4 comments about Along the Tracks (Sandpiper Paperbacks).

1. This heartwarming story is about a Jewish boy who loses his family during an air raid on a train. His father is in the war, and he must learn to survive "along the tracks" by stealing and sleeping in coal piles (for warmth) until he finds his family. Setting: Poland



2. In my opinion, Along the Tracks is a good book. You find yourself on the edge of your seat numerous times, not to mention not being able to put the book down. Along the Tracks also has a very happy ending, which I happen to like.



3. I loved this book! It totally sucked me in from the moment I opened it. It's about a young boy's experiences being separated from his family during the Holocaust. His adventures are amazing! He has to overcome his friends dying, hunger, disease, poverty, separation, and even love. And I can't believe it all really happened to a real person!!!



4. Along the Tracks is a book about a boy named Yankele, and he also is called Yasha through the second half of the book. It starts out Yankele and his family living in Lodz, where the German army had invaded after conquering Poland. Yankele's family started moving on, trying to get to Russia. When they finally got to the border, the Nazis wouldn't let them in, so they had to stay outside for a while. Soon, all of the Jewish people there had flooded the Nazi guards, and Yankele's family got inside Russia. They lived there for a while, and Yankele's father joined the Red Army, and he fought in the war against the Germans. Soon Russia was taken over and Yankele's family was forced to leave, taking a train to Warsaw. After they got there they had to take yet another train out, and Yankele and his mother and sister got separated when someone bombed the train. A man helped Yankele for a while, until the next train station, then they left each other. Yankele was on his own for a very long time, staying with a group of thieves and stealing to live.
   After a while, Yankele was helping an old lady who couldn't get certain things, like coal from coal piles at the train tracks. Soon, the old lady told him of a lady who lost a boy - one that would be thirteen, which Yankele was. Yankele was thirteen years old, and he looked like he was seven. That was his mom in the black market, and he stayed with her for a while. Eventually, he would get tired of staying in one place and would wander, then come back and stay with his mother. This was a very good book, I liked it a lot and it went by very fast. It was by Tamar Bergman, and translated from the Hebrew by Michael Swirsky.
   Nick, Madison OH.

3 comments about Jew Boy.

1. Like the author, I am also a child of Holocaust Survivors. There are many excellent things about this book. This book clearly demonstrates that suffering did not always end with the Survivors themselves; sometimes we, as their children, also suffered. I put this book at the "extreme" end of 2nd generation stories; Kaufman's mother was very disturbed, and physically abused him. In addition, his father, even though he wasn't a Survivor, did nothing to protect his son from his mother's wrath. If this alone did not make for a miserable childhood, his father squandered his income, and Kaufman's parents provided little of the author's needs, both physical and emotional; one horrific scene was how they cruelly tricked him, and refused to give him the Bar Mitzvah they had promised. One excellent part of the book, is when the author describes very well the unique experiences of children of Survivors. One fine example is when he writes about a favorite teacher, an American Jew from Michigan, who lauds his writing abilities, but at the same time pities him for having a Survivor mother. He writes about how deeply inferior he felt in that moment; that the gulf between him and his teacher was "immense", as she was "truly American", and no matter what he did, he could never be. I have felt this so many times myself, but only in this book have I seen it described so perfectly. He goes on to write about his great isolation, how it lead to alcoholism, but how, in the end, it was writing poetry which lead him to sobriety, and to regaining his soul. ...This book is a very honest portrayal of the most difficult childhood of a 2nd generation person I have ever read.



2. I grew up in Brooklyn in the same period that Kaufman grew up in the Bronx--the 50's and 60's. His portrayal of his parents represent very common types of the period--a mildly psychotic mother and an uneducated robotic mope of a father. These types were by no means typical of Holocaust survivors in the neighborhood who were generally quiet and dignified. Alan Kaufman had a very bad childhood but I wonder how much was due to madness and stupidity and how much was the result of the Holocaust.



3. I can't remember the last time I was moved so emotionally by a memoir. Although first published in 2000, I think the chaos and violence of February 2003 make it an even more important book, a must read for everyone concerned about the "approaching clouds of war" and the current world-wide epidemic of racism, nationalism, religious intolerance, and fear of the "other." Kaufman is a great writer and poet. "Who Are We?", the poem that ends the book, is worthy of serious study in our schools; and his observations of places and people are beautifully written, whether describing the bleakness of a Nebraska landscape or the changes in the mien of an Israeli soldier on a bus: "... in time of war you can tell when a soldier is thinking about the war. ... she woke, looked up into his eyes, saw it there, struggled to sit upright, her hand going to his face, but he pushed it away. His shoulder shrank up against the cold glass window filled with the world that he had defied to touch him and it had touched him in that strange way that war touches people and makes them prefer cold glass to a warm hand." Read it, please.

5 comments about Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate.

1. Judah P. Benjamin is little remembered for his service to the United States of America, the Confederate States of America, and the United Kingdom. Born in the West Indies, he ended his life as Queen's Counsel in Great Britain. In between, he came to Charleston, South Carolina, studied law in New Orleans, became the first Jewish Senator--from antebellum Louisiana. Surprised? I was. Then, service as Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State of the Confederate States of America. Almost universally well-liked and respected, the "smiling lion" whose face adorns every Confederate $2 bill (you can check your collection); this was a most remarkable Victorian American, in all respects.

   Frequently the brunt of castigation in newspapers for problems with military supply and ordnance, probably trailing close behind Jefferson Davis (also a former U.S. Senator) himself, this book is a very intriguing and documented biography. Sadly now out of print, I still highly recommend it to any student of the Civil War, the Confederacy, the history of Jews in America, jurisprudence (he wrote a book on Contracts that is still important in the United Kingdom)...he should not be forgotten. Judah P. Benjamin was a spirited man who made the most of his talents (even marrying into Catholic New Orleans aristocracy) and yet is known by few, and probably understood by even fewer.
   He is as much a part of American history and identity as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Sam Houston. However, don't look for a film about him to come out from Hollywood anytime soon. You'll have to read the book!




2. Most every student of the Civil War has heard of Judah P. Benjamin but very few people know anything about him except that he served in three positions in the Confederate Cabinet. Most of these same people are also aware that Benjamin was Jewish and from Louisiana, but that is about it. This lack of knowledge about Benjamin may come from the fact that its generals often overshadow the Confederate government or it may come from Benjamin's own desire to sink into anonymity following the war. This desire on Benjamin's part has in great part made a study of him very difficult for he destroyed almost every document with his name on it, including personal correspondence. Eli Evans has taken on the difficult task though, and has turned out a fantastic biography of the elusive Benjamin.

   Benjamin's early life is dealt with in some detail, especially after he arrives in New Orleans looking for a fresh start. Through skill and hard work Judah became one of the most successful lawyers in New Orleans. He married into the Creole ruling class and gained in stature but also gained a wife who would be an embarrassment to him for the rest of his life. During this time he built a plantation and became an agricultural innovator and was remembered by his former slaves long after the war for his kindness. Benjamin was very much a progressive and this would show up later in his plans for a Confederate Emancipation Proclamation.

   Benjamin moved into politics and was in his second term in the U.S. Senate when Louisiana left the Union. He and Jefferson Davis had not gotten along very well in the Senate and Benjamin had once come to the point of challenging his Mississippi colleague to a duel. As the new Confederate President looked for a Cabinet however he wanted someone from each Confederate State and Benjamin was the obvious choice for Louisiana. From that point on a friendship blossomed that would end up making Benjamin Davis' closest advisor and confidant. This is the story Evans tells so well.

   Benjamin, for his country and his President was willing to serve as a scapegoat on several occasions for unpopular decisions Davis had to make. He also took the blame a few times for not sending needed supplies to certain points rather than hurt Confederate moral by admitting that they simply didn't have the supplies in question. Evans does a superb job of relating Benjamin's hard work and also the never-ending venom that was directed at him, especially by opponents of President Davis.

   The weak points of the book come when Evans leaves his subject and starts to write about things that he knows little about. He very quickly dispenses with battles but still often makes errors and naturally repeats the old fable about shoes at Gettysburg. He also has problems accepting that Tennessee did in fact leave the Union and while there were Tennessee men in the Union army there were many, many more in Confederate service. Tennessee was left out of Lincoln's proclamation simply because most of the state was under occupation and Andrew Johnson intervened for the rest of the state. Still, if one just sort of ignores some of his statements that do not involve Benjamin, Evans has written an excellent book.

   The final chapters trace Benjamin as he escapes to England and rebuilds his life to become one of the top lawyers in London. He remains deeply concerned about his imprisoned President but is also afraid that if the anti-Semitic Andrew Johnson can catch him he will again be the scapegoat and face a rope. Fortunately, cooler heads finally prevail and Benjamin is left alone to wow the English legal world.

   Benjamin obviously deserves more credit than he gets from Confederate historians but his destruction of most of his papers have made studying him a difficult task. Eli Evans has taken on this task and has done a masterful job. This book is an even more spectacular achievement when one considers that Benjamin took deliberate steps to avoid having his biography written. Any student of the Confederacy needs a copy of this book in their library. Also, anyone interested in Jewish-American history will find this book a must read despite Benjamin's tendency to not practice his religion by among other things, having a smokehouse full of delicious hams.




3. Judah Phillip Benjamin was born in 1812; on the Virgin Island of St. John; whose jewish parents came to South Carolina when he was still a child. His mother was a costermonger and his father a 'neer-do-well' (or in reality do nothing well). But he had a thirst for knowledge that could not be surpressed even by the anti-semitism of southern nineteenth century america.
   
   Being a remarkable student he earns a scholarship to Yale at sixteen. But he leaves school after two years under a cloud of accusations that are never delineated. But Benjamin is determined to be some one and sets off for a new start in New Orleans where he trains as a lawyer. After becoming successful enough to marry into one of the upper-crust Creole (c atholic) families, he embarks on a career as a mercantile lawyer. He does well enough to build himself a plantation with 140 slaves. But after a finacial misstep looses everything and goes back to the practice of law.
   
   Making the 'right' connections he first enters the Louisiana legislature and then is elected a US Senator. (All this time he is away from his wife who is known to be unfaithful.) When he tries to bring his wife and daughter to Washington, it turns into a fiasco, and she goes off to Paris never to return. He develops into one of the finest orators in the Senate but cannot escape the anti-semitism of his day.
   
   When his home state secedes from the Union he leaves the Senate and goes to Montgomery (Confederacy's first capital) where because of his well known knowledge of Law, Jefferson Davis makes him his Attorney General.
   
   As part of Davis' cabinet he excells in administrative logistics, which leads to his being named Secretary of War. What! A Jew as SofW for the Confederacy? He becomes the whipping boy of every anti-semite both North and South. Undetered, Davis then makes him Secretary of State (because of his knowledge of international law and French) which he remains for the last three years of the War. During the War he does his best to entice both France (under Napoleon III) and Britain to recognize the South but to no avail. At the end of the war he makes a harrowing escape through the Bahamas and Havana to England.
   
   He arrives in England without the ability to practice law and with the US government on his tail (he is tangentially and circumstantially tied to the plot to kill Lincoln) as a Confederate Cabinet Minister. But the luck of his birth on an English possession, and his naturalization through his father, allow him to claim English citizenship and protection. After a short time (and with the help of sympathizers to the southern cause) he is admitted to the English Bar.
   
   He develops a mastery of english mercantile law, and with his background of French and American law from practicing in Louisiana, he develops one of the premier practices in his field in England. His book on mercantile law- Benjamin on Sales- becomes the standard in the field. In the end he passes his last few years in Paris with his wife and married daughter and is buried in Pere Lechaise.
   
   Evans does a masterful job of using the two other detailed biographies of Benjamin (written in 1905 and 1943) which included interviews with people who knew him in Louisiana, during the Civil War and in England. Benjamin though remains an enigma in that he burned all of his papers before he left Richmond at the end of the war; and kept few if any not related to business in London. Much of the detail for the Civil War comes from his correspondence afterwards with Varina Davis and others. It would seem that his only hold on 'being' jewish was one of 'culture' and a thirst for knowledge (but not necessarily accolades).



4. I cannot think of a single book that is more difficult to assess than "Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate". On the one hand, it paints a vivid portrait of life in the antebellum South, as well as a grim chronicle of affairs in that region (political, military, and socioeconomic) during the Civil War. This is all a backdrop, however, to its intimate exploration into the life of one of the Confederacy's most complicated and fascinating subjects - Judah P. Benjamin, brilliant orator, United States Senator from Louisiana, Secretary of War and later of State for the CSA, oft-proclaimed "Brains of the Confederacy", and Jew. The primary events in Benjamin's life are of course covered, but more fascinatingly plumbed is the depths of his mind - Eli Evans seems concerned not merely with what Benjamin did, but with who he was, and what made him tick. All of this makes for fascinating reading, and even if one were to disagree with Evans's conclusions, it cannot be disputed that they are thought-provoking.
   The problem I have with this book, however, is the short shrift that it gives to the plight of African-Americans during this period. Evans does of course pay necessary homage to the slaves' condition, but one gets the sense that his interpretation of Southern history has several pounds of Margaret Mitchell and a teaspoon of Alex Haley. I am not accusing Evans of being a racist, mind you; I am merely saying that, in order to make his central figure more sympathetic, he glosses over the fact that both he and his compatriots were fighting for an inherently wicked cause. One can easily respect Judah Benjamin's achievements without downplaying the cause for which has talents served - he was, afterall, the first non-self hating Jew to serve in the United States Senate (the only Jew to serve before him, David Levy Yulee, was also a virulent anti-Semite), a spellbinding master of rhetoric, a brilliant wartime strategist, later guru of English law, and the only Confederate cabinet official with the chutzpah to propose a Confederate Emancipation Proclamation (as a means of giving them the moral high-ground in the war, and thus receive the support of either Britain or France). Evans doesn't do either Benjamin or himself any justice by not placing sufficient emphasis on the horrors of slavery; afterall, one could have given this book a great amount of depth by pointing out that Benjamin was (as Congressman Benjamin F. Wade once said to him) "an Israelite with Egyptian principles". Instead Evans chooses the safe approach - point out Benjamin's genius while de-emphasizing the great shortcoming of how that genius was used.
   Would I recommend this book? Yes. Do I think readers should then peruse a tome about the history of slavery in the pre-war South? Absolutely.



5. One of the previous reviews of this book begins with the statement that anyone familiar with the Civil War will know the name Judah Benjamin. Frankly, I doubt it. I'll wager that very few Northerners recognize the name. The eight reviews of this book are fascinating to read, and far shorter than the book itself. Note where the reviewers live; it's significant.
   
   Judah P. Benjamin had a fascinating "teflon" life - as a wealthy lawyer and a "macher" in very early Reformed Judaism, as a social climber in Louisiana creole circles, as a Senator and then as Jefferson Davis's one efficient and effective cabinet member, as a fugitive from the righteous victory of the North, and last as a supremely successful banker in England.
   
   Eli Evans has written a solid old-fashioned sympathetic biography of this brilliant man, whose contibution to the cause of secession was more significant than that of most Southron generals. It's not a deep biography, however, neither in its analysis of Benjamin's character nor its account of the Civil War. It will have, I think, great interest for two kinds of readers: serious Civil War buffs and serious students of the history of Jewish Americans.

No comments about King David (Lion Story Bible).

No comments about Reading Charlotte Salomon.

2 comments about The Road to Auschwitz: Fragments of a Life.

1. A touching account by Swedish psychologist Hedi Fried about her childhood experiences in the Transylvanian town of Sighet and later at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Especially moving is her relationship with her younger sister Livia whom she saves from near death a couple of times. Livia repays her sister by reviving her during the liberation of the camp. Although a gripping story about the nightmares of the Holocaust, Fried has the ability to look at the lighter, funnier sides of the hellish reality. Reaching Sweden, Hedi and Livi have recovered and made Stockholm their home. Fried is now a well-known personality in Sweden, famous for her work with traumatized people such as refugees and Holocaust survivors and their second-generation children. A documentary film "Little Big Sister" was produced following the book with the narration of Swedish actress Bibi Andersson.



2. A great book written by a Swedish psycologist(Hedi Fried) about her childhood experience in Sighet. She was in this city for a while until she was sent to Auschwitz. She was there with her sis Livi. This is a touching story for those who survived the Holocaust and even kids and grown-ups today. She reflects on how the camps worked and every where she went. They reach Sweden and Make the city of Stockholm there new home. She was separated from her sis for a while and then reunited. Hedi Fried was lost from her parents then finds out they were gased in the gas chamber. One of the greater stories I've ever read. She tells of the pain and inhumanity of the Nazis and their leader Adolf Hitler. This book leads into Schindler's List a little bit. Hedi Fried did a great job!!!

1 comments about Karl Kraus: Apocalyptic Satirist, Volume 2: The Postwar Crisis and the Rise of the Swastika.

1. It was a pleasure to receive Timms' second volume on Karl Kraus. It came new and in mint condition. Thank you Amazon.

3 comments about Shattered Faith: A Holocaust Legacy.

1. Reviiewing the latest "swiss gold scandal" this book is a must. To the best of my knowledge the content of this book is true, I am saying this as a survivor of shoa. I am very much indebted to the author Mr. Wells who dared to lift the smoke screen of some incredible decisions and deads which caused many of us to die. It is unfortunate that the Germanand the Swiss public is not able to read this book as there are no German copies anymore in the market



2. This is an essential memoir for those interested in the ways Holocaust survivors contend with faith and overwhelming loss. As always, Wells' writing is lucid, candid, and hugely informative. Even for those who have read a lot by survivors, this book will add a perspective that most will not have encountered before: looking back, with pain but not sentimentality, on the definitive end of a world. This is a vitally important book.



3. Obviously this is an important book. All literature about the Holocaust is important, and especially when the book in question is written by survivor. And a survivor is just what Leon Weliczker Wells is. Unfortunately the rest of his family perished in the Nazi death camps, something that quite understandably traumatized him badly.
   
   But not only has he been forced to live out the remaining days of his life grieving the horrible loss of his family. As a result of his experiences his relationship to God, as well as his identity as a faithful Jew, changed dramatically. And that's something I've thought about from time to time: how did these people - all these faithful Jews - look at God after such an unspeakable event as the Holocaust had taken place? How could anyone remain a believer afterwards? Surely they all must have given up their faith?
   
   Yes, some indeed did just that. But others grew stronger in their faith, unbelievable as it might sound. But no matter what the outcome was, no one came out of the ordeal untouched. Especially not Wells, who has written several other books about his life besides Shattered Faith. I haven't read any of them, though, because according to the information I found beforehand, Shattered Faith focuses on how Wells started questioning his beliefs.
   
   And yeah, I guess that's true. At least to a certain extent. But far from as much as I had hoped. In fact, the book was mostly a huge disappointment, because the majority of the text is made up of extremely detailed descriptions of the religious everyday life for young Wells and the rest of the Jews where he lived before the Nazis took over. Of a total of 151 pages - the glossary, notes, bibliography et cetera exempted - no less than the initial 90 are filled with these descriptions of the Jewish religion and how it affected Well's entire existence. Before the takeover. And I'm pretty sure I could have learned about that in countless other books.
   
   Then when the Nazis eventually arrive the endless descriptions continue, at least from time to time, and still they're detailed to such an extent that I doubt few besides students of religion or adherents to the Jewish faith will find them very interesting. True, there are good moments, for example when Wells discusses how the Holocaust changed his and other Jews' beliefs, or how parallels may be drawn between the Nazi ideas of a master race or supreme people and the Jewish notion of being the people "chosen" by God, but these moments are few and far between. So while I don't doubt that this book is important in many ways, to me it was still nothing but a disappointment.

5 comments about Close Calls: Memoirs of a Survivor.

1. I've met Felicia, she is the cousin of my English teacher and she gave a speech to the 7th and 8th grades. It was amazing, she told the story of her life, as a runaway Polish Jew, and I began to wonder how much courage could fit into such a small woman. She is a role model for all, and her book was amazing. Congratulations to her, go pick up the book, you'll be amazed by how much courage one woman can have.



2. I met the author, Felicia, at the Holocaust Museum in DC this past April. She was there for a book signing and I was fortunate enough to get the last copy sold that day. She is such an amazing woman and having the opportunity to meet her and look back on our small time together to talk while I read her book made it so personal. I have read many books on the Holocaust and her story is one to REMEMBER...



3. The book is appropriately named Close Calls because her life under Nazi occupation was a series of extremely close calls. Felicia describes her wonderful childhood in Chelm. Contrary to Yiddish folklore, Felicia grew up in a climate of scholarship and culture, and graduated from the Gymnasium.

   Felicia, 19 years old and an only child when Germany invaded Poland, found herself separated from family and alone, after escaping from the ghetto. It was necessary to keep her wits about her to survive, for each day had new dangers. Although fluent in Polish and German, and being familiar with Catholic liturgy, she lacked the "kennkarte"(papers) identifying her as a non-Jew.

   A most unusual way in which she hid her identity, was working as a maid in the home of an SS officer. Eventually, she was discovered and taken to the ghetto prison in the Cracow ghetto where she remained until being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Through luck and her resourcefulness, she narrowly escaped the gas chambers. Felicia remained in Auschwitz for two years. In her book she describes the fear, depression, humiliation and the dehumanization she felt. She also describes how she was able to help others survive and how, with the help of friends, escape Auschwitz by hiding herself in a labor contingent that was leaving to work at a munitions factory in Czechoslovakia.

   Felicia Berland Hyatt's memoir provides a rare insight into the difficulties of growing up as a Jewish girl during the Holocaust. Providing an historical perspective, Ms. Berland Hyatt relates the pivotal events of her youth, being a young woman in Nazi occupied Poland, where the populace was hostile, or at best, indifferent to their Jewish neighbors.

   These memoirs should be read by anyone interested in gaining insight into how one person was able to act to survive and maintain her integrity in a stressful environment. This book is an important addition to Jewish, Holocaust and women's studies.




4. There are countless books, fiction and non-fiction, that recount the horrors of the Holocaust and the struggle to survive the Nazi destruction. Yet, each recounting is unique and important as a piece of history and a plea to never forget. Holocaust stories or studies are most often frustrating, heart wrenching and the actions contained in them incomprehensible. Memoirs of survivors are all of these things, yet they are tinged with the bittersweet as well. While the details of each survival story are different, much is similar --- the fear, the violence and the hope.

   Felicia Berland Hyatt was raised in Chelm, Poland, the town immortalized in Jewish folklore. World War II brought Nazi occupation, bombs, ghettoes and concentration camps to Poland, tore Hyatt's family apart and, to understate things, changed her life forever. She survived the war, like others, through patience, intelligence, cunning, sheer luck and good timing. Her memoir, CLOSE CALLS, recounts her survival, lovingly remembers her friends and family and vividly portrays the confusion and terror of the war and its victims. Hyatt survived via several tactics, which included fleeing the Nazis, posing as an Aryan and escaping a concentration camp. However, it was mostly her strong determination to stay alive that ensured her survival. CLOSE CALLS, as the reader will discover, is aptly named.

   CLOSE CALLS is written simply, but in its simplicity, is a beauty and honesty not found in all memoirs. Hyatt's memoir was a catharsis for her and is an inspiration for her readers. It is intense but very readable. Felicia Berland Hyatt is a very likeable narrator and is admirable as an understated heroine. She does not write to shock or scare her readers but simply to tell her amazing story. While the tale is honest and emotionally brutal, it is appropriate for readers of all ages. Hyatt does assume the reader knows the necessary background information on the Holocaust, which is essential for understanding, but she steers clear of analysis or theories.

   As a survivor, Felicia Berland Hyatt believes she has an obligation to share her life story with the world, so that such devastation will never be repeated and that those who lost their lives will always be remembered. As time passes and the survivors age, it is becoming more imperative that as much of their experience as possible is recorded in a variety of forms. What will soon remain are the stories, poems, paintings, songs and films, as well as the collective memory and inspiration they foster. The world will be, and indeed already is, a richer place for Felicia Berland Hyatt having shared her painful but important story.

   CLOSE CALLS, as with all Holocaust literature, is immensely important. But it is also a hopeful, thoughtfully written and recommendable memoir.

   --- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman




5. I have read many Holocaust survivor stories and "Close Calls" is one of the better ones I have read. It is readable, engaging and inspiring. The author did, in fact, have many close calls. It's very interesting how many times she wiggled out of danger by cleverly talking herself out of a bad situation. Three other fine memoirs are: "The Survivor" (by Jack Eisner)-a book so enthralling, it's a wonder they never made a movie of it; "Defy the Darkness" and "The Dentist of Aushwitz".

No comments about Living with nightmares: A holocaust survivors painful memories.