Eastern front is a fine addition to any WW2 eastern front library. It is well written and fascinating.



2. The words in the title are those of one of the author's close comrades-in-arms in the Tridentina Division, which had been attached to the Italian 8th Army on the western bank of the Don in 1942. In December of that year, the Romanians on the left flank of the Tridentines buckled under a strong Soviet offensive, and the Italians found themselves suddenly enveloped. Ordered to withdraw on 19 December, the Italians, along with Romanian and Hungarian remnants and remnants of the German 298th Infantry Division, marched west through icy wind, snowstorms and heavy drifts in an attempt to break out of the pocket. Sergeant in the Snow is a vivid first-person account of the story of this macabre odyssey up to the climactic Battle of Nikolajewka on 26 January 1943 and its aftermath.
   
   Rigoni's memoir is at once urgent, tragic, heroic and poetic. He relays the essence of the Italian spirit, so different from that of the stern and disciplined Germans, and recounts in flowing narrative and earthy dialogue exactly what it was like to march, hungry and exhausted, over 300 miles in the Russian winter. Rigoni divides his memoir into two parts: (1) the Strongpoint, wherein he tells the story of his division's struggle to repulse Soviet thrusts on the Don, and (2) the Bag, wherein he tells the story of the breakout from the pocket (the bag). As mentioned above, the climax of the action, and there is plenty of that here, takes place on the memorable 26th of January when the Italians and Germans defeat, at terrible cost, three Soviet divisions at Nikolajewka and finally break out of the encirclement: "My men hesitate, hold back, one or two of them are already wounded, and I shout: 'Come on.' I too hesitate a bit, but we're in it now, whatever happens."
   
   In the midst of battle chaos and the fog of war at Nikolajewka, one of those inexplicable and mysterious episodes occurs when the famished Rigoni enters an isba only to find a group of Russian soldiers there: "They're armed. With the red stars on their caps. My rifle's in my hand. I look at them, turned to stone. They're eating round a table, taking the food with a wooden spoon from a common bowl. And they look at me with their spoons held in mid-air....There are also some women. One takes a plate, fills it with milk and meal and offers it to me with a spoon from the common bowl....No one breathes a word. The only sound is of the spoon in my plate; and of each of my mouthfuls....The Russian soldiers watch me go out, without moving."
   
   Kudos to Northwestern University Press for bringing this remarkable book to light again. Unfortunately, the book is small and the print small, too. The translator's grammar and mechanics are somewhat archaic, and there is the glaring, almost unforgivable, absence of any maps. Dialogue should be rendered in alternating paragraphs as each character speaks, thus reducing the possibility of the reader's being confused. Although there are some footnotes along the way, this excellent memoir would certainly benefit from a thorough re-edit to include many more. In spite of these publishing flaws, The Sergeant in the Snow is a far better memoir than Guy Sajer's The Forgotten Soldier and as good as Bidermann's In Deadly Combat. Highly recommended.



3. very spontaneous and genuine story, of young people catapulted across Europe for no reason, and still performing their duties and trying to be human. you can rely feel the soldiers pain and the bitter russian winter with the words used by the author.



4. Mario Rigoni Stern's slim memoir of his World War Two experiences sheds light on the effective destruction of the Corpo di Spedizione Italiano (CSIR) in Russia, which is perhaps one of the lesser-known events of the Eastern Front and of the entire war itself. As a personal narrative, Stern's view is from the ground and he offers little or no strategic view of how these events came to pass. This however, adds to the book because as a grunt--even in a position roughly equivalent to an American platoon sergeant of today--he wouldn't have had much access to or inclination to see the war in such a manner.
   
   Plenty of combat abounds through the short tale. Particularly once Stern and his fellows realize the entire front is collapsing and that they're caught in a "bag," slang for encirclement by the Soviets, the fighting becomes fierce. It is interesting to read the accounts of Italians, Germans, Hungarians and other taking part together in desperate attacks to break out of the Axis Powers' first epic disaster on the Eastern Front.
   
   Throughout the book courses one vein of thought that is ever-present in Stern and his soldiers: survival. "Shall we ever get home?" one soldier asks of Stern every time he sees him. "Which direction is Italy in?" others asks from the middle of the frozen steppes. And as the situation deteriorates during the long retreat westwards, Stern constantly commands and reminds the men to "always stick together." Alas, as these memoirs always illustrate, many do not make it home.
   
   A short but good work covering the Italian experience in World War Two, Stern tells his tale of the Italian Army's fortunes as seen and lived through by one of its peasant and elite Alpini soldiers.



5. A slightly different perspective makes this novella unique. The thread of a soldier on the eastern front in the cold Russian winter is a common one but this time it is based on the memoirs of an Italian. A good and quick read.

5 comments about Remembering Ahanagran: Storytelling in a Family's Past.

1. In tracing the "representative" story of his mother's life, the author provides an insight into the motivation and experience of the Irish immigrant. There is also an interesting lesson on the difference between memory and history. Both of these items are of particular interest to the genealogist.



2. Too often the well written and engaging memoir is disengaged from the careful checking of facts and ordering relationships that is the mark of the historian. Richard White tells the story of his Mother's family in Ireland and Chicago, draws on the family stories that he was told, and then relates them to the historical facts and records. The result is a book that is better than it would have been had he relied on a single methodology, and the story is more engrossing than it would be otherwise. While other reviewers would have critisized this methodology, I find that his ability to show where and why discrepancies arise between memory and fact is extraordinarily illuminating.



3. This is a fascinating memoir, alternating between memory and historical records. The remembrances of the author's mother of her early life in western Ireland and her later immigration to the United States are set against his searches for the actual historical documents and records of these events.
   This is not a sentimental or saccharine biography, but an unflinching look at the lives of the respected-historian author's relatives and neighbors, both in Ireland and in America.
   I read it over several days, and would have finished it sooner had I not found myself lost in thought so many times over what records might support-- or contradict--the stories of my own mother and grandmother. I am telling all my friends about this book.



4. I did not find White's actual content all that engrossing. His historian's determination to separate fact from his mother's "storytelling" embellishments or lacunae follow the usual patterns of such explorations into the clash of contrasts. The Irish mom-meets-Jewish American dad that gave birth to White appealed to me, but reading the pages of life in Chicago in the 30s vs. his father's military stint made this book little different than a self-penned history of one's family by the designated genealogist in the clan. White does write considerably better than such amateurs, but what he writes about does not rise above the mundane or the all-too-familiar tales of peasant agitation, the old IRA, and the leaving of the village for the big city.
   
   His eye occasionally gleans the telling detail, regardless. A petition for citizenship reveals that the husband does not know his wife's birthday, and his guess is off three years. His mother is asked as a 16-year-old at entrance to the country if she was a polygamist. The legend of St Rita, patron of the Chicago parish his family lived in tells in its own moral that God shapes you up only then to kill you off. Jack Benny and Father Coughlan were the radio shows one never missed on Sunday.
   
   One detail shows an error on White's part: on pg. 23 he claims that his relatives had their baptismal names "Gaelicized" by the priest as Helen-Hellena and William-Guilielmo, but surely this is the customary Latinization found on many Catholic documents rather than a return to the Irish which would make Eileen and Liam?
   
   This book reminds me of a few others that have recently delved into the Irish-meets-American immigrant encounter. Thomas Lynch's "Booking Passage," also looking at North Kerry, would complement White's book. His style in its spareness yet its eloquence reminds me of Henry Glassie, the folklorist who compiled "Irish Folktales" and chronicled a Fermanagh community in "Passing the Time at Ballymenone." Finally, books like David Monagan's "Jaywalking with the Irish" and Steve Fallon's "Home with Alice" similarly compare Irish American memories with extended Irish residences.



5. An excellent, in-depth exploration of his mother's Irish past and of her coming to America as a young girl. He takes family stories and investigates them through his historian's training. Of course, many times he finds the facts don't support the story, as family stories change over time and blend different events or are shaped by changing perspectives. So then he explores the power of the story, regardless of its veracity, and then explores the facts to more fully understand the world that shaped the people from whom he is descended.
   
   The book is a history lesson in how family's work and don't work. And it is a history lesson in the politics, morals, and folkore of rural Ireland and Chicago's South Side.
   
   A rich, well-written book. You do not need to be Irish to enjoy it.

5 comments about Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland.

1. A wonderful book by Tomie dePaola filled with helpful information about the true story of St. Patrick's life, as well as fun legends attributed to the patron Saint of Ireland. dePaola's bold illustrations lend to the attraction of the book. He mentions at the end of the book his reasons for writing it and his attraction to Saint Patrick. My own eight year old son has a strong devotion to Saint Patrick and this book is among his favorites. I appreciate the clear differentiation between fact and legend in this book and would highly recommend it for any family.



2. Growing up in an Irish Catholic family myself, I had heard a great deal about St. Patrick. When we received this book as a gift I started reading it to my children, and they loved it. There were stories even I hadn't heard about St. Pat! As with his St. Francis book, Tomie DePaola's book holds children's interest throughout the many stories while other books of this length lose children. Kids remember the stories and repeat them because they are told so lovingly and in such a fun way! I now bring this book to their school and read it to all their classrooms every St. Patrick's Day to let children know that there is more to Patrick than green beer!



3. This book is fine if you are Catholic, but I was hoping for something more accessible for non-Catholics. For example, the legend of the shamrock is not very meaningful if you are not already acquainted with the trinity or Jesus or the Holy Spirit, etc. This would definitely not be a book to use to teach anything about the Catholic faith to non-Catholic, non-Christian children, which is what I was hoping to use it for.
   
   I like how dePaola has a section at the end for the legends of St. Patrick, separating these from the biography. I was raised an Irish Catholic and I was hoping to be able to share some of that heritage with my own children through this book, but in the end, all of the miracles and mumbo jumbo are too hard to swallow. My daughter was confused about which parts of the story were "real" and which were "for pretend." I think it was a little too much for her to choke down. I had to try to explain to her what baptism is, but she just stared at me blankly.
   
   The illustrations are quite lovely, and I would recommend this book highly for all Catholic school libraries.



4. I have always enjoyed the picture books of Tomie dePaola. His unique illustration style is immediately recognizable and is reminiscent of religious icons found in Catholic and Orthodox churches.
   
   Not surprisingly, dePaola often tackles Christian themes, making them accessible for younger readers and their parents. Among my all-time favorite children's book is his "The Clown of God," which I have enjoyed reading to children prior to Christmas.
   
   "Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland" is another such book. The simple narrative mainly addresses Patrick's early years as a British boy, captured by the Irish to become a slave shepherd in Ireland. After many years alone in prayer, he escapes, but eventually is called in a dream to return to Ireland to spread the love of God. After religious studies, becoming a missionary and then a bishop, he finally returns to Ireland, setting up churches, but not without opposition from some of the local rulers.
   
   What I appreciate about this version of St. Patrick's story is the dependency on historical fact in the main narrative. The book concludes with six one-page summaries of the better-known legends of Ireland's patron saint, such as driving out the snakes, and his use of the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. Refreshingly, these legends are briefly, but affectionately, told without judgment. It is left to the reader (or the parent) to decide what to make of them.
   
   The author concludes with a one-page epilogue, lovingly explaining how he was introduced as a young child to St. Patrick by his Irish Catholic grandparents.



5. This is a very lovely presentation of the life of St. Patrick. I used it for a vacation bible school group of 2nd and 3rd graders. They easily understood the story and really loved the pictures.

1 comments about Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind: The Life and Letters of an Irish Zen Saint.

1. Maura O'Halloran was a dear friend from childhood. We always knew she was special and different. Her journal entries, compiled and edited by her family, allowed a glimpse into a life of adventure, personal development, austerity, reflection, and achievement. Her story is presented in a chronological diary format, easy to read, and truly inspirational. Her writings reveal that she was indeed special, and her life a gift to all of who shared a moment in time with her.

5 comments about Under the Eye of the Clock.

1. To learn about such an exceptional poet who, without the faith of his family, would never have been revealed to the world, gives the reader a new view of people's limitations. I bought 12 copies of this book (when it was in print)and somehow have given them all away over time.



2. As a college English and literature instructor, I intend to make this book a required reading if it becomes available in print again. It should bless all readers because it becomes a reminder that NO matter what the circumstances, people should still be respected, loved, and appreciated. And, with this in mind, the reader may receive a self-esteem boost when being reminded of inner-personal value. I appreciate this book so much. I have three copies and continually loan them out.



3. Under the Eye of the Clock is the autobiography of Christopher Nolan, the talented young poet with cerebral palsy. He can't walk or talk or write in the usual manner. Since Nolan lacks the use of his hands, this book like Dam-Burst of Dreams, the book of poems that preceded it, was written by means of a typing stick affixed to his head. The book succeeds both as pure artistry and as a window into the world of the disabled. Nolan has re-named himself Joseph Meehan and told his story entirely in the objectivity of the third person. This brilliant stroke allows him to avoid excessive self-pity while making his sufferings and triumphs real and deep. Nolan's use of language had earned him comparisons with James Joyce, Yeats, and Dylan Thomas. Nolan stretches the meanings and implications of words, rearranges their spelling, and even invents new ones to communicate his moods and perceptions and illuminate life, his own and those he observes, with his unique poet's sensibility.



4. Christopher Nolan's "Under The Eye Of The Clock" is an autobiographical account of his incredibly awe-inspiring and miraculous life. Born a cripple, he could have been consigned to the rubbish heap but instead and against all odds became a celebrated writer of this Whitbread Book winner, "The Banyan Tree" as well as an early book of poems. Without taking anything away from Joseph Meehan (a self portrait of Nolan), he couldn't have overcome his debilitating handicaps to scale the heights he did without the steady support and tender loving care of his family. A father, mother and sister who are such warm and emotionally intelligent human beings anybody would be blessed and proud to have them as family. The school principals, teachers and fellow students who accepted him, nurtured him and gave him the chance to prove himself equal to the best among physically whole human specimens are themselves shining examples of humanity who deserve as much recognition in Nolan's lifestory. Although it has been compared with James Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man", it is in reality nothing like it. Whereas Joyce's work is for the most part depressing and full of pain and harshness, Nolan's story is so morally uplifting you almost forget its grave subject matter. Nolan's dazzling and inventive writing style is also unique and something to relish. He coins and mints new words which have a yet found a conventional meaning but are so emotionally accurate you know they're right. Read this if you're feeling down and need something to restore your faith in mankind !



5. I found my way to this book after I had read "The Banyan Tree" by Christopher Nolan. This was a book that I read and reviewed back in February, and ever since I have been mystified why the book never seemed to gain the wide acceptance of readers. All of the reviews that have been posted by readers for "The Banyan Tree" have been 5 star reviews, and the same is the case for "Under The Eye Of The Clock".

   If you read you understand how difficult it is to write anything, much less a full book, and then have it selected for and win a prestigious award. In the case of the book I review now it was the 1987 Whitbred Award that was awarded to Mr. Nolan. All very impressive, but that's just the start.

   This is an autobiography written by a very young man who next wrote the book "The Banyan Tree" and would take 12 years to do so. This is a painfully candid, but uplifting book about a man with the support of a wonderful Family overcomes extreme realities that are his life to become an Author of international renown.

   Mr. Nolan cannot speak, he can barely move at all. He types with what he calls his "Unicorn Stick" that he wears on his head, and even then his head must be supported while he works.

   An Autobiography is a courageous work if honestly presented. When you add Mr. Nolan's additional challenges he faces as a writer, and as a person living with his physical issues it becomes an extraordinary autobiographical book.

   I hope more readers find Mr. Nolan, he is a unique writer of immense talent, and if you pass by his work you deprive yourself of great literature.

2 comments about The Life of John Milton: A Critical Biography (Blackwell Critical Biographies).

1. This is, indeed, the most exhaustive modern biography of John Milton. The renowned critic Barbara Lewalski, as usual, offers the students and scholars of Milton an enchanting biographical masterpiece that both narrates and captures Milton's story and history from his early childhood "The childhood Strews the Man" to his last breath "Teach the every Soul". Mocking Samuel Johnson's theory on writing a biography, Lewalski, without eating, drinking, or living in social intercourse with Milton, has succeed in writing an impressive biography of Milton through, as she mockingly asserts, living in intellectual and artistic intercourse with Milton. Reading this book, to the surprise of Johnson, one will find him/herself eating, drinking, and living social intercourse with john Milton thanks to the scholarly talent of Barbara Lewlaski.



2. Incredibly interesting and really a good, hard look at the life of John Milton and what inspired him and what aroused his wrath. His poems are eternal and deal with things secular and spiritual. His words have come down to us through many centuries and they are still as powerful as the day he wrote them. What a true genius! What a stunningly beautiful biography...I couldn't put it down.

5 comments about The Heart and Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power (New Cultural Studies).

1. If you are intrigued by the life and reign of Elizabeth I, you will enjoy this book, whether you agree with all the author's conclusions or not. She gives some interesting insights to the challenges Elizabeth faced as a female monarch and describes how Elizabeth both compensated for her femininity and used it to her advantage during her reign. You will also get a taste of how Elizabethan culture affected the politics of her reign. The book takes an academic approach but is very readable by a layperson. I gave it a 7 only because it slows down in places and I think the author is reaching in making some of the connections between gender and politics that she does. But overall, interesting insights to Elizabeth as leader.



2. Carole Levin's study of Elizabeth I is unprecedented. This study not only gives readers who are unfamiliar with Elizabeth an idea of her life and desires, but it is explicates the problems behind a woman being a monarch in her own right in 16th century England. If one is interested in both English Monarchy and Women's Studies, this study will be enjoyed.



3. This is a beautifully researched, well written, thought provoking study of how one of the most interesting and powerful women in history negotiated gender restrictions during her 45 year reign. Not just a standard biography, "Heart and Stomach" looks carefully at Elizabeth's use of gender perceptions and roles to present herself as the great queen that she was. I've used this book as a text in the classroom and I've recommended it to readers and scholars who are interested in all things Renaissance and in women's history. It's always a hit!



4. "I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have th heart and stomach of a King" - Elizabeth I

   This quote from Elizabeth I says a lot about this book. Professor Carole Levin examines how Elizabeth I was able to use her role as a woman (where traditionally, the public viewed women as incapable, weak, dependant) to her advantage and at the same time she ruled like a "King". Levin also examined how Elizabeth was so successful in her reign and at the same time, she was not the typical "woman" of her time; she was childless, and unmarried. She portrayed herself as a "Virgin Queen" - as in she was married to her country.

   It is important to note that this is not a biography of Elizabeth I but a book that gives a new perspective of Elizabeth I, that helps us to understand the overlapping of politics with gender and sexuality. Levin did an excellent job in using unconventional sources such as gossips, rumors, religious works, diplomatic correspondence that makes it a distinctive scholarly work. This book is also very easy to read, and even if you don't have a substantial backgroup in pre-modern European history, you will not have a problem in reading this book




5. In an age when the English government lacked a professional bureaucracy or a standing army, the authority of a monarch rested on their legitimacy. As a woman occupying a position traditionally held by men, Elizabeth I faced a special set of challenges in this regard. Trapped between the contrasting expectations of sexuality and politics, she sought to represent herself in a way that allowed her to maintain her legitimacy - and thus her power - in a tumultuous age. In this book, Carol Levin analyzes Elizabeth's efforts to project this image, as well as how she was perceived by her contemporaries as both a woman and in her role as a monarch.
   
   In a series of overlapping essays, Levin focuses on her court's manipulation of images of royalty and the public's reaction to them. The essays are roughly chronological, as the early ones examine the problems of her succession and the early response to her rule, while the later ones consider the challenges she faced as her reign came to an end. Throughout the chapters, Levin charts the ways in which Elizabeth balanced the contrasting expectations she faced, in the end successfully assuming the masculine roles her position required while still exhibiting the femininity her people expected of her.
   
   Levin's book is an interesting, if fragmented examination of Elizabeth's images and how they were received. Her study of these often overlooked elements of Elizabeth's reign helps the reader understand how Elizabeth succeeded as a woman in one of the most masculine of jobs. While few of the arguments she makes are original, she presents her case effectively with a convincing analysis backed by considerable research. For anyone seeking to learn how Elizabeth balanced the demands of her position with those of her gender, this is a good book to read.

5 comments about Bismarck and Germany 1862-1890 (2nd Edition) (Seminar Studies in History Series).

1. This is an excellent book for a person looking to learn more about Otto von Bismarck and his role in Prussia and Germany. It is well written and easy to understand and follow.



2. The book gives great examples of bismarks rise to power and how it it effected worl politics.



3. Williamson does a brilliant job of simplifying the complex German policies before World War I. An interesting read for anyone who enjoys history.



4. The book is well written and organized. It helps to understand the complexity of German policy of the 2nd part of 19th century with maximal simplicity. But it should not be your first book if you know nothing about Bismark or divided Germany



5. Newcomers to the exciting story of Germany's war-driven unification process will find this book extremely useful. It assumes no prior knowledge on the part of the reader, but gives enough detail to be considered a decent summary of recent historical research. Older hands will admire the sound judgements and the choice of primary sources. This is one of the best in the excellent Seminar Studies series.

1 comments about Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity.

1. Professor McKitterick's magisterial examination of Charlemagne is a welcome addition to literature on the King of the Franks,after 800 Emperor. The book is not a biographical narrative but an examination of five central concepts: (1) Charlemagne's contemporary "representation," that is, how he was portrayed in chronicles and other accounts, (2) the creation of the "Pippinid" dynasty, beginning with Charlemagne's father, Pippin III, and his grandfather Charles Martel, (3) Charlemgne's court, (4)royal communication in the Frankish kingdom and Empire, and (5) the relationship between knowledge and the exercise of power, with special reference to religious authority. This book is best read with a prior understanding of 8th and 9th century Continental history or after first reading a general recent biography on Charlemagne such as Derek Wilson's Charlemagne: A Biography. McKitterick's well-written book will likely serve as a standard reference for years to come. This is an excellent book.