Germany Books

This is a short summary of the killing factory of Auschwitz. The author is a German Professor of History and she details how the killing factory came about. I.G. Farben wanted to locate a huge industrial site in this requistitioned site of former Poland. When they killed off the Soviet Prisoner of War population, they decided this may be a good resettlement site for Jewish population of Europe. In actuality, it was not a resettlement camp but a death camp where the workers either had a slow or quick death. Those who survived the initial train selection process were worked to death on starvation food rations.

Steinbacher details the history of Auschwitz well. This is a tough subject and I think she does well overall. The writing was surprisely good, with many technical subjects covered in layman's terms.

Professor Steinbacher tells the truth and only the truth. There are no embellishments or sensationalisms in her book. This book "cuts to the chase." Again, there are "no" over-the-top sensationalisms(like Rees' book, with too many wondering/airy/undocumented side stories - give me the facts!) This book gives you the facts! Every class and school should have this book. You will learn a whole lot in this book, which is not very long, because it gets to the point and dosen't have the 'personal opinion, un-substanciated endless babble' that other books on this important topic have that cost 4 times as much as Steinbacher's. Steinbacher's book is a "find;" or a "needle in the haystack." It teaches Auschwitz, without the "reckless and 'overly' graphic" details, but brilliantly gets the message across/gets the job done. Highly, highly recommended for "all" teachers and students. A lot of well researched info for a mere $9ish dollars. Again, there's a lot of learning in this concise book. Truly, the most objective and well-written book on Auschwitz. One tip on reading Steinbacher's book; Before reading the whole book, read page "29," and learn something about Auschwitz you've never heard... WOW!!! Solid book.

The name Auschwitz is so loaded with associations of almost universal evil that it barely occurs to people that there is a reality to be known. Using the name as a shortcut for the Holocaust, for genocide, mass murder, poison gas, crematoria, Nazi SS terror troops, and more actually cheats us. This rather small book takes on the big task of telling in a very straightforward way how Auschwitz came to be, what happened there during the Second World War, and its aftermath.

Auschwitz is the name the Germans applied to a Polish town as they moved to the East to provide "Living Space" and a buffer against the Soviets. At first they moved the Poles out of the town to other prison camps and then brought them back and killed thousands. IG Farben decided it could use the slave labor such camps could provide and so a huge factory was built. But the camp was too far away for malnourished prisoners to travel each day. They had hoped these prisoners would be at least half as effective as a healthy German. The prisoners, starved, beaten, and traumatized, were only about 20% as effective. So, a camp was built next to the plant.

Soviet Prisoners of War by the thousands were also brought to an Auschwitz camp to be slaves, they ended up being useless for that purpose. More than 10,000 of them were killed as well. When the war effort began going badly the camps moved into extermination and a huge third camp was begun with enough capacity to burn more than 4,500 bodies per day. They were never all in service at the same time, but what did exist was so overburdened with use that they became damaged and required repair. Bodies were burned in open trenches during the repairs.

The author teaches us that the 4 million killed in Auschwitz was based by the Soviets on theoretical crematoria capacity. Scholars studying the subject now believe that between 1.1 and 1.5 million were killed there in various ways. There was the Zyklon B and cremation, but there was also shooting, starvation, disease, beating, medical experimentation, and even doctors injecting phenol directly into prisoners' hearts. We are shown how this easily fits in with the number of 6 million Jews killed during the war. In the beginning only about half of those killed were Jews, by the frantic last days it was almost all Jews.

The book also takes us through the trials related to Auschwitz (not all the war crimes trials) and what was uncovered and how punishment was meted out and strangely avoided by some for decades and some escaped entirely. Finally, the author gives us a tour of the revisionists who try to deny the truth about the mass murders at the three Auschwitz camps.

Her writing is clear and straightforward. She tells us these monstrous things without adding emotion into her writing. We don't need any help in feeling the horror and revulsion. We know she feels it, too. The book never gets gruesome or clinical and provides an amazing number of facts in its 168 pages. There are maps of the area and diagrams of the three camps and a picture taken by prisoners in the camp of bodies being burned on the ground.

This is quite an amazing little book and can help its readers understand the realities behind the word that we all use as a brand name for unspeakable evil.

There are many larger and more detailed (and perhaps, more emotional and horrifying) books about Auschwitz, but as a short, factual and accurate rendering of that gigantic horror story, this book is excellent. Sybille Steinbacher covers a surprising amount of detail in a very short space. These days, when current political events have created entire nations of holocaust deniers, this should be a required text.

In this short book, Sybille Steinbacher, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Modern and Contemporary History at Ruhr University, gives a compelling account of Auschwitz. Professor Steinbacher, and her able translator, Shaun Whiteside, writes in a concise, stark, understated, and eloquent way. She avoids the tendency to sensationalize and overdramatize and allows her material to speak for itself. The stylistic, nonsensationalistic excellence of this book adds greatly to its impact.

In brief, measured chapters, Professor Steinbacher discusses the long history of the Polish town of Oswiecim, and its history of Jewish habitation, before it became notorious as Auschwitz. She explains how Auschwitz lay in the path of Germany's eastern expansion and how it inexorably became a killing camp. It moved from a camp for political prisoners and a labor camp to, beginning in mid-1942, a death camp for Jews. She discusses how this change came about as a result of high policy within the Nazi regime and how it was implemented in the camp with mass gasing, shootings, beatings, starvations, and medical torture. She describes the role of the German corporation IB Farben in organizing the camps, using the labor of the prisoners, and providing the cyanide gas, Zyclon B, for the killings. Following her discussion of the founding of the camp, and its development into a site for mass murder, Professor Steinbacher discusses how the Nazi's abandoned the camp, took the remaining prisoners on lengthy death marches, and attempted to destroy the evidence of their brutality as the Soviet Army moved closer and ultimately occupied the camp. She describes the attempt, following the end of the War, to bring some of the perpetuators of Auschwitz to justice, with mixed results. Finally, a short chapter considers those who have denied the Holocaust and the crimes perpetuated at Auschwitz. Professor Steinbacher discusses the extent to which people in the town of Auschwitz, in Germany, and in the outside world were aware of the events in the camp. She also discusses, briefly, the decision of the Allies not to bomb the camp when they learned of the ongoing atrocities. The book includes detailed maps of the complexes at Auschwitz and a good bibliography.

With its tone of restraint, careful factual presentation, and considered judgment, Professor Steinbacher's book was highly valuable in helping me think about Auschwitz.

Robin Friedman

I found The Badenweiler Waltz an enjoyable and moving story. While reading the book, the quote at the beginning of the book - "If I am to be a fool, let me be a dancing fool." - kept running through my mind, so clearly framing the story. G. W. Kroeker's heroine Elizabeth had led a useful life, but without ever stepping out of the inertia of her self-imposed restricted world and taking the risk of pursuing her dream of becoming a writer ... without venturing forth, taking some significant risks, and dancing. The result was a challenging yet hopeful story. A particularly interesting aspect of The Badenweiler Waltz was the short stories within the novel that revealed the inner reasons for her self-restricted life. Here the main character becomes the author, and we get to look more deeply into all that had, prior to Badenweiler, kept her from dancing. These stories-within-the-story gave psychological depth to the theme of the risks of change. However, this hopeful story was also colored with the dark tones of terminal illness. This aspect was all the more moving after reading the forward and getting a peek at what seemed to have been a similar sort of beautifully meaningful tragedy in the sickness and death of Monika, the author's wife. There were many other things to like about this book: the account of a significant friendship, the greater compassion and healing to be found in whole-person medicine, the interaction of German and American cultures, the little bits of German dialogue, and simply very good story-telling. For me, this dance was definitely worth the venture.

This is an intriguing book by an excellent writer. The front and back covers are photographs of the location in Germany where much of the story takes place. The narrator is a woman who has gone there to die. In some ways entering a foreign country seems an apt metaphor for death. However, once there, from the open window of her second story room in the Schwartzwalder Hof, Elizabeth hears some music. This also too takes on meaning. Does it represent the chance to have her first romantic fling with a smarmy young, orchestra conductor, or some hopefulness about her life she may have overlooked in her short story writing (she was a high school English teacher despite an MFA in creative writing) or is it something else. Badenweiler is a small spa town where Stephen Crane and Chekhov spent their last days. There are allusions to them and to other writers and poets that add richness to the story, but that is secondary. The real focus is on Elizabeth's emotional journey.

The author's own wife died before this book was published and it is dedicated to her memory. I am amazed that a man can so effectively write from a woman's perspective, some of this he must have learned from her. But in the book when Elizabeth first started re-reading early short stories she had written as a young woman, I did have some reservations. Was this material that, by contrast, revealed something we couldn't see directly in the older woman or was it just a way for the writer to recycle some of his own earlier efforts? In an oblique reference to one of Henry James's famous stories the novel states, "She had known almost from the very beginning that for her, the jungle was silent, eerily empty. But if there was nothing out there, nothing truly wonderful or horrible, why had she been so frightened all her life of the unknown." Right there I think G. W. Kroeker hooks every English major in the country. Ultimately isn't that the question behind each book we read: What is it we lack that we hope it will provide answers to? "It's not just about words and sentences, Miss Kurz," her former writing professor states, "but you have to say something with them, something of substance."

That message comes down to: Are we "fools who dance or fools who watch the dance." The "Badenweiler Waltz" does the latter so that Elizabeth (and the reader) can do the former. There are revelations along the way (one surprising one involves her mother) but this novel is as filling as a farmer's omelets and ultimately as satisfying as a good bottle of German wine. And, on a personal note from someone who spent four years in Germany (though a bit to the north), let me say that the exquisite detail, which captures the charm of the people and the countryside, make this the next best thing to an actual journey there. Prepare to dance!

After thoroughly enjoying G.W. Kroeker's "The Magi At Christmas," I was very excited to settle in with "The Badenweiler Waltz," and I'm happy to say that my expectations were quickly exceeded. The complex, yet challenging journey we take with Elizabeth is, at times, heartwrenching, painful and even frustrating and yet, it also unmistakeably helps elevate and strengthen your belief that if and when you come face to face with your own mortality, you will somehow overcome the natural tendency to fear, and embrace a deeper tendency to learn, to love, and to always dance to whatever song life decides to play for you at the time.

As others have mentioned, this wonderful story is also generously wrapped with the essences of the food, wine, and scenery of Germany's Black Forest, and it all makes for the perfect backdrop on a terrific journey.

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Waltz." It left me with a feeling of hope and encouragement. The characters are warm and real. While Elizabeth has problems, she also has the courage to face them, overcoming the negative, achieving the positive, and therefore offering hope to all who would embrace life and be willing to chance "dancing." It is one of the most positive stories about life and its living that I've read. I highly recommend it!"

I, too, have followed G. W. Kroeker's writing career and eagerly awaited publication of THE BADENWEILER WALTZ. This wonderful novel was worth the wait. It is the best of his work--richly layered, wonderfully complex and so finely written. I cared about all the characters but especially Elizabeth--with her few joys, plentiful regrets, and yet a hopeful heart. The author has an equisite gift for creating a sense of place, food and wine that made me nearly be able to see, smell and taste what he was describing.

I enthusiastically recommend THE BADENWEILER WALTZ. You will not be disappointed.

I just finished reading Bruno Lange's book, Born Into Turmoil.
The book is universally appealing in its portrayal of young boys in search of adventure in a world of chaos and/or peace.
Reading it reminded me of the many stunts pulled by Tom Sawyer as written by Mark Twain.
Bruno gives a refreshing, yet solemn biography of what it was like to grow up as an indoctrinated, Nazi youth. His father was drafted into the German Army as a medic in Poland while Bruno, himself, was drafted into the Hitler Youth movement. Hiding Jews and helping Poles were only a few examples in the book of the kindness of his parents.

Bruno gives examples from a Nazi propaganda book, The Poisoned Mushrooms, in which Jews are depicted as animals and thieves and slaughterers of innocent animals...not to be trusted. One can only imagine the effects it had on the minds of young German youth at the time.
Luckily, with the advance of the Allies into Germany, Bruno's family is captured and re-indoctrinated...able to let go of the hate that was sown into a country so full of beauty and promise.

As a German teacher, I will make it a must read for my students. I feel it is a story they would be able to relate to on a personal level.
Bruno tells of having lied about having appendicitis in order to skip school, and ends up with his appendics actually being removed! He finds a bazooka in the woods and fires it into a tree...knocking him and the tree to the ground and setting the surrounding grass on fire. He is starving for food and invents ingenious ways to feed his family, including making himself potato pancakes. Lacking lard or butter to fry them in, he resorts to using Singer sewing machine oil...only to discover that it turned out quite delicious.

From leaping onto a moving Allied train to steal coal to keep his family warm or bicycling with a buddy across Europe on $3.85, he keeps the reader intrigued and squealing in delightful laughter the whole way through. It took me six hours to read and I recommend it to anyone who wants to see war from the German side.
This is a MUST READ for those who would believe that HATE is the only way to resolve conflict.

Bruno Lange's story of a child caught up in the ravages of WWII and his struggle to survive the deadly bombings and the war's aftermath, will touch your heart and lift your spirits. The account of this young boy's wartime experiences will make you laugh, smile and cry, but is never boring. And like a bird fluttering against the wind, young Bruno's struggle moved him upward and onward. With the strong will and determination of a Rhinelander, Bruno emerges from his wartime experiences a whole person; a person who leaves the normal scares of hatred and resentment behind. Bruno Lange's book, "Born Into Turmoil" will inspire and strengthen all who read it.

I have always been fascinated by the events of WW II. No other incident in modern history has left us with such a dreadful, and far reaching legacy.
"Born into Turmoil" will offer the English speaking reader something different and fresh. Mr. Lange chronicles his experiences as a child growing up in Germany during the Second World War. Together with Mr. Lange you will experience the dreadful bombing raids, and the daily struggle to survive during an unbearable hardship. The theme which keeps surfacing throughout his book is his families love, and how this love managed to preserve the family through the war.
When the war ends we witness the resourcefulness of Mr. Lange and his family as they try to survive while being threatened with starvation, and roaming hoards of "liberated" criminals. As time progresses we are given an insight into what things were like in post war Germany through Lange's eyes.
No serious student of these times should be without their copy of "Born into Turmoil", It will give the reader a better understanding of the "other sides" story, and a more complete picture of a larger whole.

What a tremendous book this author has written,- one that takes you right to the heart of the German family before, during, and after the war. Amazingly,- all youngsters have their own ways of dealing with situations forced upon them. Bruno Lange dealt with his in wildly funny ways. The family love is such an inspiration to the reader. This book tells so much of what many have never learned in school,- a must for every library!

Bruno Lange's book 'Born Into Turmoil' gives us a growing German boy's account on how his family endured their hardships during WWII and in the Postwar years. How the family helped each other out during these unthinkably harsh years of the war. Bruno Lange has meticulously written this book to show both sides of the war. He introduces his story by showing us what led to Hitler's Germany and why so many Germans supported him. He pointed out the Treaty of Versailles and it's Points against Germany, which created a blue print for the coming of WWII. I enjoyed reading 'Born Into Turmoil' immensely and would like to see a sequel to it written. Bruno Lange is a well versed author with a sense of humour, who manages to write a story taken from hard times but yet the reader feels comfortable reading it. He adds his warmth and personal touch to many of the Chapters. His pointing out the morals of the time shows us how much change we have gone through in such a short span of time. I found this book to be written compassionately but yet factual and historically precise. Unlike many of Hollywood's movies, which are constantly being altered and made more Politically correct to appease the public and profit from it, Bruno has not altered any of the events that he wrote about in 'Born Into Turmoil' at all. He writes actual historical and documented facts as they occurred during those years. Bruno Lange's 'Born into Turmoil' gets a five star review from me and I hope that more books like it will be written by many more Germans that lived during those years and have kept silent until now. The new generation needs to know what really happened to so many innocent German civilians during WWII

My children and grandchidren love this story. I bought the book to read to my youngest grandchild, who is 2 and a half. We love both the story and the pictures. We also have fun braying, barking, meowing and crowing like the heroic animals in the story. When her dad was her age we lived in Germany and visited Bremen and saw the statue of the animals.

The illustrations are delightful for this traditional story. A great gift for any child or adult.

Some animals were going to Bremen Town to be musicians. On the way they saw some robbers. They kicked them out and the animals never went to Bremen-Town.
The donkey kicked the robber with his hind legs, that is why I liked the book.

The animals were going to Bremen Town to be musicians because the owners were going to kill them. On the way to Bremen Town, they met some robbers. The animals stole a house from the robbers.
I liked this book because the robbers looked funny.

Of all the stories my father read to me as a child, this was my favorite. Its endearing story of self-discovery is timeless, and not to mention quite humorous for a six year old boy. It reminds me of a time far less complicated and will thus always hold a special place of affection for me. This was the Catcher in the Rye of my Elementary years. I would highly recommend this to anyone with children looking for quite simply a flat out good story to read them that they will enjoy.

This book is intended to be a gift for my grand daughter, Clara Elisabeth Schumann. But first I am reading it myself. What a woman!

Author Nancy Reich's scholarship is impeccable, her research, comprehensive, and her passion for accuracy, uncompromising.

This is a completely thorough and compelling biography which reads as smoothly as an easy novel. It is powerful and sensitive; objective and personal. Dr. Reich's depth as a scholar and skill as a writer provide us with a rarely-, possibly never-seen view of this extraordinary woman, Clara Wieck Schumann.

Clara's life was fraught with pain, sorrow, frustration, and self-doubt, and how her genius managed to prevail is nothing short of remarkable. I took pause many times while reading to catch my emotional breath.

Dr. Reich also shares with us her enormous insight into the personalities of ill and troubled husband, Robert, dear friend and confidant, Johannes Brahms, and domineering father, Friedrich Wieck, making sense and coherence of the disjointed facts many of us know regarding these three very important men in, not only her life, but in the life of Nineteenth Century European music.

Clara Schumann was a truly astonishing figure - both as an artist (prolific composer, formidable virtuosa - some say Liszt's equal or superior), and as a woman (dedicated wife, mother, daughter, loyal friend). This book takes a major step toward giving a just measure of recognition to this awesome woman. It contains wonderful photos, sketches, pastels, and paintings - some, particularly of Clara alone, are especially moving. Her expressions tell nearly as complete a story as the text.

Though replete with musical discussion and analysis, one need not be a scholar or musician to comprehend and be totally struck by Nancy Reich's telling of Clara's story. If you care anything about wives, mothers, daughters, friends, or music, this book is a MUST READ.

I discovered this marvelous book on the Clara Schumann Society website of Dr. David Kenneth Smith, Geneva College. I recommend doing a GOOGLE on "Clara '96" (the name of the site celebrating the anniversary of her death in 1996). You will get an abundance of hits, all of which are very worthwhile.

This revised edition of Clara Schumann's biography by Nancy Reich is a gem. Not only is the scholarship impeccable and thorough, but the talented writing engages and fascinates the reader at every turn.

Features of this wonderful new edition include the use of new medical reports that have come to light regarding Robert Schumann's illness; reference to recently discovered letters and diaries that further elucidate Clara's friendships with people like Emilie List, Frederic Chopin, and the Mendelssohns; and the expansion of the Catalogue of Works.

The revised Catalogue alone makes this new edition compulsory for anyone-lay or professional-interested in Clara Schumann and her prodigious work and impact. The Catalogue records every known piece by Clara Schumann, reviews of her compositions, her own performances of her works, the location of autograph copies, and much more.

The 1985 edition of Dr. Reich's outstandingly researched biography clearly had a major impact on Schumann studies. It was followed by a continuing, worldwide outpouring of performances and recordings of Clara Schumann's works, articles about Clara, and studies of her music.

The biography is based on original research in German archives and first-hand consultation of letters, music autographs, diaries, and other primary sources. To this meticulous scholarship, Dr. Reich adds intelligent, compassionate analysis of Clara Schumann's life and music, the influences that shaped her, her inspirational marriage to Robert Schumann, and Clara's breathtaking, at times unbelievable strength and ongoing artistry amidst the sometimes horrific adversities in her life.

Rarely is such a magnificent feat of scholarship accompanied by such gripping and graceful writing.

This book is a must for anyone who professes interest in Schumann studies, nineteenth century music, and gender studies, or who wants to experience a true story of passionate, devoted love and the mutual pursuit of art that Clara and Robert Schumann inspired in each other.

Nancy B. Reich certainly did her homework while writing the revised edition of Clara Schumann: The Artist and the Woman. Her resources include translations from primary texts in her native German, as well as other primary sources from the important friends in her life. She updated the 1985 version of the book in 2001 to include "a variety of significant documents-letters, medical reports, and music-that were in private hands and unavailable when [she] was working on the first edition". These texts include Robert Schumann's medical log, and Clara's correspondence with her husband's music publishers, the List family, and texts written by her granddaughter Julie. I felt this book was well laid out, and was able to include many thoughts and emotions from the people involved in Clara's life. By including information from the diaries and discerning when the passage was Wieck's writing or Clara's helped make clear whose feelings were really being expressed.
One thing I found was that Reich draws many of her own conclusions based on the information presented. Due to the difficulty of not having Clara's uninfluenced, uncorrected thoughts from the first twenty years of her life, it is difficult to actually know her true mind. Wieck's influence on her caused many of these primary documents to be soiled with his own opinions. They do, however, provide an interesting look at her motivations behind many of her decisions. He never spared his thought, and so, there is not as much need for speculation of his beliefs. Reich also does not ponder what her conclusions mean, she simply presents the facts, her opinions based on them, and allows the reader to agree or form their own ideas.
Her inclusion of a timeline of Clara's life in the beginning of the book is rather helpful. It allows the reader to follow her life and to find specific events within the book. Also, the division of chapters makes it easy to home in on specific parts of her life and to find the information easily. The second half of the book reemphasizes the themes in her life by forming separate sections with each grouping. These show her relationships with others and discuss the positions she held throughout her life. The second section might lose the reader's interest somewhat because of the recounting of many facts. She presents the information in greater depth, but she does so in a way that common themes are grouped together instead of emphasizing where they occurred in her life.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable read. It was very informative, and easy to follow. The writing flowed easily and the beginning held my attention. Reich wrote a book successful of influencing my emotions and teaching me more than I had ever known about Clara Schumann. This was a very effective story of the woman and artist's life, and I would recommend it as a great account.

Reich's beautifully written, thoroughly researched and objective book is certainly the best biography on Clara Weick Schumann in English. It is also one of the finest biographies I have read of any subject by any author.

From her childhood as a piano virtuoso through her 50 year performing career, Schumann was an international star of the concert stage, a composer and champion of the composers close to her, a woman who astounded and compelled those who knew her, a legend in her own time.

She was, as we know, beset by personnal tragedies of the most anguishing kind, beginning with her complex relationship with her taskmaster father, who taught her, drove her mercilessly, and made her a star at the age of 12, then refused to allow her to marry the love of her life,

She defied him at a dear price and married Robert Schumann anyway. The book explores at length her life as a beloved, then shunned daughter; as a lover, wife, mother, composer and performer.

She suffered terribly Robert Schumann's early and probably syphilis-induced insanity and death, the deaths of most of her seven children at a young age, and extreme financial straits in which she found herself most of her life.

Reich takes us step by step through all of the contingencies of her professional life: her lifelong celebration of Schumann's work; the 'Young Werther' relationship with her beloved Johannes Brahms, whose career she promoted tirelessly; her complex personality and deep involvement in her career and their effect on her maternal relationship with each of her children.

Throughout, Reich draws a richly variegated picture of the world of classical music in Europe from the early 19th century onward -- its characters, creations, rivalries, performances, highs and lows. Schumann interacted with many of the centuries' finest composers and performers: Chopin, Joachim, Liszt, Schumann (of course), Brahms...the list goes on.

Reich presents the incredible strength and courage for which Schumann is well-known, but does not flinch at exploring her more problematic qualities, for which friends, family, children and Schumann herself, paid a price.

Clara's deep understanding of the music of Robert Schumann and others, and its profound physical and emotional effects on its her play throughout. Here is Clara Schuman, de-mythologized, de-romanticized, and still amazing.

Intriguing, richly embued with testimony from original sources, a pleasure to read, Reich does not just tell the tale. She performs a symphony.

For most, Charles Dickens is the only source we've encountered regarding the awful human misery of the early industrial revolution. However, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx reported on it, too. Indeed, most of their criticisms were far more applicable to the raw capitalism of contemporary England than their native Germany.

Engels stayed in Manchester, the premier industrial city of the time, during the early 1840's to research his book. And he produced a devastating indictment of the truly miserable and life-threatening living conditions he found. Unlike Marx, Engels had a pronounced flair for writing; he makes it a fascinating, eye-opening journey back through time.

The topics he includes cover: struggling labor movements, the denigrating effects of immigration on domestic workers (due to competing subsistence-cost labor), the ignorance and crippling of child workers, the sexual exploitation of women workers, the displacement of male heads of household by lower-cost and more pliant women/children, the unbelievable filth and subhuman housing conditions workers endured, the dangerous and unhealthy working conditions of miners/factory workers, rampant substance abuse, doping of children by babysitters, the total lack of legal redress for the poor, the displacement of labor by machinery, and the role of unbridled competition in perpetrating economic distress.

While we all know communism has failed, its rise was due to these very real and serious problems, some of which remain with many Western workers today. And most of these conditions do very much persist in emerging economies right now. So, even though the book is well over 150 years old it is still highly valid!

The main fault of course with Marx/Engels' communist philosophy is that ALL humans are greedy and lazy - it's just that the clever ones (whether they originate from 'bourgeous' or 'working' classes) will always exploit the others. And it doesn't matter whether the system is capitalist or communist - those at the top will always exploit those below for personal advantage. Probably the best response has been the progressive social reform in Western nations over the last 100 years. (Revolutions and dictatorships usually only lead to mass murder.)

This chilling book is the real-life Oliver Twist exposed.I think Fredrick Engels wrote this book,in part to clear his conscious.And largely, to shed light on the fetid ,wretched underbelly of the 19th century industrial-age society.The nameless toilers working ten to twelve hour shifts,in a factory operation they had no vote or control over.Marx and Engels had many valid arguments for improving the workers lives.Did their end-results justify their means of social revolution? Engels would be amazed at the former textile towns,like Manchester,absorbing the large influx of Asians,Moslims and Africans today.It is still being debated,whether history has proven Engels & Marx right.This book is still a historical classic,thats presumptive findings give the modern reader,reason to pause. So,look all around you. -A Great Book !

Fabuous book. Engels wrote this when he was only 24- and what a tour de force.

The work is detailed, beautifully observed and elegantly written. Despite the depressing nature of the subject matter, the tone is always possible about a better world beyond the evils of capitalism.

Unfortunately 150 years after this masterpiece was written things dont seen to have gotten better under capitalism. Rather, the old evils of poverty, infectious diseases, starvation have been replaced by the modern evils of capitalism: obesity, alienation, mass materialism, depression, plunging fertility and marriage rates and so on...

Engels was the engine behind Karl Marx, one that gave him all the support he could, so to permit Marx to dedicate himself almost completely to the completion of his works. Judging himself many degrees bellow Marx in terms of intelect, Engels nonetheless is capable of writting a book such as this which describes all the impoverishment of the working class in the beginning of the industrialization in England, being helped by some well porputed factories labor fiscalization agents who allowed Engels to flip trough their reports. Strong terms like "the dark satanic mills" describe fully what were the working conditions of the time in a so rich country as England. An historical document lest no one forget what can happen again if the free hand of capitalism is allowed to run free of any barriers.

Friedrich Engels' classic "The Condition of the Working Class in England" was written when he was only twenty-four, and had but recently abandoned his Calvinist upbringing for a more critical, socialist, point of view. Yet this book reads as if it were written by an experienced political commentator or a radical sociologist, without actually at any point becoming melodramatic or dense.

Engels' main purpose is to confront the bourgeoisie with the reality of their mode of production and to contrast this with the rhetoric of "free choice" and "civil liberties", as well as the capitalist apologia of the political economists of his day, in particular Andrew Ure. With great insight into both the causes and effects of the capitalist system, Engels catalogues the endless want, filth, despair and misery experienced by millions of labourers every day in 19th century England. He pays attention to housing, to factory safety, to unionism, to the physical condition of the workers, to alcoholism, the state of the Irish underclass, to prostitution and disease; in short, all the ills attendant on industrialization.

What gives this book such power is that Engels on the one hand proceeds in an analytical manner, making use above all of sources from the bourgeoisie itself and from Parliamentary reports, in explaining the functioning of the capitalist system and the competition between capitalists and between labourers. On the other hand, he writes in a particularly readable manner and at no point bores the reader with the mere summing-up of statistics. On the contrary, every analytical truth is accompanied by a vivid description, taken from Engels' excursions into working-class neighbourhoods, of the terrible state of humanity that the economic laws of capitalism cause for a great number of people.

For those interested in political economy, it may come as a surprise to see how much of the functioning of capitalism Engels already understood at such an early point in the development of theory. This gives the lie to the many theorists who would later claim that it was Marx only who worked on economics and that Engels was a mere epigone; this book should be a vindication of Engels. His later sketches of the political economy and of the historical development of capitalism would lay the foundation for both the Communist Manifesto and Marx' economic works. But the core insights that would create the modern theory of socialism are for the first time fully expressed here, and in a most appealing and shockingly effective manner.

In other words, an absolute must read for every person of intelligence.

I thouroughly enjoyed this book today as much as I did when I first read it 30 years ago. In the thirty year interim I also saw the film based on this book at leasy 4 times. It was a recent TV screening of the film that prompted me to purchase the book--Das Boot. The copy I received was in excellent condition. Thank you.

I remember when the movie was first released, at the time I was a movie projectionist who had become a tad jaded by movies in general. This story forced me to reconsider the sterotypes that Hollywood has traditionally forced upon us, ie the evil Hun versus the heroic Commander, RN or USN. I had to find the book at that point and was impressed despite what I believed to be a choppy writing style; however, 20 years and hundreds of books later I now recognize it more for its content and uniqueness. The ability of the author to show the weariness and jaded outlook of the crew and still portray the naivity of the younger members is priceless. My only wish is that I someday I'll be able to obtain this in hardback to add to my collection. If you are interested in maritime, if you are open minded to enjoy other points of view then you should read this classic about the men of the U-boats.

If being in a war can be described as 98% sheer boredom and 2% sheer terror, than this novel can be said to be an accurate description of that. Indeed, it is a complete and thorough examination of life on a German U-Boat mission during World War II. While it is mostly compelling, there are long stretches when not a whole lot is going on--just as it was in reality, no doubt--and although the author makes a valiant effort to keep things interesting, these passages tend to drag a bit.

The story is narrated and told in the first person by the war correspondent/author of the tale, so there is very much a sense of immediacy to this. The first thing which strikes one is how unpleasant life on a submarine was. The food, after the first few weeks, was horrible. There was very little space and no privacy with everyone jammed together. Some of the men even had to share bunks. (When one is on duty, the other used it, and vice versa.) To climb out of his own bunk, the narrator usually had to ask the person seated below him to move. Just about every meal was interrupted by the necessity of having to get up when someone wanted to pass. The air was clammy and stale with the reek of unwashed humans in close quarters.

Although this is informative, it goes on for the first hundred and eighty pages or so and worse, the author exacerbates the problem by putting things in which don't add anything and slow it down even further. So we get to hear the men's jokes and stories. We get to hear the author's lengthy descriptions of the ever changing look of the sea and sky. We get to hear about the working of the submarine: its engine, the flotation tanks, the torpedoes, etc. While much of this is mildly interesting, to put it bluntly, the guy is no Melville. The reader will find himself getting antsy for something to happen.

It does. The submarine gets hit by a storm that lasts for about a month. This is pretty good as to the drastic effect it has on the men's lives, getting pitched about constantly and incapable of getting any sleep unless the sub is underwater, which it can only be for a couple of hours at a time. The men turn into a bunch of scarecrow zombies. Again, it is informative, and again, one's interest begins to peter out well before the storm does.

The most intense aspect of the novel, of course, is the battle scenes which begin shortly after the storm ends and last off and on to the end of the novel. Although they torpedo a few ships, these battle scenes mostly have to do with their trying to get away. Life on the submarine alone has frayed the men's nerves almost to the breaking point. Enduring hour after hour of bombardment from above from relentless, sonar-equipped destroyers pushes many of them beyond their limit. The author describes the wailing and sobbing he hears in the darkened boat, and he himself remains frozen in fear as the crashing, pounding, roaring explosions occur seemingly right outside of their submarine. It is a mesmerizing and terrifying account, and continues right through to the hopeless ending.

But that's about as far as it goes. Except for the stoic captain, there really isn't much in the way of interesting character development, and the writing style, while certainly adequate, rarely rises above the pedestrian. It's a solid war novel, no more, no less.

Das Boot is a must-read for anyone remotely interested in sub warfare, WWII, or--most importantly--the psychological impact of war on men. With meticulous detail and great pacing, Buchheim does a superb job transporting you to one of Dönitz's "iron coffins," where life was cramped, dirty, fearful, and usually very short. Be sure to check out the acclaimed film adaptation, too; it's one of the very best war movies.

(Note: I read this book in the original German, so I can't comment on this particular translation.)

Das Boot is one amazing book. From the grudges, toils, and rough world of sailors, Herr Buchheim has produced a novel with gut wrentching action and detailed sorrow. From the pre-cast off bar room orgies of saliors, to the maddening world of depth charge bombing, Das Boot will send you on one heck of a ride. The novel is able to capture the emotions of its reader and fully allow them to expreience the druggering perform by the U-Boat men of WW2. This book is written in a personal memoir style and will not appeal to all people. However, if one is intersted about reading the battle of the atlantic by the saliors who fought in it, then this is your book. Undoubly one of the best written descriptions of warfare that I have ever read.

I admit it: I purchased Days of Atonement because I liked the cover. You know how it is; you need something to read and browse covers. Well, Days of Atonement is a book you can tell by its cover.

Gregorio ( a penman for a husband and wife writing team) takes us into the world of Prussia, held captive by Napolean's forces. The local magistrate Hanno Steffeniis is called in to solve a murder. Torn between helping the forces that rule him and his honor to his country, Hanno diigently solves the crime.

Gregorio manages to run his plot through early 19th century Prussia while also evoking the emotions of living in a land occupied by captors. After reading Days of Atonement I immediately purchased Gregorio's first book. Get both and fear not; a wonderful vacation adventure.

The proud Prussians of rural Lotingen chafe under the yoke of Napoleon's occupation, but a gruesome, baffling murder forces magistrate Hanno Stiffeniis to join the French Colonel Lavedrine in finding the culprit.

This is Stiffeniis's second foray into crime solving (after "Critique of Criminal Reason") and Lavedrine, a Holmesian-style criminologist, is eager to hear of Stiffeniis' work with the legendary philosopher Immanuel Kant, who helped the magistrate solve his first case in 1804, a few years previous.

Stiffeniis recoils from the Frenchman, not only out of patriotic distrust, but also to guard his own secrets, but when three children are murdered in a bizarre, ritualistic fashion and their mother disappears, he has no choice but to combine his methods with Lavedrine's.

While Stiffeniis compiles sketches of the oddly bloodless scene, Lavedrine trusts the deductive power of his senses. Both men rely on psychological insights, though their reasoning takes them in different directions. Meanwhile rumors are flying that the town's Jews are responsible, having murdered the children for their innocent Christian blood. Mobs threaten and tensions erupt.

Stiffeniis travels to the Prussian military post where the children's father, Major Gottewold, is stationed, only to discover that Major Gottewold is beyond his questions. He was killed in a military exercise several weeks before the murder of his children.

The atmosphere at the garrison is fanatical and sinister and Stiffeniis comes away with suspicions he cannot share with the Frenchman and questions that make the case more baffling than ever. His state of mind is not improved upon discovering that Lavedrine has been busy involving Stiffeniis' wife in the case.

Gregorio (the pen name of Michael G. Jacob and Daniela De Gregorio) sweeps the reader into the story by deepening the mystery with every clue and relying on character development to complicate the puzzle and involve the reader. Stiff-backed, guarded, proud Stiffeniis squares off against the laconic, inquisitive Lavedrine and as Lavedrine insinuates himself into Stiffeniis' private life each comes to a cautious understanding of the other.

The story is complex and atmospheric with the rigors of a Prussian winter exerting a deep chill over every movement and development. The ending, while haunting, is a bit farfetched and disappointing. Nevertheless, Gregorio delivers a deeply absorbing narrative, with a flawed and intriguing protagonist. Readers will look forward to further acquaintance with Magistrate Stiffeniis and his spirited, lovely, and neurotic wife, Helena.

A real page turner, this second installment in the Hanno Steiffeniis, had me glued to my seat till the very last page.

The winter of 1807 sees Prussia completely occupied by the Napoleon's French army; the Prussians feel this defeat of their armies by the French and the shame and terror of occupation most keenly, and no one more so that the local magistrate of Lotingen, Hanno Steiffeniis, and his wife, Helena. Steiffeniis would like to do nothing more than to maintain a low profile and keep his family safe during this occupation, but when three children are found brutally slain in their home, Steffeniis finds himself having to work with famed Parisian criminologist, Serge Lavedrine, in order resolve this horrific murder. But if trying to sift through the meagre clues and having to work with a hated Frenchman is not difficult enough, Steffiniis also finds himself being pressured by his Prussian superiors to resolve the case quickly and to throw the blame on a despised minority. Soon, Steffeniis begins to realise that his only ally in seeing justice done and the right person arrested for the murders is the French criminologist, Lavdrine. But can Steffiniis put aside his misgivings enough to trust Lavedrine?

"Days of Atonement" proved to be such an incredibly riveting and compelling read, that I simply had to stay up all night in order to finish the book. The period details were fantastic, the characters brilliantly drawn, the tension masterfully sustained, and the storyline a truly intriguing and completely absorbing one. I was hooked from the very first page! If I had any criticism of the novel it was that the character of the main character, Steffiniis, was a little too petulant at times -- esp when one contrasted Steffiniis with Lavedrine. But this was a very minor nitpick and it was one that I was able to overlook quite easily. A definite page turner, "Days of Atonement" was a wonderfully suspenseful and absolutely riveting read, and one that should not be missed.

I love quality intellectual mysteries, and this novel is the best I have read in a long, long time. It is 1807; Napoleon's army has swept over Prussia, and the French army occupies the conquered land. Hanno Stiffeniis, a local Prussian magistrate, along with his wife, Helena, and their three children have retreated to their country home in hopes of avoiding trouble.

When three children are found murdered in a cabin, and their mother is missing, Hanno is called upon to assist the French Colonel Serge Lavedrine in investigating the crime. Each man wants to find the killer, and to exhibit their own superior investigative skills without really pointing their accusatory finger at the other man.

Stiffeniis begins a search for the missing woman's husband. He travels to a remote town that is still in the hands of the Prussian Army, only to discover that the husband too, has died under mysterious circumstances. The pace goes into high gear when the missing wife is found dead in the most gruesome of circumstances. This is a novel that tells of difficult times with a sometimes dark mood-that also has explicit forensic detail-but maintains an exciting pace.

Gregorio also wrote the acclaimed historical mystery, Critique of Criminal Reason, and in this novel, French, Prussians, and Jews are pitted against each other in a multi-level mystery with exciting and unique characters. The plot takes you in many different directions and brings you to an unexpected conclusion.

I couldn't put this book down, and will definitely be watching for more from this talented author.

Armchair Interviews says: A most well-done historical mystery about a time 200 years ago.

Michael Gregorio's "Days of Atonement" opens during the cold Prussian autumn of 1807. A year earlier, Napoleon's army invaded much of Europe, and ever since, the vanquished citizens of Prussia have been angrily chafing under French rule. Procurator Hanno Stiffeniis is a respected magistrate who lives in Lotingen with his beautiful wife, Helena, and their growing family. At a dinner party, he meets Parisian criminologist Colonel Serge Lavedrine, who claims that in 1793, he corresponded with the great thinker, Immanuel Kant, a man whom Hanno had admired and worked with closely in Konigsberg.

Lavedrine had been impressed with Kant's insights into the "bent wood of humanity," especially the professor's suggestion that "there is a less predictable side to the human heart" than the one casual observers notice. Hanno takes an instant dislike to the pretentious and condescending Serge. Soon, however, the criminologist and Hanno are forced to work together to solve a baffling case. A woodsman has reported finding the mutilated corpses of two brothers and their sister lying on a bed in an isolated cottage. Their mother, Sybille Gottewald, is missing and their father, Bruno, is a soldier who is stationed in Kamenetz, a remote military outpost. Hanno follows Kant's method of "recording the mechanics of a crime" by taking notes and making sketches of the scene, whereas Laverdine uses his eyes and his well-honed instincts to ferret out clues. Unfortunately, neither Hanno's scrutiny nor Laverdine's insight provides a quick solution to this horrific puzzle. Trouble is brewing in the form of anti-Semitism when a hysterical populace starts spreading rumors that the Jews killed the children to use their blood for religious rituals. If the real perpetrator is not found promptly, riots might break out, leading to even more carnage.

The magistrate's inquiries take him to Kamenetz where a sadistic nationalist named General Juri Katowice commands a fiercely loyal band of Prussians, some little more than children, and teaches them to be as cruel and merciless as he is. The magistrate makes several perplexing discoveries that deepen the mystery surrounding the Gottewald murders. Hanno also finds himself walking a political tightrope, trying to allay the qualms of the District Governor, Count Aldebrand Dittersdorf, while at the same time pacifying the French occupiers. His time-consuming investigation places a strain on his relationship with Helena, who seems to be fascinated by the dashing Serge Lavedrine.

Michael Jacob and Daniela De Gregorio, who co-wrote this book under a pen name, have created an engrossing, complex, and wrenching tale of political intrigue, religious persecution, and madness. The authors depict life in Prussia under Napoleonic rule with great care and precision, and they juggle their large cast and multi-layered plot with aplomb. The suspense mounts to an excruciating level until the investigators (with the help of Helena, an old manuscript by Kant, and the observations of a Jewish scientist named Aaron Jacob) finally learn the identity of the children's killer and the motive for a seemingly senseless act of violence.

Heading to Germany for the Football (Soccer) World Cup in June 2006? Take a detour to Berlin and be amazed by the vibrancy and architecture of this new/old city. Reading Ruth Baja Williams' "Detour Berlin" is an excellent introduction to your visit, giving the city a unique flavour from the perspective of a 20-year-long visitor. The former East Berlin is currently being transformed with renovated apartment buildings, stunning new high rises, and everywhere there are trees and parks to soften the built environment. As you wander around Alexanderplatz recall Ruth's experiences there, imagine the life she describes of her friends residing on the `other' side of the Berlin Wall. Visit cosmopolitan department stores, putting yourself in the position of a long suffering 1960 -70s East Berliner attempting to purchase scarce, very basic products. Picture yourself living in West Berlin, separated from family and friends by a forbidding wall. Allow Ruth, through her warm, yet incisive observations, to take you on a journey that will make your own visit so much more meaningful and appreciative of a lifestyle often taken for granted. Ruth's prose is vividly accessible as she generously shares the daily lives of her family and friends in a way that brings a European city into the realm of understanding of a non-European. Do detour!

Ruth Baja Williams memoirs of post-wall pre-unification Berlin are hard to put down. Buy this book and you're guaranteed to be caught up in her vivid storytelling abilities and compelling gifts for observation. In a way, her book also serves as a mini-biography of her husband Charles Williams, one of America's most gifted and creative singers and teachers (he created the role of Sporting Life at the Metropolitan Opera's premier performances of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in 1985).

What a read! Ruth took me to Berlin, placed me in her family, and brought me a rich, honest encounter with a place I knew little about. Thank you Ruth (and Charles) for letting me share your wonderful detour to Berlin.

Ruth has witnessed a period of our modern history which is too little known and understood by much of the supposedly educated Western world - and written so well and thoughtfully about her experiences. We share her disappointments, admire her achievements with the German language, freeze with her, are inspired by the stoicism and even good humour of individuals who have suffered so much in war, feel the warmth of her German friends, can imagine the hassle and frustration of crossing into East Berlin and appreciate the fascination Ruth and Charles had with the events, culture, history, politics and customs of Berlin.

This 20 year detour by an interracial American couple in Cold War Berlin is an interesting, compulsive read which also permits valuable insights into personal interactions within the culturally diverse international community.

A compelling account of a 20th-century love story set in Cold War Berlin. Ruth Baja, a girl from an upper class Philippine background, marries Charles Williams, a black American singer, against her family's wishes. They find themselves in Berlin--temporarily they think--soon after the Wall divides the city. They stay and raise a family while Charles pursues a European career. This is a voyage of political, cultural and personal discovery, told with wit, poignance and grace. You'll fall in love with Ruth and Charles, and with Berlin too.

Great book, excellent photo refrence, artistic refrence, 2d/3d refrence. Clear diagrams for the painting, drawing, sculpture. covers everything.
couldn't get better with english books even the anatomy is described in a more designed format that is simpler for the reader to understand, yet is acurate.
Absloutley wonderful

Great for painting, drawing, sculpture. awesome shapes, photo refrence, artist refrence. Its great overall... can't say enough about how wonderful it is ...

This is exactly how an anatomy book should be made! It uses figures in motion, figures of all ages and body types - not just idealised perfect slim people. This is the perfect anatomy book for animators and other artists - the illustrations of muscle groups twisting are worth the price alone!

If only there was a version in English...

Great for painting, drawing, sculpture. awesome shapes, photo refrence, artist refrence. Its great overall... can't say enough about how wonderful it is ...

even though i don't understand the German language, I have found the book to be excellent help because of the drawings, they are clear, they clarify the anatomy the form, the photos are helpful because they show the anatomy clearly. the children's photos are great because they help show you the child anatomy and that is not available in America any where. The drawing pages are just great. It shows the anatomy in different movement, not to mention they include extra artist work. It's enough anatomy in one book for a teacher's curriculum.
Highly recommended for any one, especially those who are starting, I mean if you want to start, you start at the top, not learn the bad stuff and they try to unlearn them ...
Right? Good luck