Germany Books

Sins of the Innocent is the wartime memoir of a French woman who married a German man in interwar Europe and then had to endure the Nazi years in Germany. In Spain when the Spanish civil war breaks out, boyfriend Abel is nearly executed as a spy. He manages to survive, they marry, go on vacations, and try to live a normal life as life in Germany is consumed by Nazism. Abel is an artist and an ardent anti-Nazi. Conscripted when war breaks out, he spends the war in various drawing-related jobs, and manages to stay alive in jobs that are sometimes near the front lines. Meanwhile Mireille endures the war in various locales, and in the telling we learn frankly about life in wartime Germany from the eyes of a foreigner in its midst. Because Mireille is a strong, sympathetic, and acutely observant person in frequently unsafe situations, we get a clear-sighted picture of life in Nazi Germany from a woman's experience and a woman's perspective. It's a book well worth the reading. Smoothly translated and engrossing in its open-eyed view of life in a bizarre world, it's a hard book to put down.

98-year-old author Mireille Marokvia presents her second memoir, Sins of the Innocent, the story of her adult life when she followed the man she loved to Stuttgart in 1939... just as Germany became tightly ensconced under fascist control. At times dark, at times embodying the spirit of hope, Sins of the Innocent chronicles the years of World War II and beyond with a candid, soul-searching eye. An emotionally powerful and moving true story of being witness to a grim hour for all humanity. Also highly recommended is Marokvia's previous memoir, "Immortelles: Memoir of a Will-o'-the-Wisp".

The illustrations in this version of Sleeping Beauty are just gorgeous. They make the book very special & a treasure to keep into adulthood. If you are looking for a special gift for a young child this book would be perfect.

Adele Geras previously wrote a fine series for children about famous ballets, including the Sleeping Beauty ballet. Unfortunately, many reviews are being published for that title under this newer book. This review is for the book by Geras, illustrated by Christian Birmingham, and with the ISBN number of 043958180X.

If you love blue and white, this Sleeping Beauty will quickly become your favorite version ever. Birmingham uses the entire spectrum of blue for his lush and luminescent illustrations of Geras' adaptation of the well-known fairy tale. While Geras' text is excellent, Birmingham's illustrations are the true reason for owning this book. Every page glows with light and magic, providing an impact similar to Thomas Kinkade's paintings without the blatant sweetness. Even at the darkest moments of the story, the happy ending is foreshadowed with beams of light streaming into the image.

Kinuko Y. Craft most recently illustrated this tale with a rich palette of reds and earth tones. Now Birmingham has provided us with the opposite spectrum of cool blues and the sky. Both books are highly recommended; don't think that this one should be missed if you already own Craft's beautiful book. We can only hope Geras and Birmingham will produce more fairy tales with their unique vision.

I purchaed many copies of this book as baby gifts in the early '90s. (Plus one for myself, of course.)
It is one of the most beautifully illustrated books I've encountered and really does need to come back into circulation.

This book would make a great gift for a child because it is an easy telling of the story and the pictures are beautiful. Almost every page has a full color illustration that looks to have been done as an oil painting.

I love this book. If you are someone who loves the Sleeping Beauty story, it's a must. The book itself is sturdy in hardback, and worth the investment. Rackham's artwork is funny, done in the silhouette style of black and white cut-out, enhanced with red and green inks for dramatic effect. It takes on a timeless look, reminding me of the end of the summer season. C.S. Evens tells the story in the fullest detail you will find, stretching it to 11 chapters. This is the romantic version, and talks nothing of wicked mothers or babies getting eaten up by ogres! Instead, this story begins with the princess's parents and the frog; it details the jobs of the servants and what goes in the castle, the 12 good fairies and the mad one... The curse. The advice of the wizards, the destruction of the spinning wheels, the princess growing up, and the demise of the curse's reign. Of course, there are MANY princes that attempt to break the curse, but only ONE makes it through!

Arthur Rackham not only excelled at creating full color illustrations; he also was an unrivalled master at the art of the silhouette. In this reprinted children's classic, Rackham lavishly illustrates C.S. Evan's intricate retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story with one amazing silhouette after another. One of my favorite illustrations when I was a child was a fabulous two-page cross-section of Sleeping Beauty's palace, including such great details as slumbering cats, doves, scullery maids, the king and queen on their thrones, and of course the princess in her high tower. It never ceases to impress me how much a masterful artist like Rackham could communicate just with beautifully crafted graphic shapes alone- and remember, just because something's not in color, doesn't mean it's not good! Highly recommended!

Charles Santore's illustrations were beautiful. He portrayed the moods and feelings of the subjects very well indeed. We appreciated that he gave human faces to the subjects rather than the animated cartoons of Disney. I never could understand from the Disney pictures why the stepmother was so beautiful or how Snow White was deceived by such an evil looking hag. Santore's illustrations make the story believable on this score. Santore also "aged" Snow White in each consecutive picture of when she was "dead" for "many years" - thus making it credible that she was a young woman when she awoke. We also preferred the simplicity of the original story over the Disney version. We enjoyed this book and our 2.5 year old really likes it too.

The illustrations in this book are breathtaking. The story is familiar, but with little twists and turns away from the Disney version, but it's the amazing artistry of the illustrations that makes this a wonderful book to own.

This first rate study of the struggles of pre-WW 2 democratic parties in Europe casts an illuminating light on the problems of emerging democratic societies in the post=Soviet period. It is thoughtful and well written.

If you want to know what political science can and should be, read this book. It takes important questions and answers them clearly and intelligently, with learning but not jargon. I wish all scholarly books were like this.

This book captivated both me and my best friend. The issue of the book I read was printed in 1907 and is titled The Solitary Summer by the author of "Elizabeth and her German Garden". Nowhere else in the book does it ever reveal the author's name. The book starts out with a dedication "To the man of Wrath with some apologies and much love". The book is a diary (May-September) of a woman with 3 small babies (referred to only as my April baby, my May baby, my June baby) who wants to spend the entire summer to herself.The first page of the book begins. "May 2nd - Last night after dinner, when we were in the garden, I said, "I want to be alone for a whole summer, and get to the very dregs of life. I want to be as idle as I can, so that my soul may have time to grow. Nobody shall be invited to stay with me, and if any one calls they will be told that I am out, or away, or sick. I shall spend the months in the garden, and on the plain, and in the forests. I shall watch the things that happen in my garden, and see where I have made mistakes. On wet days I will go into the thickest parts of the forests, where the pine needles are everlastingly dry, and when the sun shines I'll lie on the heath and see how the broom flares against the clouds. I shall be perpetually happy, because there will be no one to worry me." And so begins her solitary summer, filled with books, the garden(s), nature, her thoughts and reflections. And conversations with her husband who does not believe she can endure an entire summer without visitors.

What one among us hasn't felt the desire for peace and solitude so aptly described in this poignant work. I loved it!

I just finished reading Nothing Remains. It is a wonderful resource book for classroom teachers. It gave me a better understanding of Jewish life in a small town before WWII. I was transported back in time and got a glimpse of the impact that a teacher has upon a child. Being a classroom teacher, this was enlightening for me. It reminded me of young love and the scars that go hand-in-hand with youth.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will read it again. It was a good choice and I am glad that I bought it.

Mary

Ellwangen, Germany, 1933. Erich Levi is a normal 12-year-old boy. He's a good student, enjoys spending time at the local pool with his two best friends, and is looking forward to his bar mitzvah next year. Slowly, his life begins to change for the worse when the National Socialist Party under the direction of Adolf Hitler is elected to power. His German teacher ridicules him and accuses him of cheating. The few classmates who will still talk to him, the ones who haven't joined the Hitler Youth, are often torn between what their families and school expect of them and their loyalty to Erich.

At home, Erich's father is under a lot of stress from his job. People won't buy his products at the local market, and he worries about supporting his family. Friends are turning into enemies, and family members speak in hushed tones about what might become of the future. Though he faces oppression with determination, Erich's father knows that his beloved housekeeper Fanny speaks the truth: Things are going to get worse for the Jewish people of Germany before they get better.

Using real-life events and people (some names have been changed), Inge Barth-Grozinger has recreated a coming-of-age novel that moves from normal to terrifying. The result is something that, if it happened today, might read like a diary. From our outsider's perspective more than 60 years after the end of World War II, it's almost easy for us to follow the progression of events that led to Erich having to sacrifice everything he knew and loved. But we must remember that Erich and his family could not predict the future.

This story of a boy who tried to live an ordinary life in an extraordinary, terrible time is both hopeful and saddening. Erich and his family were lucky enough to escape the concentration camps, but they lost an important part of their lives: the home, friends and family they had known for years. They were fortunate enough to have help in their escape from Nazi Germany, something too many families did not have.

SOMETHING REMAINS is a slightly different Holocaust book from others you might have read. Rather than deal with the large-scale consequences of Hitler's Third Reich, it is a look at the beginning, at all the small changes that allowed Hitler to build the foundation for his Final Solution.

--- Reviewed by Carlie Webber

I have read quite a few Christian novels in the past few years, but Songs of Zion is clearly ahead of the pack. Where many of these books are thin on character and plot development and heavy on proselytizing, Colbert's novel grips you right away. He clearly knows the historical era about which he writes (WWII) and has down the elements that make for thrilling action/adventure. His slant in this novel is Hitler's quest to get his hands on the spear that pierced Christ's side, not for any Christian purpose but for its mystical powers (ala Raiders of the Lost Ark). Colbert's writing reminds me of Ken Follett, which is good company to be in, and is preferable to the recent works of Christian writer Jerry Jenkins (Left Behind et al.).

I love this book! I would compare it to Jack Higgins meets "The Silver Chalice" with a little bit of Indiana Jones thrown in. The plot twists and turns kept it unpredictable. I especially appreciated the fact that the characters in the book had struggles with accepting Christ, and continued to have struggles afterward, which is a reality you don't always get with other Christian fiction. An exciting read!

This incredible, 2000 book features a forward by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who subsequently changed jobs!!!

Dietrich Von Hildebrand was anything but a dull, boring academic. As described by his widow, his life was filled with sanctity, romance, heroism, and intrigue. An outspoken opponent of Hitler, he became targeted for assassination. Hunted throughout Europe, he arrived in New York City in 1940, where he taught at Jesuit-run Fordham University until 1960.

Even after retirement, Von Hildebrand maintained ties to Fordham through his protege, the late Dr. William Marra - my own teacher! I am deeply disappointed that I never took the opportunity to hear one of Von Hildebrand's presentations.

"The Soul of a Lion" is a very moving account of the life of Dietrich von Hildebrand, one of the most important Catholic theologians of the 20th century. Since it was written by his lovely wife, Alice, she does not pretend to be an unbiased observer. However, while she clearly writes from a heart filled with deep love and affection, she also recounts his mistakes and character faults without attempting to whitewash them.

Some of the highlights of the book include the sections detailing his very cultured, very European uprbringing; his conversion to Catholicism; and his courageous, outspoken opposition to Nazism, resulting in his dangerous escape to America with his family.

My one disappointment with the book is the ending-- Alice von Hildebrand ends her account with his arrival in the United States. This necessarily leaves untold the story of how the first Mrs. von Hildebrand (Gretchen) died, and how Alice had the great good fortune of meeting and eventually marrying Dietrich. Surely this is another moving tale which deserves to be told! Perhaps, someday, a continuation??