4 comments about The Promised Land (Penguin Classics).

1. It is hard to believe I never was required to read this wonderful book, and I am thankful to have discovered it as a result of reading a children's book based on it (by Rosemary Wells, also highly recommended) to my children. The circumstances of its writing are remarkable; the images luminous and the prose unbelievably beautiful for any author, especially for a recent immigrant. But it is the insight into her personality, culture and psyche which appeal to me the most. You will also like the personalities you meet through her. This book should be read by anyone who loves the English language, loves America, or just loves a window into the soul of another.



2. This was a very interesting account of an immigrant girl's life in America. The first half of the book is about her life in Russia and it is helpful in explaining what type of world the author came from and why America was such a new world to her. I found the factual accounts in this book fascinating but when Ms. Antin started spouting her theories about life and about herself (which she does quite a bit), she appeared to me to be tiresome and conceited. I would recommend this book because it does give an interesting perspective on the life of an immigrant, although it can get very bogged down in places.



3. Mary Antin's experiences presumably match the experiences of many immigrants coming to America in the heady days just before the dawn of the twentienth century. The Promised Land, for that reason, holds a high degree of historical interest for anyone with a fascination for this period and the process of an immigrant's journey from their mother country to their new home. I wish I could recommend it more highly but it is written in such drippingly purple tones that at times it comes close to being cringe worthy. The author did possess a high degree of self awareness but an often low degree of awareness of others that makes her endlessly new revelations about herself seem more and more self-centred. This book is of its time with its concern for the early progessive movements' ideas about cleanliness and the prose stylings from the end of the nineteenth century. It can a little hard going but is worth the effort for a look at one woman's journey to an America that once followed the words written on the Statue of Liberty.



4. I remember reading this work years ago in connection with the study I was then making of American Jewish Literature. My impression was much that of another Amazon reader. It is at times a vivid account of a new immigrant experience, but the tale is not told with the deepest intensity of feeling. It may be unfair but the comparison which comes to mind is with Henry Roth's "Call it Sleep" which is a fictional work but one which goes deep into the soul and consciousness. This work is a more externally directed narrative, and has its virtue in giving a picture of one person's move to the New World.

1 comments about Ponary Diary, 1941-1943: A Bystander's Account of a Mass Murder.

1. I've decided to read this book because I visited Vilnius (Lithuania) last month and there I visited the KGB museum. The museum is very impressive, but where it does show a lot of wrongs of the KGB (when the Soviets were in power in Lith.), it hardly mentions anything at all about the significant role local Lithuanians played in the Holocaust during WW II. I stumbled upon this title by surfing Amazon, and then decided to order it. The 'Ponary Diary' is hard to digest realy. It is an almost casual diary of a Polish journalist who lived in the area of the infamous killing fields of Ponary. What I found so hard to digest, is the matter-of-fact style in which the entries are written. There is no emotion whatsoever, Sakowicz could have been describing the local cattle slaugther-house. But maybe it is a good thing he writes in such a distanced way, so the facts (the things he actually witnessed with his very own eyes) don't get blurred. I'm glad I read this book, but I would not want to read it again. It is that hard to take. (What bothered me also a bit, was the fact that nothing was written by way of an epilogue, of what happened to those sadistic Lithuanian and German mass-murderers. They remain nameless and faceless for the most part).

5 comments about Chutzpah.

1. Overall, I am a huge fan of Dershowitz's books. I thoroughly enjoyed the Best Defense, From Genesis to Justice, and even his novel, A Just Revenge. I felt, though, that Dershowitz went a little overboard with his views of Jews in America. In many ways, I am almost embarassed to be viewed in the same light as him (As a Jew) because of his extreme views. He made it seem as if the world was out to get Jews, even in America. He does make many good points about Jewish identity in America, but to me he comes across as whining more than discussing.

   He does use some great arguments and has a pretty clear account of Jewish history in America. His description of his family and neighborhood is nice to read to understand where he grew up and what his background is. I especially liked his description of his own family as I was reminded in many ways of my own.

   I gave the book 2 stars but that is compared with his other books. It is not a bad book or a bad read. In many ways, I found it very informative but I would choose one of his other books rather than this one.




2. I was initially engrossed while reading about the history of the Dershowitz family and their lives in Brooklyn. As the book progressed, it was more like a very long "rant" about anti-Semitism, and the miserable plight of American Jews. As an American Jew living in the rural western US, I cannot relate to the discrimination described and felt by the author. As with any religion outside the mainstream of the popular culture, Jews will always be considered as "different". We set ourselves apart from others by our values, moral beliefs, and our observances.



3. Plenty of Jews exhibit chutzpah (nerve). But there is a flip side to this, the fear of "shanda fur de goyim" (embarrassment in front of the gentiles).
   
   Dershowitz analyzes the discrimination he's seen against Jews. In some places, it is non-existent. In others, it is significant. In yet others, it is striking. He begins with his experiences in trying to find employment as a summer hire in various law firms. Of course, discrimination against people on the basis of race, religion, gender, and (if known) sexual preference is now much less than it used to be. But we see some of the history of it among law firms and at Harvard.
   
   One issue that I found intriguing was that of the Carmelite convent at Auschwitz. Now, I do not see any reason for Jews or anyone else to consider Auschwitz, of all places, holy ground. But I am well aware that many people do consider it as such, and I respect their views on the matter. And it was up to the Catholic authorities whether or not to make a deal with the Jews to not have a Carmelite convent at Auschwitz. But once the Catholics made that deal and a bunch of nuns broke it, a rabbi and six other Jews were totally within their rights to ask the nuns to explain what they were doing there, and even "trespass" on convent grounds to pray. And it was certainly out of line for Polish Cardinal Glemp to make a totally wild and preposterous accusation, namely that these Jews were trying to murder the nuns and destroy the convent. I think Dershowitz was right to take the case against Glemp for defamation here.
   
   There is an good chapter about Zionism. That includes a discussion of Jewish antizionism. Dershowitz explains the pressure on Jews to be antizionist and to oppose Israel as Jews. He thinks they are wrong to do so. I agree. I think everyone ought to support Israel's (or any other nation's) right to exist as a human being, or oppose it as a human being! Or be neutral as a human being.
   
   I recommend this book.



4. Norman Finkelstein conclusively demonstrates that Dershowitz is a plagiarizer and that his claims about Israel's "superb" human rights record are complete bunk. All reputable human rights organizations support Finkelstein's arguments and not Dershowitz's. Dershowitz's book merits a minus 10, but the lowest grade one can give it is one star. The fact that one can find copies of this book for sale for 1 cent indicate its scholarly and moral usefulness. Dershowitz is now involved in a concerted campaign to have Finkelstein shut down, pressuring Harvard Bookstore and the Barnes and Noble bookstore at DePaul University in Chicago to cancel speaking engagements by Finkelstein. Harvard cancelled its invitation for fear of "economic retaliation," Barnes and Noble said the book was "too controversial," and invited Dershowitz to speak about his "book" instead.



5. Mr. Chutzpah is a Harvard Law professor. Called on his attributing the Joan Peters' awful neologism "turnspeak" to Orwell Mr. Chutzpah publicly attributed it to Huxley. The less said about the (lack of) erudition of Harvard Law professors the better it seems.
   
   Dean Elena Kagan of Harvard, a tireless defender of Mr. Chutzpah, who seems to have never walked when she could crawl instead, may wish to revise Harvard advertising to put in disclaimers with respect to the law school: that Harvard's general reputation notwithstanding, she makes no assurances as to the quality of present faculty like Mr. Chutzpah.
   
   Mr. Chutzpah, when he is not defending pornographers and the like of O.J. Simpson, works with his lawyers at Cravath, Swain and Moore to suppress books critical of him and his shoddy "scholarship". Such as Norman G. Finkelstein's devastating takedown Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History.

3 comments about A Place To Hide: True Stories Of Holocaust Rescues (Scholastic Biography).

1. I think this book was very interesting although some of the stories were boring that is why i gave it a 4 and not a 5 star overall I think this book is good and I think you should own it too.



2. This slim, accessible volume relates the stories of five heroes (or sets of heroes) who hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II at great risk to their lives and families.

   Two are somewhat familiar:

   Miep Santrouschitz, who hid Anne Frank and her family in a tiny apartment above a business in Holland.

   and

   Oskar Schindler (subject of the movie "Schindler's List") who spent his fortune bribing the Nazis in order to save over one thousand Jews from the death camps.
   
   The others are lesser-known, but quite fascinating (and inspiring):

   The story of Denmark, under it's remarkable king Christian X, and it's resistance against the Nazis; It is difficult to sum up all the remarkable pieces of this story in a few words, but the Danes ferried over 8,000 Jews to safety in Sweden (under the noses of enemy warships) over the course of three months. (a good children's book about this incident in particular is "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry)

   Andre and Magda Trocme and the city of Le Chambon France who provided a place of refuge for many Jews.

   Padre Niccacci of Assisi, Italy, who rescued many Jews, even hiding them in the cloistered convents (this is also the subject of a movie called "The Assisi Underground").

   Each story is approximately 20 pages in length, followed by a collection of six shorter stories (a page or two each).

   The stories are written in a way to be inspiring to children without getting too gruesome or overwhelming in "mature" details. Although this isn't a great work of literature, the heroism of the stories come through to help children begin to grasp the idea of evil in the world while putting their finger on excellent examples of those who did something about it. In this way, the book is neither depressing nor pessimistic, but instead allows the noble actions of great people to live on in the understanding of young people today.




3. This is one of the best collections of stories for children (all ages) about Holocaust rescuers around the world!
   It teaches the concept of being committed to doing what is right, regardless of the possible cost to self!
   
   A great teaching tool --- I have used it with many classes over the years!

2 comments about The Ground Under My Feet.

1. This is a solitary dialogue between a fully realized self and its
   tentative first incarnations as child, adolescent, and young adult.
   You will be sitting while listening to the voices of the dialogue;
   but occasionally you will feel the need to stand. For you will want
   to honor not only the author who had the wisdom, courage and honesty
   to reevaluate those who participated in earlier stages of her life,
   but also those among her cast of characters for whom her voice built
   an enduring monument.



2. Growing up in a time where one is the target a growing mass genocide - not a childhood anyone should experience. "The Ground Under My Feet" is the story of author Eva Kollisch and growing up as a survivor of one of the worst atrocities in history. In the form of anecdotes and essays, she tells all, reflecting on the past and making amends with those who once oppressed her and whom she considered enemies. A heartwarming and inspiring book, "The Ground Under my Feet" is highly recommended for community library Holocaust Studies collections.

No comments about Theresienstadt: Hitler's Gift to the Jews.

No comments about American Jewish Women's History: A Reader.

5 comments about When I Was a Soldier.

1. When I saw the "JUV" label on the spine of Valerie Zenatti's memoir I must confess I was quite a bit apprehensive about delving further into the book than its front and back covers. However, I must urge you not to make such a mistake; this book merits a read, not just a look.
   
   I was born and raised in New York, about half a world away from Israel: the notion of entering mandatory military service upon turning eighteen is so alien that I had to continually remind myself while reading that this work was not by Robert Heinlein but rather by Valerie Zenatti. Nonetheless the latter, serving as protagonist and narrator, does a wonderful job shepherding her reader through compulsory "peacetime" military service. This is hardly the demoralizing world of boot camp we have all seen 307 times in literature and film. Valerie isn't dressed-down by an evil drill sergeant, her head isn't shaved, and she doesn't lose her identity to become a faceless cog in the military machine.
   Valerie's story and rite of passage is much subtler. She drifts apart from her friends but only as much as can be expected. Her superiors are more often than not women a few years older than her. At the conclusion of the story she doesnt find herself in a pitched gun battle but instead in a routine surveillance op. The freshness of the tale never ceased to keep me involved.
   
   Politically the book is fairly neutral. Characters express both left and right-wing sides to Israel's questions, with the author actually falling more on the former. Though I am not someone intimately acquainted with the struggle between Israel and its neighbors, I beleive that this book would be acceptable to most audiences. First and foremost it is the story of an 18-year old girl; it rarely stops to comment on politics and certainly never preaches.
   "When I Was a Soldier" is an exceptionally quick read (indeed so much so as to be a detriment; though the book has a decent narrative structure I would have preferred more of Valerie's second year and a less abrupt ending) and a good one. It has not lost its wit, charm, or exigence in translation and I thoroughly reccomend it.



2. When I first saw this book, I thought I was in for a great war story. This book is more than that. Zenatti tells her fantastic story about how she managed to leave her friends and family, loose her boyfriend, and still work so hard in the Army that she earns to be in the Secret Service. Usually when you read biographies, you think of endless boring facts, but when you read this, it's like you are right there with Valerie. You feel what she does, and you just get right into the story. I recomend this to, well, everyone. If you do plan to get this book, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.



3. Book Review of When I Was A Soldier:
   When our grade was assigned to read a nonfiction book, I groaned. The class then went to the library to pick out, either a biography, an autobiography, or a memoir. I searched and searched for a book that didn't look too boring, but all were things like Jane Arre or something else without a plot. I was on the verge of despair, when I saw a book in the corner of the room that didn't have soft watercolor pictures of ladies in frilly hoop skirts and a scrawling title, but that had a picture of a young girl in an army uniform on it with the title When I Was A Soldier. Ever since I was little, I've always wondered what it would be like to be a soldier and for many years I had the dream of one day joining the army and being a hero that girls everywhere would look up to and say that girls could do anything. Now that I've grown out of that aspiration, the feminist part of me, and the interest in the army remains, so I picked up the book. The back cover had a passage form the book on it that mirrored perfectly my views; "Why should I hide the fact? I'm fascinated by my submachine gun. They're instruments of death and we're finding them easier and easier to handle. We don't think for a moment that we might that for real someday. But at the same time, it's the ultimate sign that we really are soldiers, on completely equal terms with the boys. And it makes me feel proud." It's perfect. I checked out the book and put it in my locker to take home, and eventually forgot about it. That night I remembered it and started reading. I couldn't stop.
   This book is a passage in Valerie Zenatti's life that illiterates the duties, drawbacks, and rewards of being in the Israeli army. She writes about the average soldier in a peaceful base far away from any fighting. You wouldn't expect this; I was expecting wondrous heroics and endless action. But I was wrong. Valerie describes her two years in the army with a sense that she is living through it at that very time, and not years later. She vividly describes the conditions at her bases and her tasks with the emotions of a growing teen-ager. She writes about her anger and sorrow on losing friends and lovers, and her wishes for the future on gaining new ones. I was very impressed by this book and how it was written. I highly recommend this to young adults and those who have a bad stereotype of nonfiction books. This will change how you look at the genre. I truly intend to read more nonfiction books in the future.



4. Being both informative and inspiring, When I Was a Soldier really lets you see the world through a girl soildier's eyes and get a glimpse into Jewish culture and history.
   This book is about a girl named Valerie who starts off as your average 17 year old. However, when she turns 18, she is forced to join the army, and her life turns upsidedown. As she juggles her friends, family, the army, and the despair of losing her boyfriend, she holds tight to her dream of one day writing a book.
   With determination, hop, persistence, and bravery, Valerie Zeratti shows shows the world what it truly means to be a girl soilder.



5. In the book, When I was a Soldier, in my opinion, this was a very good memoir. The author, Valerie Zenatti, did a great job about writing what its like to be in the military for Israel. I really felt a sense of connection with the characters in the book. She did a great job at writing about scenery, character building, and self-inquiry.
   This book did a good job writing about scenery. When I was reading her descriptions of the surrounding area, I really almost felt as if I was there and I was easily able to picture the spot she was talking about. When she was talking and describing Tel Aviv, I could picture what it looked like in my mind. Her character description was also very well done. When she described certain characters I could imagine what they looked like without much thought. The descriptions she used were very in depth, but easy enough for almost any one to understand.
   The book also did a great job at showing her self-inquiry, it almost made me think about myself. From the time she left her home, to the time she left the military, she changed a lot. She started to question about the ways she thought or acted. When I read this book I also thought about the way I thought about some things. She was once immature and more worried about what people thought about her, she cared more about some guy who would stand her up rather then being the stronger person. When she started to question that, she started to become stronger, and now she cares more about doing what is right for her and what is best for her, rather then worrying about what some other person thinks. This memoir made me think about that a little bit as well.
   The character development in this memoir was also done very well. Her character started as a co-dependent eighteen year old about to go off into the military and she only cared about her boyfriend and her friends and she needed them. By the time she got out of the military, she was independent and didn't need her friends to live but still loved to have them around. Her other characters that she was with in the military also built up a lot of their own personalities as the memoir progressed. A lot of the characters in the story, by the end, had their own personalities and contributed their own special part to this memoir. In my opinion, that is one of the things in this memoir that made it very good.
   (And theres my extra credit for critical lit)

5 comments about Trap with a Green Fence: Survival in Treblinka (Jewish Lives).

1. None of the previous reviewers seem to know that Richard Glazar, a young Czech, is one of the most effective eyewitnesses in Claude Lanzmann's epic masterpiece, 'Shoah.' He appears at numerous points during the parts of the film that deal with Treblinka. What comes across is his vitality, integrity, and self-awareness. He was one of the few to survive the Treblinka revolt in August 1943 in which several hundred prisoners finally managed to break out, although most did not finally survive. Glazar appears too in interviews with Gitta Sereny, 'Into that Darkness,' in her study of Franz Stangl, the commandant of Treblinka. Glazar's work is utterly authentic and a MUST READ.



2. I read everything there is about Treblinka and I can tell you that this is one of the best accounts yet. Other alternatives are "A year in Treblinka" and Arad's "Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka: Aktion Reinhard Death Camps". Steiner's Treblinka is a very enjoyable work of fiction (but historicaly inacurate).



3. This book is just as excellent and disturbing as Willenburg's "Surviving Treblinka", but it has a different feel about it. Its almost as if he is telling the story as a detached observer, which, in some cases, caused the survival of many Nazi victims. It is very detailed but, amongst the suffering among the few prisoners chosed to sort the clothing of the dead, there is a hope you get out of it. There were of course prisoners who has to work in Camp 2, where the gas chambers were located and those prisoners has to unload the chambers and put them in mass graves, later replaced by huge pyres, also called the roasts. But Glazar worked in Camp One, first sorting clothes, and then getting a better position working in one of the sheds where packaged belongings were stored until the objects could fill up a train to head back to Lublin headquarters. One of the most interesting chapters is called "The Hangmen and the Gravediggers", where Glazar, while working in this shed, encountered and actually had relatively normal conversation and mingling with SS men who worked the camp. This chapter describes many SS men, calling some terrible, while others were not as bad as others. Corruption was the name of the game; that is, SS men would come to this shed to get fine clothing and other objects and would often keep them of send them home to their families. This practice was extremely against SS regulations, but it happened anyway. The rest of the book is very interesting as well, such as when Glazar was assigned to the forest brigage, who would collect pine branches and such to camoflauge the fences of the camp. The evolution of the revolt is great, despite terrible things that happended in the course of organizing the revolt, such as military leader of the revolt, Zhelo Bloch, a Jewish captain of the Czech Army, being sent to Camp 2, with its gas chambers and dead bodies everywhere, as punishment for numerical errors that occured one day when trains were being loaded up with the stolen goods of the Jews, trains that would go to Lublin and spread from there. And there was also the death of Dr. Chorozycki. He was found in possession of money that to be used in the purchase of arms to be used in the revolt. Kurt Franz made the discovery and the doctor attacked Franz with a surgical knife and blows from his fist, a great act of courage. The doctor managed to slip some cyanide tablets and he died before the SS could torture him, to try to get information from him. Terrible indeed, but the revolt still took place...ive said enough, just read this book! You will not be disappointed, particularly if you are already interested in the subject of the Holocaust. I would suggest anyone read it though. The book is depressing, but, to me atleast, the way it is told seems almost detached, and theres even monents of dark humor thrown in here and there, atleast thats how i percieve it. A moving book to say the least. Get it!



4. Richard Glazer, a Czech Jew, mentions his life in German-occupied Prague and then his arrival at Treblinka. Naked for the "shower", he gets pulled out of the line to the gas chamber by an SS man, and diverted to forced labor. Glazer then elaborates his experiences in Treblinka, giving a particularly good description of typhus and how it flourishes under the unsanitary conditions and is spread by lice (pp. 72-73). Glazer escapes Treblinka during the famous August 1943 revolt. He eventually gets caught by a Volksdeutsche, but avoids the death sentence for being a Jew, and ends up a forced laborer in Germany, where he is liberated. Glazer also recounts his "reunion" with 54 still-living Treblinka escapees during the trials of the Nazi war criminals in West Germany in the 1960's (pp. 195-196).
   
   Some Polish Jews discussing the possibility of escaping from Treblinka tried to discourage it by sinking to new lows of Polonophobic mythmaking. They actually asserted that Poles who help Jews no longer exist at all, and that 9 out of 10 Poles betray Jews (p. 84)--all without even stopping to think about the self-refuting nature of their absurdities. Just two sentences earlier, they had spoken about Jews who had escaped from Treblinka and returned to the Ghettos to warn the remaining Jews there (p. 83). If anything other than a trivial fraction of Poles betrayed Jews (let alone 9/10) then no Jews who escaped from Treblinka would've survived more than a day!
   
   In contrast, some Jews who contemplated the possibility of escaping from Treblinka had a realistic view of the situation. They recognized the fact that killers of fugitive Jews in the areas surrounding Treblinka were not, as often alleged, members of the Polish Underground (the AK and NSZ). They were simply bandits, many of whom pretended to be members of the AK and NSZ, and who killed both Jews and non-Jews at will: "A few kilometers farther into the woods you would come upon the partisans, and then a gang with nothing in common with partisans than the name. They rob, and they murder; they don't care whom they attack by night." (p. 105)
   
   When Richard Glazer actually escaped from Treblinka, he spent much time traversing the Polish countryside. He describes his peregrinations and the help he received from Poles. He passed by a long series of Polish villages, including Ostrow (p. 149), Wiszkow, Radzymin (p. 150), Rembertow, Solejuwky (p. 151), "...Piaseczno, Gora Kalwaria, Grojec, Mogielnica--those are the exotic-sounding names of towns passed through, more or less without incident." (p. 153). He had to evade a column of Germans. Yet not once did he indicate any threat from Polish blackmailers or denouncers. And, when he was finally caught, it was not by a Pole but by a Volksdeutsche. (p. 153)



5. Richard Glazar was one of the few people to have survived the Treblinka death camp. He was around 23 years old at the time. In his account of the 10 months or so that he was there, he does not dwell on things he did not have direct experience of, but describes what life was like for him and the people around him. He does not attempt to explain or analyze or give the big picture. This, for me, is what makes his story so powerful. Moreover, he does not overwhelm the reader with gruesome details, but at the same time manages to give the reader a strong understanding of the total inhumanity of the camp and its operations, and the casual and systematic brutality of the guards. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in a first hand account of this terrible time in world history. (For a very readable history of the Third Reich, I recommend Richard Evans' trilogy on the subject, beginning with "The Coming of the Third Reich".)

No comments about For Decades I Was Silent: A Holocaust Survivor's Journey Back to Faith (Judaic Studies Series).