Germany Books

This work of fiction has fooled too many 'historians" to mention here. Proof? Just double-check Sajer's facts. For example, Sager claims to have witnessed a daylight Allied air raid against Berlin in the spring of 1943, before the Battle of Kursk. Sorry, Sager, but the first Allied daylight raid against Berlin was flown in March 1944. Then Sager claims to have seen Hitler Youth lads fighting alongside his panzergrenadier unit at Kursk. No Hitler Youth fought at Kursk, and Germany never clothed its grenadiers in HJ uniforms. After Kursk, Sager claims to have fought at Konotop, but the history of the German 183th Infantry Division [Weg und Schicksal der 183rd Infanterie-Division] , which defended Konotop in September 1943, makes it clear that no German armored or panzergrenadier units supported its efforts and the detailed situation map (a copy of an original) in the book does not depict the Grossdeutschland Division anywhere near the town. Similarly, Sager makes no mention of the Grossdeutschland Division's epic battles fought at Kirowograd, Rownoje, Cornesti, or even Targul Frumos. Instead, he claims to have spent much of this period of the war with his panzergrenadier company fighting Soviet partisan bands, a mission not typically assigned to elite panzergrenadier formations and one not mentioned in the Grossdeutschland Division's three-volume detailed factual history, by Helmuth Spaeter. Spaeter by the way went to his grave believing Sager was a fraud. Unfortunately, so many lazy historians (mostly American) have quoted Sager's bull as fact in their own manuscripts that they have a vested interest in perpetuating the myth of the Forgotten Soldier. Read Sager's book for fun; enjoy the novel. But even as a novel, the Forgotten Soldier can't hold a candle to either "The Cross of Iron" (Willi Heinrich) or "If This Be Glory" (Hasso G. Stachow), two of the very best novels on the German experience on the Eastern Front in WWII. Of course, Heinrich and Stachow fought on the Eastern Front; Sager didn't, and that makes a world of difference in terms of authenticity and accuracy.

Best War Book
This is not an anti-war book.
It is an eye witness account of war.
Read this book whether you hate or love war.

The best "ground" WWII book I have ever read. I'll never forget this book as long as I live.
You'll discover a whole new world if this is your first German/Russian WWII book.

Echos of Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" - this book's actual accounts will leave the reader mentally drained. The graphic reality of combat on the Eastern front are jaw dropping. Combat experiences are conveyed expertly without self-praise nor self-loathing - just the facts and the struggle. Politics are abscent. The story shows a man's journey and his witness to the horrors of war in depths that could never be duplicated in other forms of media. If done in film it would be "Saving Private Ryan" to the factor of ten.

A prize book in my personal collection.

Awsome - the one word I use to describe this book.

Debates exist whether this book is non-fiction or fiction mainly due to the inaccuracies regarding specific details, some minor such as uniform markings. However, after researching this topic I came across a letter to the Editor of "Military Review", printed in the March-April 1997 edition, by a Douglas E. Nash. Nash eventually located Sajer and brought up some critical points that skeptics thought up regarding Sajer's inaccurracies. Sajer basically replied that what he wrote was concerned with what he experienced first-hand, and that he did not intend to write a tatical, encyclopedia-type war book.

After learning about this, my anxiety was gone - since I was concerned that the graphic, lucid, and gripping battle descriptions in this book may be all imaginary. But they are all true. It is amazing that anyone could survive a major battle on the Eastern Front after reading what Sajer and his fellow soldiers encountered. A must read.

PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY is a true story about Gary Moore's father, Warren Eugene "Gene" Moore. Gene was a boy from small-town Illinois who had an amazing talent for baseball. He was an incredible catcher, could hit the ball out of the park, and he was a born leader. As one of the youngest on his baseball team at The Lumberyard, he encouraged and motivated his older teammates to work together.

Gene didn't go unnoticed. The Brooklyn Dodgers stood up and took notice before Gene was old enough to play in their professional league. They signed him and put him in a farm team where he could hone his skills until he was old enough to be moved up. However, World War II came along and threw a wrench in THOSE plans.

This book is the story of Gene's experiences in baseball, in war, and beyond. He kept these experiences a secret from his children until the day before his unexpected death. Gary retells the story of his father's life as his father told it to him. Probably his very last gift to Gary.

Jim Morris writes the Forward to this book and he says, "PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY is a book about many things on many levels, but to me, it is a heartwarming story about what we do with second chances." While I agree with this, for me the book was also about the power of a love. In this case it was a love for baseball. This love has the power to bond, the power to overcome, and the power to scar.

PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY is about a LOVE of baseball. And I'm not talking about what you see in the Major Leagues. Unfortunately I think the love is lost there - players/coaches/owners/managers are too in love with themselves and with money to remember the love they had for the game. This is about a true, unadulterated love of the institution of baseball. As Gene says,

"...and that's what I love about baseball. When you step onto that field, the size of the man is determined by his heart, not his height."

When that love is present, the members of the team DO come together and form a family bond. As with any family, there's often a member that functions like the glue...keeping all the pieces together when times turn rough. Gene was that glue for his teams. I admired that quality above all else in him. Every team needs a Gene Moore. What's more, Sesser, Illinois, needed Gene Moore. Gene was growing up at the tail end of the Depression. Sesser was a very poor town and they had very little, but Gene was able to motivate and inspire them as well as his teammates.

PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY is a non-fiction work written like a fiction work. I often found myself thinking, "Wow! I don't think a professional fiction writer could have come up with the likes of this man's story." Isn't it amazing how sometimes life can create irony and suspense better than our own imaginations?

Gene Moore touched the lives of many. And his inspiration continues to be passed along to others through this book. He has inspired me!

Playing with the Enemy hits you on several levels at once. Yes, it is a baseball story, but so much more.

It's Sesser, IL, a small town where "everybody knows your name" and where everyone breathes with the same rhythm. A place where the entire population is attached to the ups and downs of a young baseball player and his career prospects. They live vicariously through him, assigning his life choices the same importance as their own, convinced that his escape from the mines of Sesser can be their own.

It's WWII and the interruption of yet another life plan. It's how humanity can overcome the natural enmity between combatants, building a bridge to a future where peace prevails and we must all get along.

And finally, it is defining yourself by the person you are and continue to be rather than what you do for a living.

Playing with the Enemy is a well written, brisk read that will take you from the sandlots of Sesser, IL to the battlefields of North Africa and back. Enjoy the journey.

Only someone who is an ardent student of the intricacies of our national pastime and has a passionate love affair with the game, beyond just being sports entertainment, can truly appreciate the devastation Gene Moore must have felt upon learning his dream of playing major league baseball had been shattered, and the impact it had on the rest of his life. But Playing With The Enemy captures that emotion for everyone. This is not only a story of a baseball player. It's a war story, a human interest story, and above all, a love story. And just when you think you have it figured out, you don't.

This story is so incredible on so many fronts, it would seem it surely must be a figment of someone's imagination. But, as is stated in the acknowledgments, life really can be stranger than fiction.

Playing With The Enemy may well be the best book I've ever purchased, and would recommended it to anyone. It promises to inspire us all about relationships we hold dear, and that life is so fleeting that we all need to grasp it while we can.

Tim

I began reading this book with excitement because it was written about a man from Sesser. I grew up in Southern Illinois about 30 minutes north of Sesser, and recently moved here. I excitedly began to identify with places in the book. Maple Hill Cemetery, Bruno's, Mulberry and Matthew street. All of that is what first drew me in. Then the story came to life. It could have been set anywhere in small town American when things were hard. The young man playing ball, for love of the game, and all of the things that are pure about it. I began the book from a friend on Friday afternoon and couldn't put it down until I finished it on Saturday. The stories brought to life a town, a war, a person, and the era. I have already sent my copy to a friend to share what I learned. I am buying more to share with my dad, grandpa, and friends. This book should be read by anyone who has ever missed out on a dream. I am thankful that Gene went after his. Thank you to Gary Moore for sharing the story of his father and the hopes of small town.

I loved this book. Two of my favorite subjects are baseball and World War II, so this book was perfect for me. I have also been in the submarine U505 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, so that made the story even more interesting to me. I was also one of the people that incorrectly assumed that the character of Ray Laws was actually Elroy Face, but I apparently was far from alone in making that assumption. I am eagerly anticipating the movie and hope they get started on it soon.

I have had this book for about 6 or 7 years and it is one I have always had with me. I have used it to experiment with my own health and it has improved as a result. It has been easy for me to understand, it seems to say things that I feel like I know already inside myself, from my own experience. I also had the chance to meet the author and found him to be kind and caring, wanting to help others but not judgmental. I highly recommend the book!

I have recently been studying Feng Shui, which has introduced me to Macro Biotics, acupuncture, Traditional Chinese medicine and the eastern philosophy of Taoism. If I hadn't learned about the 5 elements and yin and yang, I don't think I could've comprehended much of what has been written in many of the books that are out there- and I've ploughed through several. This book, however, not only gives a much better and more complete explanation than many of the other books that I've read, but I think that someone new to eastern medicine and philosophy could very easily understand this. Having been actively involved in nutrition for the last 12 years, I am familiar with many of the options that are available in alternative and natural medicine. This nutritional plan, however, makes the most common sense of any I have read about or tried. It just "feels" right to me. I bought four copies to give to family members for Christmas. And I just gave one to my clinical nutritionist for her birthday. She hadn't seen it and was overjoyed. I have been talking to her for months about "stuck qi" and "summer heat". Now we will be on the same page. She mentioned that she's interested in studying acupuncture after her kids get a little older. I think that maybe I had something to do with her decision. That and the fact that she saw incredible results in me when I visited my TCM doctor. Spread the word.

Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern NutritionExcellent reference material. Easy to understand, you don't have to have a PHD.

It is the best book on nutrition ever! Yes it is heavily biased towards TCM, but it is perfectly fine with me. I thoroughly enjoy reading this book. It has good information, research and insights.

With so so many books on food, diet and nutrition, if I was to recommend just one book, this would have to be it.

This is one of the first Holocaust survival stories that I read. It is by far one that has stayed with me in the most detail.

What a strong girl Gerda is. she was told to never give up her boots and in the end it is one thing that saved her life after marching in a blizzard half frozen to death. How she survived is nothing short of a miracle.

Reading this when you are in a hard time reminds you that you do have the inner strength to survive. If she can do that then I can face my problems. It is quite graphic and tells the truth of really happened in the holocaust.

I'm not going to give the story away I'm just going to say you will cry and rejoyce in this story. It will touch you to core of your very being.

I must read for EVERYONE!

I have read many of the holocaust books out there but this is the one I pass on to friends to read. Especially moving is the liberation of the prisoners at the end of the book. I wish all schools made this mandatory reading. What a way to learn history! This author is quite an incredible woman.

This book was gripping and I could not put it down until I finished it. It's so hard to believe the hardships so many endured for being Jewish. A must read. Beautifully written with rich detail.

I read this book a long time ago and just got done listening to the book on tape for the second time. It is the most powerful representation of the Holocaust I have found. Please read this book if you want to learn about the Holocaust from a gifted author and survivor.

Despite the horrors around her, and fellow prisoners dying and becoming mentally unbalanced every day, young Gerda Weissman managed to survive several Nazi camps from the late 1930s through the grisly end of World War II.

Imagine being a teenager, wrenched away from your beloved parents, older brother and home -- and never seeing any of them ever again. It would be enough to make anyone unstable, not to mention bitter. Yet somehow, Gerda emerges from her horrifying ordeal stronger than she began. As her body heals in a hospital run by the Allies during the spring of 1945, Gerda begins a relationship with Kurt Klein -- a young soldier who urges her to tell her story.

Now an elderly woman living in Arizona, Gerda Weissman Klein is able to see just how far she's come from the young Jewish girl living a priviledged life in Poland. Yet at the same time, her writing style allows readers to see clearly just how that same persona has managed to live such a rich, eventful life to the fullest all of these years.

I've read many Holocaust memoirs, though I must say that Gerda's story is beautifully and distinctly told.

Revolutions of religious faith excepted, no set of events ever resulted in greater changes to human civilization than did those of the Second World War. Within the context of the war, the Battle of the Atlantic was among the most important of those events. Had the allies lost that campaign, the very outcome of the war might have been different.

That battle was waged primarily by the German U-boat (submarine) fleet against Allied freighters, carrying men and materiel to Britain, and their protective escort ships and planes.

Mr. Werner, a mid-level German field officer for most of the events described in the book, offers an historical perspective of that conflict that no academic could hope to match or even approximate. The most remarkable part of the book to me was not the numerous descriptions of sea battles, (although these certainly were riveting) but of the social dynamics between Werner and those around him as he does what he can to prevail in the War. Some of his activities described strike a 21st century person such as myself as mildly ignoble and inappropriate. Later in the story, however, insights are discovered as to how the impossible pressures of combat danger make these proclivities understandable, even admirable. I was initially critical of Mr. Werner because I had no conception of the life he faced during the years chronicled here. Coming to even a limited understanding of this man via his book was a remarkable epiphany, and I was well rebuked in hindsight.

Most of the WWII veterans have passed on now. My own father, who fought in the Pacific theater, is now 87. We often see surveys that show younger Americans cannot identify the USA's allies and enemies during the conflict, nor when it was fought. For any parents concerned about this trend, put this book in your children's hands. Once they start, they'll want to finish, and maybe a generation's grasp of a vital history will endure at least a little longer.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

And there are alot out there. This is superb, I could not put it down. I will read it again someday. Sledge's "With the Old Breed" is slightly better, but that is splitting hairs. If you have to buy 2 books on WW2, get these 2.

This book will take you on a wonderful journey from the innocence of a young german sailor to the plagued life of a U-Boat captain. Every encounter will draw you deeper into the stress and emotions of the men inside the "Iron Coffin." Before, the germans may have been viewed as the enemy but from this book your paradigm will shift and the similarities of the Allied and Axis forces will become closer that ever could have been imagined.

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would - it is absolutely excellent. Herbert Werner was born in 1920, and served active duty aboard German submarines from 1941 until the very end of the war in May 1945. He survived the war, which is no small accomplishment. Of 40,000 World War 2 German submariners, 30,000 never returned home alive. But on a personal level, he suffered tremendous losses. More than 90% of his comrades did not survive, and even worse - his parents and only sister were killed in an Allied fire-bombing raid over the German city of Darmstadt. His lovely Blonde girlfriend and her parents were killed in an earlier Allied air raid over the German capital city of Berlin. It is hard to think of real stories more tragic or more sad than this. As a naval officer, this young man (age 25 at the end of the war) was incredibly well-experienced, proficient, and even somewhat lucky. But I would give far more weight to experience and proficiency than to luck. If more young German submarine commanders had Herbert Werner's on-the-job training and experience, many more would have survived. Their senior commanders and above all their senior national leadership (under Hitler) were reckless men who ruined them, their country (Germany) and many other unfortunate people of their tragic time.

This book is great. After viewing the movie DAS BOOT I had to learn more about the glory and tragedy of the U-boats of WWII. This book is an edge of the seat thriller. I've bought several more books on the U-boats and if they're half as good as this one I'll consider it money well spent.

The Lightbearer is truly an amazing read. Once I began it, I couldn't pull myself away from the spell of Auriane, woman warrior, fighting for the survival of her embattled Germanic tribe against the all powerful Roman army. The characters are so richly drawn, I had an immediate sense of our shared humanity, despite the remoteness of their times. I was captivated by the vivid descriptions of these two worlds, sometimes hauntingly beautiful, sometimes disturbingly barbarous, always artfully rendered through Gillespie's exquisite prose. This is definitely a page turner filled with passion, struggle, heroism, and intriguing myth. With this carefully crafted tale Gillespie enters the arena of master storyteller.

This is a big book by any standards, 800 pages and is the result of years of research and study by the author into the culture, and history of Rome and the Germanic tribes. I found it fascinating, exciting and thought provoking. In fact everything that a good book should be.

The year is AD 83 and the Emperor Domitian has crossed the Rhine with four legions, approximately 24,000 men and they have not marched that far for the exercise. The German tribes have tried to maintain their independence for as long as they can, but against such might their resistance is futile. Thus begins this mammoth book that takes us from the heartlands of the Rhine back to the decadence and temptations of ancient Rome.

A young woman Auriane, daughter of a chieftain who was to become the most revered prophetess of the tribes is captured and taken to Rome as a slave. There her life is changed completely and everything that she stands for is brushed away like so much rubbish. But having known her destiny from being a child Auriane is not about to bow to the yoke of Rome without a fight . . .

Donna Gillespie's The Light Bearer is an entertaining, substantive work, made even more impressive by being the author's first novel. She cares for her characters, especially her two leads, Auriane and Marcus Julianus, who are likable, soulful, and passionate heroes. It is impossible not to root for them to overcome their enemies and come together as allies. Her research is evident in the amount of historical detail, particularly in her description of Chattian customs and rituals. Since many of the facts about the culture of Germanic tribes have been lost, she relies on educated speculation to authenticate her portrayal.

As a character, Auriane is appealing in that she straddles the limbo between Germanic tribalism and Roman civilization. While she firmly subscribes to her tribal customs, she is amazed and impressed by Roman advancements. Her tolerance of Rome and Romans distinguishes her from the Boudica, a British warrior maiden who is her closest real-life composite. I like how Auriane's quasi-Romanization provides conflict between her and her kinsmen.

The novel is more fiction than history. Auriane and Marcus Julianus are entirely fictional, although I am sure they inspired by true people and events. While it is possible that people like them existed, I do not believe it to be likely. Marcus Julianus's role in monumental events is too significant; anyone who would have effected such dramatic change would have been remembered. I think that the author could have learned from Gore Vidal (in Creation or the Narratives of Empire series) or Mary Renault (in The Praise Singer or The Mask of Apollo) who create memorable fictional characters who witness historical events but rarely incite them.

In my opinion, the novel's main weakness is the lack of complexity in the characters. On one hand, the heroes are unquestionably good and capable. They rarely make mistakes, and when they do, they turn out to be fortunate errors which lead to greater understanding of events or acceptance by others. On the other hand, the villains are monstrously evil, which is the novel's biggest failing. The author never attempts to humanize Domitian, Junilla, or Odberht, all of whom may have compelling causes for their villainy: Domitian and Junilla were persecuted under the Nero regime, and Odberht was disowned by his father. The author did not have to elicit sympathy for them, but she could have made an effort to make them more understanding. In particular, her depiction of Domitian is heavy-handed, lacking the realism or intricacy of Robert Graves's Claudius or Colleen McCullough's Caesar or Augustus. While history is sketchy about him, there is some consensus that he was an able administrator, which the author omits. I think that Gillespie could have done more with him by weighing his reign against Nero's and using the similarities and differences to pin down his character.

I also think that the novel would have been more digestible as two or three midsized novels than one colossal epic. The plot has numerous places where one storyline ends and another begins. These ending and beginnings might have better handled in separate works than in one book. The novel sprawls at times; as a series of novels, it might have been tauter and more focused. She could learn narrative control from Gillian Bradshaw, whose Roman novels are consistently engaging due to their economy of words and plots.

The fact that I am comparing Gillespie to accomplished, praised writers in the genre indicates her talent and potential. Mentioning a first-time novelist alongside Vidal, Renault, Graves, and McCullough is an accolade.

I'll never completely digest the fact that this is her first book!
Beautiful prose, characters that spring to life and roam in your mind, surprisingly insightful details of the ancient days, plots refreshingly free of cliche, battle & gladiatorial scenes that take your breath away and bring you to the spot, as if you are watching the whole event close-up, seeing, hearing and feeling each exciting, gory moves on the battlefields and arena yourself...

And then, of course, there's the breathtaking love story.
Though Marcus and Auriane meet face-to-face over half into the book,
this particular sub-plot of the story does not lag along the way, as they--at least in their subconscious--constantly reach for each other. Their initial meeting sparks passion, not necessarily of love but of renewed zeal for life; their bone-tired minds and bodies understand each other better than they consciously understand, therefore lending them incentives for their despaired souls.

Auriane's uncommon courage and strive for life and the ultimate happiness--both of hers and the others--combined with Marcus Julianus's wisdom and wit come in beautiful harmony in their endeavor to solace each other's lifelong pain; they are both fighters in their own ways.

Despite the length of the book, I believe it'd be a rather fast read for everyone, not because it's easy to read, but solely because you won't be able to put it down and not think about it all the while.
And I sincerely regret that the Light Bearer hadn't received a brighter spotlight as it so much deserves; the publisher should have promoted it on a grander scale.
It is truly an incomparable epic that, in some ways, reminds me of Pressfield's Gates of Fire.

There is much I could say about "The Light Bearer" which has already been said, but as I don't review all the books in McCullough's Masters of Rome series (of which I've ready each book), I don't feel I can properly do justice to the greatness of this sweeping epic, which unlike McCullough's work, spans not just from Rome, but from a not well known Germanic tribe called the Chattians.

Gillespie does an amazing job of keeping Rome and Germania separate in writing details, with an inevitable connection between the two. Much is equally known about both the Chattians and the Romans as if written by two authors with the same writing style.

Some high points I point out are the very subtle rise of Domitianus's deranged paranoia and Caligulan/Neronian style reign, though the foreshadowing was a bit too obvious for my tastes.

Other interesting bits are the use and apparent source of commonly known modern things among the Chattians, such as the Goddess of the underworld, Hel, and the Eastre celebration, involving children dressed as rabbits and the hiding of colored eggs.

Because the flaws are so few and insignificant in the face of the greater elements, I think it's easier to point them out:

The writing is very sumptuous, but often at times it can get too dense and bogged down in details. This occurs mostly the first time Auriane enters the Colisseum.

Also, the sex. I've become used to ancient historical novels writing sex scenes very metaphorically and obtusely, without using direct wording. Gillespie appears to take it to such an extreme, with the vividly flowery writing between Marcus and Auriane's lovemaking that it becomes like a dense poem jackknifing from the wonders of nature and life and the gods in an obtuse manner, you nearly forget that the two characters are having sex. So over the top is the writing, that the way Gillespie describes it, you'd think Auriane was having blinding orgasms at just Marcus's touch on her arm or chest.


With the state of Rome at this point, and the main character being a foreigner and enemy to Rome, it's inevitable that a bias against Rome would be drawn, but the male character of Marcus Arrius Julianus is so much the outcast that there is little distinction between how Auriane and Marcus view the Roman world despite their differences. Auriane views Rome as savage and barbaric, and a plague on Fria's realm, whereas Marcus views it in somewhat the same fashion, but figures it's all he has, so he may as well love it.

Aside from Julianus and some of the senators friendly to him, you'd think Rome was a festering pot of corruption, barbarity, and bloodlust the epitome of the Roman view of the barbarians, while the Chattians are viewed as pure, natural, children of the earth that can do no wrong and are victimized by everyone from Rome to their neighboring tribes. Any opposition to Baldemar, Auriane's father and chieftain of the Chattians, is viewed as petty greed and personal problems on the part of the dissenter.

Some forgiveable offenses include loose ends, which may be tied up in the sequel "Lady of the Light", or the as of yet unnamed second sequel, including both Marcus and Auriane having amulets of earth from their childhood, duplicates of one another, and Auriane's seeming mystical foresight.


All these flaws are minimal, in my view, and not much to drag the otherwise epic tale down a full star in rating.

There is one issue with both Auriane and Marcus Julianus which may detract some readers, though is apparently done in such a way that broad interpretation can explain it away as easily as it couldn't: Gillespie may be guilty of "Mary-Sue"ing with Auriane and Marcus Julianus. Both seem to be greater than their surroundings, meant for greater things not yet known to either, and with little to no flaws beyond what their separate societies have naturally imbued in them (stubborn traditionalism in Auriane, cynic realism in Marcus), and beautiful physiques. From a certain point of view, many of their actions or words appear to be Mary Sue-ish reflections of the author's own point of view (determined by the narrative) or of a sense of moral or social well-being beyond that of someone from ancient times.

Or this could simply be the tired ramblings of a fussy reader.

Either way, the over 1000 page epic was a great read, and a highly insightful view into how the Germanic tribes of the early Roman Empire, and the early Roman Empire itself may have been.

There are few words needed to effectively encourage people to seek out and read this book. 'Startling' is one word that accurately summarizes the detail and clarity captured through the imaginative mind of just a ten year old. As soon as I one begs to differ and wrestles with the implausibility of such a well written first hand account of turning points in a nations history by just a boy and not a man, the beautiful simplicity shows through time and time again, and as a narrative its almost ghost-like travel through the pages of time and we can see clear remnants of a bygone era thanks to this at once burgeoning effort to document history through the eyes of a boy who lived through it. It is uncluttered, poignant and a rare find.....might be easy to forget if not for the solid writing.

One of the best, most riveting and satisfying plots I've ever read. Also a touching and refreshing memoir of German life that manages to be impossibly happy and inspiring.

Little Wolfgang somehow keeps his life and limb (and soul) intact as he is shifted from place to place in the face of one after another harrowing experiences and family separations. And always with an eye to taking care of his sister and mother (who continually lets him down but for whom he has no greater love). Yet Wolfgang never judges the evil around him; he only seeks to understand it. And in his eyes good is just as ubiquitous. The American GI with the stick of chewing gum left as much an impression on me as it must have on the boy. This moment seems to have planted the seed in young Wolfgang to take him to the place he later came to call home.

German Boy reads like a gripping novel but satisfies the need for biographical and historical truth with its annotated archival family photos and the occupation zone maps. What's more, the epilogue is absolutely satisfying.

This is an eloquently told, often nearly heartbreaking story of what a young German boy endured as a refugee in the closing days and the years following WWII. Wolfgang Samuel tells his story with grace and heart. He dedicates the book to his mother, a major character in his story who, to keep her family alive, sacrificed nearly everything, even to the point of prostituting herself so her children could eat. As Samuel put it -

"People were hungry and would do whatever was necessary to put food on the table for their children ... We were the people who had nothing and lived from hand to mouth. We were the human debris of that evil war. We had no reserves of food, clothing or anything else that sustained life. We were desperate people, easy to exploit."

In a passage startlingly reminiscent of Gone with the Wind, the classic novel of the US Civil War and its aftermath, Samuel tells of how for many years immediately after the war, his mother had no new clothes. "The nicest looking dress she had owned ... she had made herself from curtains which hung in our barracks apartment ..."

And this is not just a book about being refugees and the awful conditions after the war; it's also a universal coming-of-age story, about a boy grappling with the physical changes of puberty and having no one to talk with about what's happening to him. It's about a boy left to take care of himself at the tender age of 14. It's also an homage to his grandparents, who helped sustain him through these worst of times. In other words, there's an awful lot of stuff in here that so many people will relate to, regardless of their own backgrounds.

I know I'm several years late in discovering this book, but I plan to recommend it highly to everyone, particularly history buffs and humanists interested what the human spirit can endure and still rebound. Because after his eventual emigration to the U.S. in 1950 at age 15 (where German Boy ends), Samuel went on to complete college and made a distinguished career for himself in the US Air Force for 30 years. The next book to go into my Amazon cart will be the sequel to this memoir, called Coming to Colorado. This guy can write! And I want to know the rest of his story. But start here, folks. READ THIS BOOK! - Tim Bazzett, author of Soldier Boy

I have always been interested in WWII history and this book is excellent as it deals with the consequences of war. Wolfgang was blessed with an incredible memory and this book tells the story of the time from 1945 to 1950 in Germany and how things were. I will not recap the story since others have done it so well, but this is in the top 10 of the hundreds of books I have read.

This is a great book. I gave the book to a few German friends who lived in Germany during the war. They could identify with the author's experiences.

The author became a U.S citizen and fought in Vietnam. I would have liked to read about the author's experience in this country, and his experience, as a pilot in our Air Force.

A well written book and interesting too.

The Real Deal! No "Steve Mcqueen" character, but everyone a true hero.The Great Escape

I love the movie the Great Escape and I loved reading the book it was based on. The movie did an excellant job of following the book but reading the book gave me so much more of an understanding of what these men went through and the courage they had. To truely understand the courage these men had and what they went through, you have to read the book.

If you want to know how to make something out of nothing, this is the book for you. I've been reading and re-reading this book since early childhood and that's how I learned to make a needed item out of just what was at hand. McGyver had NUTHIN' on these guys.

MRS. Dee Schauer
Texas

It's a shame the publisher decided to put a picture on the cover of Steve McQueen wrapped up in the barbed wire at the end of his big motorcycle escape attempt. Because, you see, that never happened in the TRUE story of the Great Escape contained in this book. The movie (while good) took serious dramatic license, while Brickhill's book presents the facts. And they are quite inspiring and thrilling enough without the addition of fictional elements such as McQueen's stunt riding.
I first read this book while in elementary school, and was hooked to the extent that I've read it many times since over the decades. A truly outstanding story.

This is the (true) story of the efforts of a multinational group of POWs to escape during WW2, and led to what is one of my favourite films.

I anticipated the book to be a bit of a let down after seeing the movie, but it really wasn't. They emphasize quite different aspects, and some parts of the movie were clearly made up with entertainment value in mind (people jumping motorcycles over fences for instance!). I can't blame the movie makers of course, because the compelling essence of this story is the daily slog of tunnelling set against the backdrop of the mind-numbing drudgery of incarceration. No movie could be long enough to get this point across, but the book allows one to build up a better picture of what captivity was like, particularly because it provides such incredible details. I was really struck by the ingenious ways the prisoners found to fake German uniforms and official passes, improvise tools, and build radios and other vital pieces of equipment. The book provides sufficient descriptions to allow you to get an impression of the main characters and camp layout, though I personally would have enjoyed a few photographs of the people involved (good and bad), though I realise these wouldn't have been easy to obtain.

The author has a relatively dry style typical of a historian rather than a dramatist, and at times relates key events remarkably passionately. The book ratchets up the tension without having to try too hard however, and I could sense the tension that existed whenever the guards entered the barracks to check for tunnels. The depression that accompanies every uncovered tunnel jumps out of the page, as does the resolve to keep trying to escape without ever accepting captivity.

I was also pleased that the author described the events some time after the final escape, so that I could see how thoroughly the Allied authorities pursued the main protagonists, and what was their evetual fate.

This book was a fine testament to the memory of the brave men who didn't wilt despite literally years of incarceration in conditions that can best be desribed as spartan. If they had all died without anyone knowing their story the world would be a poorer place.

This is classic history and a well researched book. Horne shows how the Battle for Verdun became a make or break with both the French and German Armies in World War I. What were they fighting over? A series of forts that weren't even staffed by the French even after the outbreak of hostilities. Some of these forts had their major guns removed to help other areas of the battlefront. The German Army wanted an area where the French were committed to so as to bleed them white. Instead both armies bled themselves white. The Germans fed in thousands of their soldiers to be killed for several acres of land. The French fought until their soldiers could no longer take it. It also shows how a soldier's soldier named Petain could rally his troops to make some severe sacrifices.

This is a great read. Horne is one of the world's premier historians. He shows how this battle affected the psychology of today's French citizen. This is the best book in the trilogy of battle books written by Horne.

Written by the renowned British expert on French history, this is the definitive account of the worst battle of World War I, indeed perhaps the worst battle ever fought (Stalingrad included). It documents 13 months of combat that led the French Army to mutiny and go on strike in the middle of the war. As with any book by Mr. Horne, it is well-documented and written. The only negative quality is Mr. Horne's pretentious tendency to splice French phrases into his English.

Nevertheless, highly recommended.

. Alistair Horne's The Price of Glory is a superbly written and haunting account of the horrendous battle at Verdun in 1916 between the French and German Armies. The Germans consciously attacked the fortress system they knew the French would defend in order to bleed the French Army to death, which, for its own reasons, willingly accepted the challenge. The Battle of Verdun was a condensed version of the entire First World War. In this 10 month-long battle, the Germans made impressive initial gains, but were unable to exploit their advantage due to the unyielding French defense that denied them final victory. The feuds between German generals and administrative problems also worked against their initial success. Sir Alistair Horne The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 is the vivid and horrifying tale of one of the bloodiest battles in history.
Verdun was the symbol of the will of France; "Ils ne passeront pas" became the famous pledge in the greatest battle of attrition the world had ever seen. The book outlines the German's extensive and rapid buildup of resources and their careful security measures in their attempt to take this fortress system. The battle that lasted from February 21st to December 18th 1916 resulted in 1.2 million casualties for both sides. Horne reveals the character and personality of the generals: Falkenhayn, Joffre, Crown Prince, Knobelsdorf, de Castelnau, Petain, Neville, and Mangin, showing their unique strengths and weaknesses and how those character traits affected their decisions in battle. The underground battles for Forts Doumamont and Vaux are described in chilling detail. The ingenious dirty tricks used by both sides were depicted: the wearing of captured uniforms, the use of false blinker signals, and the Germans firing duds from the 420mm siege mortars to get the Frenchmen to go underground while German infantry swarmed the trench works. There are vivid descriptions of the use of poison gas and graphic accounts of the first use of the flamethrower on a battlefield. Horne takes a catastrophic battle of unthinkable proportions and makes it all too real.

Fairly quick read, great insight on both the leaders and the soldiers who fought. Brush up on your french though, Some quotes and a few short passages are in french, Without translation. That was my only complaint. If you've gotten as far as to read these reviews then I encourage you to buy the book...you will enjoy it.

The Battle of Verdun was a condensed version of the entire First World War. In this 10 month-long battle, the Germans made impressive initial gains, but were unable to exploit their advantage due to the adamant and intense French defense that denied them final victory. The feuds between German generals and administrative problems also worked against their initial success. Sir Alistair Horne brings all these issues to live and many others in what is a stunningly impressive book.

This engagement was fought entirely between French and German units. What makes Sir Alister's book so important is that most accounts of World War I in English tend to focus on the experiences of the United Kingdom. The French Army, however, contributed more division to the western front than the British. The focus on a battle in which no British units participated is rare in an English-language publication. The book is also an easy read. One testament to the caliber of the prose is that it has stayed in print since its initial publication over 40 years ago, which is no easy thing.

The leading figures in this study are names well-known to any student of the Great War: Falkenhayn, Joffre, Castelnau, Petain, Crown Prince Wilhelm and Nivelle. Horne does an excellent job of giving his readers short biographical sketches that breath life into these legendary names in a way that presents them as they were--human beings with strengths and frailties like everyone else.

As good as this book is there are some problems. Readers with out any ability in French might find Horne's passages in this language rather confusing. Sir Alistair's argument that Verdun cost Germany any chance of winning the war seems a little suspect as well. The German Army remained an effective force until the last stages of the conflict. Other factors, such as diplomatic ineptitude and provoking the United States to enter the war probably did more to cost the Germans victory than the defeat at Verdun. Still, even with those points in mind, this book is quite impressive and readers will enjoy it.

A must read for all those who are compelled to understand the insanity of Nazi Germany. The evil is in the details as these journals so devastatingly reveal. Sometimes necessary to read only a few pages at a time as the devastation and slowly increasing helplessness of this man's life is revealed. A critical historical document.

As an educated Professor of Philology, Victor Klemperer documents life as a Jew in Nazi Germany. The very act of keeping this diary was grounds for his demise.
The essence of these incredible documents, is that it records the tightening of control of the Jewish people under Nazism. The progressive pogroms took away simple things such as going to a movie or taking a ride on a tram. The taking of one's own home and living in a communal Jewish home further degraded the Jewish people. The simple fact that each had to wear the yellow star which indeed put all Jews into harms way.
Mr Klemperer was forced out of his professorship because he was a Jew. Even though he was an honorable World War I Veteran, he was forced to live on a half pension.
The only thing that saved Victor Klemperer was his Aryan wife Eva. She never abandoned Victor as I'm sure other wives in similar circumstances did. Looking at this, I think is an incredible act of love by Eva. Her subjucation to Nazi Life living with a Jew for 12 years was indeed a severe prison term.
The diaries are edited to delete repetition. However several things are constantly repeated. Victor was always at death's door with an ailing heart. The other repetition was he and his wife's constant physical hunger.
This set of diaries should be required reading for anyone who is a serious student of 20th century history.

When my son told me a student said the Holocaust was much less gruesome than reported and was exagerated by people over the years, we started to read this together... Not that he needed to be reminded, but how incredible that even today some are still floating this insane rumor!

This is a great memoir that any history buff or historian or anyone should read. It ranks right up there with Anne Frank's diary. It offers a unique view since Mr. Klemperer was married to a German woman during the Holocaust. It is this unique view on the Holocaust that makes this memoir so good.

Victor Klemperer's diary of pre war Germany provides fascinating insight into what life was like for ordinary citizens in Germany. Interspersed with the mundane aspects of life, e.g., shopping, driving, going to the dentist, etc. are ever increasing examples of the insanity that was Nazi Germany. It was a little difficult to get into, but it soon became a page tuner. The later years are particularly interesting. I couldn't put it down.