Austria Books

Often as one gets older, there is a need to get back to one's roots. I am of half-Tirolean ancestry, but have never been fully immersed in the culture. And unfortunately, I've also never visited the region either. This book has been very helpful in becoming re-acquainted with my Tirolean roots.

Ms. Ward has presented good research and anecdotal information about an ethnic group of which, aside from yodeling and their folk costume, very little is known outside of the region.

The book also clarifies some hot regional issues dealing with politics and ethnicity that were seldom spoken of when I was growing up. And it's filled with quotes, prose, and anecdotes from the past 200 years which were very interesting!

The book fell short of my expectations only in that it lacked articles on physical anthropology of the Alpine (a.k.a. Alpinid) group to which Tiroleans belong. The emphasis was primarily on the sociological aspects of Tirolean life.

I would recommend Hidden Life of Tirol to anyone interested in European contemporary history. Gemutlichkeit!!

This is a satisfying overview of Hungarian history. The only shortcoming is unbalanced attention paid to modern and premodern period. Half of the book covers more than a millenium long premodern period until ca. 1830, another half is given to 170 years since then. For this reason, the earlier history is sometimes dealt with superficially, while the newer history perhaps sometimes goes too deep. Nevertheless, the book is worth reading and treats the matter in an objective manner.

A unique approach to the genre of "escapee" literature. Accounts of wartime experiences of the Furst family vascillate between now late father, Desider, and daughter, Lilian, and are centered around the cities which represent the changing fortunes of the family. This is a personal family drama that floats along the borders of history and draws the reader into a subdued and melancholic vision of the post-war Jewish family.

This guide is well organized and very informative, with information such as price, safety, noise and available facilities of each hostel. It is an excellent guide for first time hostellers, as well as experienced travellers.

"And don't forget our murderers!" These words from a Jewish woman about to be killed by Nazi soldiers were a battle cry to Simon Wiesenthal. After his miraculous survival of the death camps, he dedicated his life to tracking down war criminals. At times his ego and love of publicity undermined him; other times it was these traits plus his singleminded determination that resulted in successful findings and prosecutions. Altman does not use a dry textbook style but writes almost in novel form with chapters subdivided by catchy headings. There are boxed features on some of the more notorious, along with victims and others, black and white photographs, notes, bibliography, and index.

Waldheim grew up in Austria and his father
was very Anti-NAZI. Thus Kurt never envis-
ioned joining the NUTZI party. He and his
family were also NOT for the Anchloss! Kurt
was a regular german army Lt., stationed in
the Balkans during 1941-43 and there he never
came into contact v. any khazars (i.e. jews).
Later Waldheim became a big peacenik and joined
the Internationalist UN, and like Hess he was a
big Spacenik and advocated some Laroucheian type
stuff. But the silly charges brought v. he by the
world jewish Congress mouthpiece Elan Steinberg
was hooey! How could Steinberg and the WJC have
found 'documents under the UN', that proved Walh-
heim was a NUTZI, when Waldheim used to run that
organization, which I despise (!)? If there were
criminal traces of paperwork there wehn Waldheim
run the joint, he would have destroyed it! And
the WJC alledgedly found a piece of incriminating
paper AFTER Waldheim left...sorry, wrong answer, Elan!

This is a very pretty looking book that introduces young readers to the world of Ludwig Van Beethoven. The idea of this series is to look at the influences and historical events that shaped the lives of great composers. Roland Vernon describes how Beethoven was born into a changing world of revolutions that transformed America and France, and shows how Beethoven's music mirrored those turbulent times. But Vernon also explores how Beethoven's music reflected a deeply personal exploration of human nature and emphasizes how the composer profoundly changed every form of music in which he work. The book has sidebars devoted to Beethoven's musical contemporaries like Mozart, revolutionary thinkers like Thomas Paine, instruments like the harpsichord, and events like the fall of Napoleon. As I said above, the book is illustrated quite impressively, with historic paintings and artifacts. Vernon focuses most on the details of Beethoven's life and the history of the time, somewhat at the expense of his music, which matters here because the thesis is that Beethoven is a musical revolutionary. That is difficult to do in a book, granted, but if that is the contract with the reader then it needs to be followed up on more explicitly. Other titles in the series introduce young readers to Bach, Chopin, Gershwin, Mozart, Starvinsky, Verdi, and Vivaldi.

The book contains three stories, all set in Vienna. The third story is about the strange love pact of a painter and his model in the past and another strange pact (but not really a love pact this time) of another painter and her model at present. Although the first two stories do not tell us such an interesting, disturbing and misterious tale like the third one, Steven Kelly's use of the language makes it a pleasure to read.

All the heroes (if that would be the word...) are just ordinary people with nothing very special about them. On the other hand, they all have interesting personalities with their own obsessions and fears, and the author's easy-going way of telling the story makes you feel like you are among them and living through their lives.

Budapest today bustles, driven by efforts to integrate the formely communist country into Nato and the European Union. The beautiful buildings, bridges and sites dating back to the Austo-Hungarian Empire of the 1800's surprise many tourists from the West. But without knowing the history of this city the tourist has only a fraction of the enjoyment. Jewish Budapest chronicals the long history of Jews in this part of Hungary, working their way from a marginal existance literally on the edge of town to an integral part of Budapest. From this community came Theodore Hertzel, a founder of the Zionist Movement to create a Jewish state in Israel. One of the leading Rabbi's of early Reform Judaism in America served as Rabbi at a Temple in Budapest before emigrating to the freedom of the United States. Although not emancipated until about the 1870's, Budapest's Jewish community achieved remarkable progress in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in this ethnically diverse city. Before World War II, Jews comprised around 25% of the Budapest population including leading industrialists, entertainers, businessmen, doctors, scholars, and civic leaders. Now there are only about 70,000 Jews left. The majestic Dohaney Street Temple, built to the dimensions of the Temple in Jerusalem, stands today as the largest temple in Europe, seating some 3,200 worshipers in a beautifuly restored sanctuary. Jewish Budapest tells about the Jewish community that built this and a number of other temples and synagoges. Architectual information is given about office buildings, schools, apartment building and more that still line Budapest streets. The author goes behind the brick and mortar to tell about the daily lives of the people who lived in the community and how they changed over the centuries. The author includes includes an account of the catastrophe that befell the Jewish community at the hands of various fascist groups during World War II and the heroic efforts of Christians like Raul Wallenberg that saved many thousand men, women and children from the Nazis. Jewish Budapest also describes much about Judaism as practiced in Europe, not just ritual, but also daily lives of the Jews and personalties and conflicts during the centuries within the community and with their neigbors. The religious information is basic enough so that it can be understood by people with little or no knowledge of Judaism and yet interesting for those well familiar with Jewish ritual and customs. I especially recommend this book to people going to Budapest, people who have visited the city, people with ties to Hungary and history buffs.

A set of moderately readable short stories, all involving Jews living in postwar Germany. Most of these stories are about awkwardness: the awkwardness of Jews trying to figure out how to interact with people who in some cases had spent their youth murdering Jews or (more often) cheering on the killers, the awkwardness of German non-Jews who could not quite figure out how to interact with their former victims. Of course, over time these problems will dwindle: the postwar generation is dying out, and many of today's German Jews grew up in Soviet Russia.