Charlotte Opfermann was all of seven years old when the Nazis seized power in 1933. The daughter of a Jewish community leader in Wiesbaden, she was an intimate eyewitness to escalating persecution. Petty chicanery, legalized robbery, exclusion, vilification, violence, roundups, deportations, the life of the camps - these were the conditions of her childhood and her coming of age. She has forgotten nothing, forgiven nothing. She writes like an angry teenager and a very knowledgeable adult.
Maybe Anne Frank would have sounded like this, if she had lived...

These essays burn with Opfermann's determination to set the record straight, especially about life and death in the Theresienstadt concentration camp , the so called "model" camp, where her family was sent early in 1943. Recent books and performances have celebrated the permitted activity of Jewish painters, musicians, and actors at Theresienstadt, making the camp sound like an artists' colony - a notion Opfermann passionately refutes. She remembers in harsh detail -- hunger, disease, death and the terror of regular mass deportations from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz, where her own father perished in 1944.
Unforgettable anecdotes - five Jewish schoolgirls steal a moment's happiness on a rare Sunday outing to the country in 1939 - and heartbreaking photographs --
Theresienstadt's youngest inmates cleaned and dressed up for the Red Cross inspection in June '44 (these same children would be killed just weeks later) - make this a memoir a dense, almost too dense compendium of fact and memory, statistics and rage.

Suzanne Ruta

The haunting, monstrous image of a smilingly dying Eichmann will keep all righteous people aware of what happened, lest we ever forget.

Thanks Charlotte!

Well-written , truthfully expressed , this book lives up to it's title . Professor Opfermann would know , having lived through it . Her determination to involve the reader is underlying and at the same time , most welcome . Concise , correct and dignified , this piece of literature is exactly that . "The Art of Darkness" shows the path to the very heart of that darkness in a way which will leave you wanting to know more....more of the truth .

For fans for Elmore Leonard you already know he writes tight crime novels often strewn with humour and great characters. And despite being largely formulaic in approach (..his lead characters all seem to be the same) he succeeds in entertaining the reader. And the same holds true with 'Cat Chaser'.

With 'Cat Chaser' we have an ex-military guy in south Florida involved doing hanky-panky with the wife of a former monster from a Carribean country (Dominican Republic) before the Americans kicked him out. The outcome is inevitable but along the way we meet strange characters (the usual Miami oddballs, and a few imports from the Dominican Republic) who do some very strange things. While here are also a good number of funny bits Leonard is no match for the Florida comic crime novel master Carl Hiaasen.

Bottom line: a fun if not enthralling Elmore Leonard venture. Fans will rejoice.

With the exception of a princess phone and a couple of black and white TVs,Elmore Leonard's 1982 "Cat Chaser" is as contemporary as today's paper.

It is well crafted, full of the usual Leonard streetwise, quirky characters.

One con artist after another trying to out con the other.

Escapist reading at its best.

When you get caught up reading a writer's work there's always one selection that always stands out. CAT CHASER is mine. The characters, the dialogue, the location (you can see where he got Cuba Libre from) all fit together like a favorite quilt you just can't get rid of. It's the hero who decides it's time to do it one more time. Maybe not for the woman, but just out of curosity. A plot worth reading and a hero as cool as LaBrava or Chili Palmer.

In the vein of Theodore Roosevelt's Square Deal, Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, and Harry Truman's Fair Deal, historian Richard Striner proffers the Civic Deal. The book's subtitle, "Re-empowering Our Great Republic", suggests Striner's yearnings for a nation that expresses its ambitiousness in great public projects. The Civic Deal offers "training and jobs in exchange for safer streets: a venture in enlightened economic and civic self-interest that is worthy of a great nation". Striner lauds the contributions of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt to notions of national greatness. He reminds us of the notable successes of government, specifically our system of national parks, the G.I. Bill and its far-ranging educational and economic benefits, and the national highway system. Striner recognizes that national greatness and cohesion are more than matters of prosperity or military strength.

"The Civic Deal" can serve to remind us how underutilized historians are in American society. Richard Striner lends historical perspective to political issues that have fermented in America for decades. He traces the history of political parties in America and the influence of various political ideologies upon them.

Striner's approach transcends the polarities of conservatism and liberalism. He seeks to meld the best insights of both political ideologies along with other insights. He criticizes both conservatives and liberals for errors, oversimplifications, and fruitless false alternatives. For example, he criticizes conservatives for their lack of effort in conserving the nation's historical and natural heritage. He criticizes liberals for their recurring naivete and their inattention to public security.

Striner also takes on libertarians and other free-market theorists, challenging them explain to the American people whether they would support government intervention in the economy in the case of a serious depression. Would American workers be told to fend for themselves come hell or high water or would exceptions be made to the doctrine if enough people were suffering? If the latter, at what point would that be? "Either way, the laissez-faire people have some tall explaining to do," Striner notes. Financial panics and depressions occurred more frequently before the United States government played a larger role in the economy, in the form of the Federal Reserve, the SEC, the Social Security Administration, etc. The laissez-faire doctrine could "be applied, if anywhere at all, only in a primitive community under primitive conditions," Striner quotes Theodore Roosevelt. Striner faults libertarians for encouraging us to regard our government as some sort of alien force. He dismisses the simplistic notion that government inherently tends toward bureaucracy and repression. Jefferson, who is often quoted by libertarians as a champion of minimal government, is cited for urging the expenditure of federal funds for "the improvement of roads, canals, education, and other great foundations of prosperity and union under the powers which Congress may already possess or such amendment of the Constitution as may be approved by the states" in his final message to Congress.

Striner questions the wisdom of decentralized government. He calls for an arrangement by which levels of government work with one another to solve problems. (Persistent problems with America's decentralized educational system and recently-highlighted problems with Florida's decentralized electoral system bear out his concerns.) Striner worries about local bidding wars for corporate relocations. He points out that ecological matters and organized crime often cross local and state boundaries and that faulty pharmaceuticals and natural disasters exceed the capacity of local governments to deal with them. The abolition of slavery would not have come about by localized means. And federal intervention was necessary to stifle the KKK.

"The Civic Deal" is an antidote to the mindless government bashing that has become popular in recent years. Striner calls for a government that is neither minimalist nor overreaching. He calls for a national government that engenders social cohesion and provides stewardship of America's common natural resources, infrastructure, and historical heritage.

Striner makes his arguments with a pleasant writing style. "The Civic Deal" is a worthy contribution to the ongoing debate concerning political ideologies.

Richard Striner's book, "The Civic Deal," is a bipartisan look at both Liberalism and Conservatism in the United States. It views these concepts from their births in ancient Athens with the struggles between the many and the privileged few to "the ambiguous age of Clinton." Along the way, close up views are given on the strengths and weaknesses of several administrations' use or misuse of their ideology, in particular: Thomas Jefferson's laissez-faire, Abraham Lincoln's abolishment of slavery, Theodore Roosevelt's "Square Deal," and Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal." The book shows through the use of concise and thorough examples how using ideas and practices of both Liberalism and Conservatism could lead to a better way of life in the future.

Striner's chapter on the Clinton era shows how a liberal Democratic president and a conservative Republican congress were unable to find common ground on most issues with a few exceptions. The revamping of America's welfare system and the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill that limited the power of insurers to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions were two such exceptions sited by Striner.

It is rare to find political leaders who are willing to leave straight party policy to do what is the civic best intrest, "but we deserve to see a politican try it," say Striner. According to Striner, "We deserve to see a leader tell conservatives to stop their attacks on Uncle Sam, to remind them that business cannot do it all, and that public works can benefit everyone. We deserve to see a leader tell the liberals to concentrate on what we have in common, a leader to convince them that violent criminals deserve to be kept far away from our communities if every effort has been made to have society's safety coincide with their self-fulfillment." The bipartisan way takes both the "Square Deal" and the "New Deal" and makes yet another deal, Striner's "Civic Deal."

"The Civic Deal" is a must read for anyone with an intrest in politial science. I look forward to reading Striner's next book on Abraham Lincoln.

Richard Striner's book, THE CIVIC DEAL: RE-EMPOWERING OUR GREAT REPUBLIC, is a bipartisan look at both Liberalism and Conservatism in the United States. It views these concepts from their births in ancient Athens with the struggles between the many and the privileged few to "the ambiguous age of Clinton." Along the way, close up views are given on the strengths and weaknesses of several administrations' use or misuse of their ideology, in particular: Thomas Jefferson's Laissez-faire, Abraham Lincoln's abolishment of slavery, Theodore Roosevelt's "Square Deal," and Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal." The book shows through the use of concise and thorough examples how using ideas and practices of both Liberalism and Conservatism could lead to a better way of life in the future.

Striner's chapter on the Clinton era shows how a liberal Democratic president and a conservative Republican congress were unable to find common ground on most issues with a few exceptions. The revamping of America's welfare system and the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill that limited the power of insurers to deny coverage to people with pre-exisiting conditions were two such exceptions sited by Striner.

It is rare to find political leaders who are willing to leave straight party policy to do what is in the civic best intrest, "but we deserve to see a politician try it," says Striner. According to Stiner, "We deserve to see a leader tell conservatives to stop their attacks on Uncle Sam, to remind them that business cannot do it all, and that public works can benefit everyone. We deserve to see a leader tell the liberals to concentrate on what we have in common, a leader to convince them that violent criminals deserve to be kept far away from our communities if every effort has been made to have society's safety coincide with their self-fulfillment." The bipartisan way takes both the "Square Deal" and the "New Deal" and makes yet another deal, Striner's "Civic Deal."

THE CIVIC DEAL is a must read for anyone with an intrest in political science. I look forward to reaeding Striner's next book on Abraham Lincoln.

It's a good book, but not quite what I expected when I made the purchase. The author writes about her trip in 1999 through the Ukraine, Belarus Lithuani, Latavia, Estonia, Finland, and then across Russia to Vladivostok. She writes snapshot views into her journey, and while the snapshots are presented in cronological order they don't always connect. For example, in one chapter she's riding a train. The next opens with her getting off a bus. The book doesn't cover the sites she's there to visit, but instead focuses in on the journey itself.

If you're looking for some light reading about traveling, this book fits the bill. Only most people are more interested in what happens at each stop on the trip, and don't need to know the details of catching the train, checking into the hotel, or attempting to deal with getting a visa registered or hotels to stamp the visa. Some of the detail is useful, as the process *is* different and could be mind-bending for someone not prepared for it.

I was also shaking my head as we see the author (who is making the trip after a multi-year business trip to help reform Russia) attempting to use legaleze to force people to give her the same price as a Russian citizen. (It's expected that forigners will pay more for things like hotels, bus tickets, train rides, etc. Forget the clause in the Russian Constitution -- no one abides by it. Which is what the author finally realizes after weeks of arguing.)

This was a fascinating, humorous read (from a Western point of view), and I wish it had been a few hundred pages longer! Two highlights: finding an internet connection, and a Russian woman's view of President Clinton. I admire the author's chutzpah; (what a crusader!), armed with a copy of the Russian Consitution, she challenged the unfair and illegal pricing that she met at every stop. Excellent job, Ms. Baier.

Molly Baier traveled 12,000 miles and kept a daily journal of her experiences as she traveled through the Ukraine, Russia and other countries in the former Soviet Union. She has a wonderful way of sharing her experiences as she had to check into hotels, buy tickets on trains and buses, prevent people from overcharging her for being a foreigner, hold on to her passport, etc. trying to overcome poverty and bureaucracy and petty thievery. She also relates meetings with friends who welcomed her into their homes and shared whatever they had with her. For anyone who wants to gain insight into the real conditions inside Russia today, this is a good place to start. It is filled with humor, honesty and careful descriptions and analysis of current conditions.

After randomly picking this book up at my local public library (it looked like something I would like; I'm a history buff and I like mysteries), it took me all of three hourse to devour this book (that includes snack time. Can't read any good mystery without a snack to power your brain!). Decius, accompanied by his slave Hermes, attempt to aid Julius Caeser is his campaign against the Gauls/Germans/whoever else he wanted to wipe out. However, Caeser decides that the honest and outspoken Decius poses a problem with his First Spear, Titus Vinius. But when Titus is murdered--guess what? There just happens to be a proven mystery solver in the camp!
There's an interesting twist in the end that I didn't catch on to (I guess those chocolate chip cookies I had for my snack didn't help) that really surprised me. In any case, Decius has an amazing sense of humor that was what really kept me going through the book. His personality and motives show through when he decides to do something extremely stupid to help others. All in all, an extremely funny read.

SPQR is probably the most approachable Roman Republic mystery series because of its amused self-awareness (as Lindsay Davis is the author for the Roman Empire). Also, you do not HAVE to begin with volume 1 of this series, for there is not a lot of biographical reference, development, or aging from one to another...nor is the chronology all that clear in fact. Considerable Roman lore can be found in these stories, but it is worn lightly and contributes to the plots or atmosphere rather than irrupting as distracting digressions.

The sixth novel is very different in setting and atmosphere from the others. It is a fine inside story of service and intrigue in a Roman legion, far from Rome on the wild Swiss frontier at the start of Julius Caesar's famous Gallic War, c. 58 B.C. Our man, Senator and temporary under-officer Decius Caecilius Metellus, joins a legion--whose units, roles, organization, and rationale is cleverly made clear as the plot develops--but quickly runs afoul of a vicious First Spear, the unloved centurion of the title. Soon Decius is again involved in murders and treachery threatening Julius Caesar, and Decius is ordered by this most vividly dangerous of Romans to uncover the evil. We also learn of the nature of Gauls and ferocious Germans, and of Caesar's plans to dispose of them. Decius, too, struggles with a great historical question, how did Caesar become such a charismatic leader following such a mediocre start?

In this story we learn Decius is honest, and not just an upright man in a temptingly decadent Republic. He is saved from being an insufferable prig by a complete lack of righteousness (which may offend PC readers), his sardonic outlook, and self-awareness (the stories are all written in the first person as if with the historical benefit of old age). Within the strict confines of a legionary camp under threat of imminent attack there is less scope for his entertainingly sharp comments on the corruptions and contradictions of ancient Roman life. Likewise there's no place for his betrothed, Julia, one of the more interesting developments of earlier novels.

Here Roberts is better at avoiding the need for a final stand-up scene where someone finally spills all the beans. We can discover more of the wide-ranging conspiracy before the final confrontation, which here is not only surprising but manages to add a final twist. Roberts is the continuing victim of somewhat casual publishers: the ugly art, the same old incomplete map of Rome (here wholly irrelevant), an expanding glossary (also nearly unnecessary here), and never an historical note to help us distinguish between the real and the fictional events. The publishers have finally rendered correctly the "SPqR" quote that always appears on the title page.

There was a substantial gap in the writing time of the SPQR series and JMR returns with another installation that sees our erstwhile hero once more stepping outside Rome. In this case, he is heading to Gaul to serve under Caesar as military tribune in his confrontation with the Helvetii.
What follows is an enjoyable march through a legionary camp (JMR has clearly done some extensive research into the facts of a Roman army camp as the detail closely match historical findings) as the Primus Pilus Titius Vinius is murdered and the obvious suspects aren't so guilty to the eye of Decius.
This neatly sets the scene for him to investigate another murder that encompasses more than we intially are led to believe, but this time he is under pressure to find the guilty party before Caesar returns. With aplomb, he picks his way through the clues and deals with a variety of characters before the denouement that is as subtle as it is brilliant.
SPQR VI is an excellent addition to the series and is highly recommended.

You may recall Adam Hochschild's book of a couple years ago where he intimated that KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST remains a malevolent force guiding the carnage that is taking place in the present day Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Well here's one for the Congolese. Forty years after his assassination Patrice Lumumba remains a haunting presence, forever reminding Belgium of its past misdeeds in Africa. Broader still his death bears testimomy to the fact that so much of what Europe and our government talks about as human rights concerns is self-serving and empty rhetoric.

Enough with the anger though as I don't want to go overboard and see it in the stark ideological terms as the author does when he says that what happened in the Congo in 1960 is a "staggering example of what the Western ruling classes are capable of when their vital interests are threatened." That is too trite an answer for the circumstances surrounding Lumumba's assassination and way too simple an analysis of the complex situation in the Congo at the time of independence.

THE ASSASSINATION OF LUMUMBA looks at a tiny fraction of Congo's history. The book is almost entirely confined to the period from June 30th, 1960 (when the country became independent from Belgium) to January 17th, 1961, when Lumumba and two of his former ministers of government were executed in the breakaway province of Katanga. During that period the country went through crisis, with Belgium, France, the US, the USSR and the UN all wanting to have a say. There were at least three substantive leaders of the Congolese: Lumumba as prime minister, Joseph Kasavubu the president, and the usurper Joseph Mobuto (who after all was said and done emerged in 1965 as the dictator Mobuto Sese Seko). Throw into the mix a mutinying army, a secession in Katanga province and rebellions in two other provinces.

In investigating these events Belgian sociologist Ludo DeWitte focused his research on recently declassified Belgian documents. His thesis is that the conventional wisdom that Lumumba's death was "a Bantu affair" - as his countrymen called it - was all wrong. He argues that Belgium was instrumental in setting up, participating in, and covering up Lumumbas death. This book caused such a stir in Belgium that the government opened a parliamentiary enquiry to investigate the facts and the foreign minister promised that if proven true, an official apology would be offered.

Subsequent to the publishing of this book the commission released its findings. It said "certain members of the Belgian government and other Belgian figures have a moral responsibility in the circumstances which led to the death of Lumumba." Will the man's spirit be able to rest in peace with this? De Witte's specific point that an order for Lumumba's "definite elimination" came out of the offices of Count d'Aspremont-Lynden's Department of African Affairs, however still remains unproven. The Commission says plainly "in no document or witness account could it be found that the Belgian Government, or one of its members, gave the orders to physically eliminate Lumumba." If this means that there is still no resolution to this issue, we can nevertheless rest assured that in the words of Lumumba's last letter to his wife "the day will come when history will have its say."

"Assassination is the extreme form of censorship" (George Bernard Shaw)

This book is certainly well written to the extent that it is a historical account of the early life of independent Congo up until the assasination of the first premier. It has taken over three deacades for such a foreceful and convincing counterfactual case to emerge, but it is just proof that "No lie(s) can live forever". The author has done well on this score.

The connivance of a whole set of opportunists in the Congo and some players in the international arena would be shocking for a person otherwise unfamiliar with this period. This book is proof that Lumumba's life could have been saved but it was not politically expedient to do so. Most of all, the author has led to the questioning of the assumption that the U.N. is an enduring friend of developing countries.

The author deserves unqualified credit for painstakingly seeking the facts through which to support the central thesis that the assassination was planned even if not very neatly executed.While the author's work is certainly not the last word on this issue, it has helped to put to death the lies that were advanced in the period following the assassination. Compared to other publications on the subject, I consider this a definitive text and perhaps an indispensable book in the history section of all college and public libraries.

The author is genuinely moved to expose the great injustice that was perpetrated against Lumumba, Mpolo and Okito and by extension to the Congolese people. It is not difficult to understand how the series of events led to the increased militarisation of Congolese politics. Belgium and its monarchy owes the Congolese people an apology.

While Mr. De Witte appears to me as an admirer of Lumumba, he balances his admiration by stating the fact that Premier Lumumba had not sufficiently consolidated his polictical power and neither had he developed a coherent economic and political programme that could have frustrated the conspiracy. In essence, Africa's first generation of leaders relied heavily on charisma without the political organisation that was desperately needed. I think that this point is still valid.

While the book is a good read, (I went through it twice), I think that the author could have been carried away by his enthusiasm in the concluding portion. He set out to investigate and set the facts about the assassination but was concluding with a political sermon on the class factor and a slight leftist bent. This could have been relevant if he sought to explain Lumumba's political philosophy. In the absense of this, I asked myself, "Why is Ludo going this far?"

I would recommend this book to anyone with an open (not empty) mind. A good read and a classic. In the meantime, we hope that Lumumba's last prayer may come true soon.

...Five stars for the incredible amount of research that went into the writing of this book.. It is a book that was necessary and long overdue. For the first time we have clear proof of all the players, what they did and when they did it. Lumumba was assassinated by Tshombe?s police, with the help of Belgian officials. They can not any longer deny it.

De Witte depicts Lumumba as a fierce nationalist but denies that he was left-leaning. That claim may have to be investigated further. Lumumba did have strong connections to Russia and surely there is a reason why the university in Moscow for foreign students is named "Lumumba University". There is no doubt, though, that he presented himself as a socialist.

The author repeatedly mentions that Lumumba's rise to the presidency of the Congo was the story of a death foretold. Western governments repeatedly sais that Lumumba had to be "eliminated". But the interpretation was left open: did they mean "physically" or "politically"? It is interesting to note that it took them almost seven months to kill him. An assassin hired by the Belgians was called back. The CIA delivered a box of poison that was never used. Why this delay, when an invented illness would have been faster and politically more acceptable?

De Wittte also claims that Lumumba had to fail with his government because he lacked a functioning army and police force to back him up. What he never examines, unfortunately, is the fact that Belgium withdrew its administrative apparatus upon independence. And they had never trained any natives to be administrators. On July 1, 1960, The Congo had only a handful native lawyers, physicians, or even people with a higher education. Under those conditions you cannot run a country (you have to know where the telephones are).

Because of this book, Belgium officially apologized to the Congo ... Mr. de Witte could hardly wish for a better acknowledgement of his work.

Gordon Wood's celebrated book is the story of the way people thought about themselves and the revolution they had made. It explains in great detail the initial failures of majoritarian democracy and the development of constitutionalism. A glance at the footnotes reveals the genuine source of this book's authority: Professor Wood has drawn his narrative and his conclusions from original sources--newspaper articles, letters, and diaries of the period. The only complaint I have is the glaring omission of any mention of slavery. That word doesn't appear in the index or anywhere else in this book. This is all the more remarkable in light of our growing awareness of just how deeply the Founders struggled with this issue. Nevertheless, this is the single most important book on the period. If you want to know about American Democracy and its intellectual origins, this is the book to read.

The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 written by Gordon S. Wood is about the intellectual origins of the formation of the federal Constitution. This book makes us understand where the constitution-makers acted, i.e. where in the political literature of the period to the point where the often unspoken premises of thought became clear and explicit.

We begin to understand and get a glimpse of what late eighteenth-century Americans meant when they talked about living in an enlightened age. Reading this volume fine tunes our focus, beneath the variety and idiosyncrasies of American opinion, there emerged a general pattern of beliefs about social process... a set of common assumptions about history, society, and politics that connected and made significant seemingly discrete and unrelated ideas understood and relevant. We see and better appreciate the distinctiveness of the political culture in which the Revolutionary generation operated.

We begin to appreciate the Americans of the Revolutionary generation had constructed not simply new forms of government, but an entirely new conception of politics, a conception that took them out of an essentially classical and medieval world of political dicussion into one that was recognizably modern.

I found this book to be very well written and profoundly thoughtful, being very comprehensive in that it brings to the forefront the political thought of the Americans during the period of constitution-making. Without understanding the thought process involved in writing the Constitution you have little chance in thouroughly understanding the fundamental issues, political culture, for reexamining ideas of the revolutionary era.

This is a perceptive study into these fundamental issues, giving us a greater appreciation for the Founders and the thought processes involved in the creation of the American republic.

Godron S. Wood, Bernard Bailyn, Forrest McDonald and Daniel Boorstin all have made great progress in defining this tranformation of political thought of the Revoultionary era easily understandable, lively and penetrating. We should be ever in debt to these men for their intellectual prowess with regard to this time in our history.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It helped me gain a deeper and more accurate understanding of the principles embodied in the U.S. constitution, the nature of American politics, and the structure of American government, both state and federal, as well as the relationship between the federal government and the states. It's a must-read for any serious student of American history, government, and politics.

This book approaches a topic which deserves serious attention by scholars of international relations - much more than is happening. It approaches this topic from an interesting and rather revisionist point of view, offering the author's views and some interpretations. Yet, the study is not so subjective, and not at all substantiated by facts. All in all interesting reading, new views to talk and argue about, but nothing really new or inspiring.

Eric Paul Roorda's book is a very interesting study in how well-intentioned U.S. policy backfired. Beginning with Hoover and continuing with FDR, the U.S. tried to be a "good neighbor" to Latin American nations. In other words, the U.S. ceased to intervene at the drop of a hat. In the case of the Dominican Republic, this new policy allowed a ruthless military dictator with fascist tendencies, Rafael Trujillo, to seize power. Despite warnings from those in the know, the U.S. held fast to its non-intervention policy and allowed Trujillo to hold power for years. The book documents all of this as well as Trujillo's well-organized and continual lobbying effort to gain the approval from U.S. officials that he craved. I had thought for a long time that we should stay out of the business of other nations, but this book certainly casts doubt on the wisdom of that approach. Highly recommended.

Eric Paul Roorda gives an insightful view in the often overlooked subject of u.s. diplomatic and military relations with latin american dictators, namely that of the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. Through exhaustive research and excellent writing, Roorda gives a detailed account of how the dictatorship of trujillo took advantage of F.D.R's Good Neighbor Policy in order to cement complete social and politcal control upon the Dominican people. Roorda illustrated how the Good Neighbor Policy, in effect, gave tacit consent to the Trujillo regime. Another aspect of American diplomatic history that Roorda poignantly sheds light on, is the racist and prejudice attitudes of many of the American players in the game of foreign affairs. These prejudices gives the U.S. government a paternalistic view of the governments they deal with as well as the people from those nations. The Dictator Next Door is a must read for any student of Dominican history and for any reader interested in American foreign affairs under the Good Neighbor Policy.

Ms.Greenfield bravely recalls a time of horror. How shocking that human nature includes the potential for such mass sadism. Ms.Greenfield's book serves as a reminder that we must be vigilant to prevent such perversion of power even on the smallest scale. This book should be required reading!

This book, which can be devoured in a day, is a rarity among Holocaust stories. These short stories are all tied together in a beautiful, almost unspoken manner. If you have never cried reading a book, you may cry here. If you have never felt touched by a Holocaust story, you may feel touched here.

After reading this book, I was fortunate to travel to Kolin last year, and visit the temple where Ms. Greenfield grew up. I, along with 10 teenagers from the temple youth group of which I am the advisor, helped to clean the Jewish cemetary in Kolin. I also had an opportunity to meet Ms. Greenfields' sister while I was there.

Having read the book, and then traveling to the Czech Republic to see these awful and beautiful sites, really just drove the book home for me that much more.

While this in no way should be the only Holocaust book you read, it should be a part of your library.

I was fortunate enough to meet Mrs. Greenfield this past summer (summer 2001) when my youth trip visited the Czech Republic. Mrs. Greenfield gave a lecture and at the end of which the offer was given for this book to be purchased. I did so and also got an autographed copy. This is a great book on the Holocaust, and not just a children's book. It's short, but it's brevity suggests something about the author and her experiences. It is especially touching if you have been to the places described, such as Terezin or Auschwitz - you can feel what the author is describing. I suggest this book to anyone who wants to teach their children about the Holocaust or who wants to learn a little more about an important subject. This is a must have in anyone's library.

This is Josef Skvorecky's best novel, a fairly strong statement since much of his other work, such as the novel The Engineer of Human Souls and some of his short stories, is excellent. Like a number of his other works, this book is semi-autobiographical and covers a good slice of modern Czech history. At its core is an analysis of the false promises of Communism, which is shown to be triumphant only by a combination of repression and chicanery. Written with his usual humor and deft characterization, this is simultaneously an ironic and tragic view of modern history.

Skvorecky has done an interesting thing here, he has intertwined a serious story of the horrors of living in Czecheslovakia with a bawdy romp about a young oversexed man who teaches in a all girls high school. We follow Danny as he grows into an oversexed middle aged man. The story is funny and well-written for the most part. My only complaints are he jumps around in time a little too much and the translation got a little borderline obscene. All in all I enjoyed reading it and think anyone with an interest is Czech history will as well

This is the one. This novel better than any other explains the imprint left on the Czech consciousness by the Soviet invasion of August 1968, described so vividly by Skvorecky.