Customer Reviews:
Powerful!.......2007-08-19
If This Is a Man offers a powerful glimpse into life in a concentration camp. It is emotional as well as inforamtive.
Mandatory in the best way.......2007-05-17
It's been a while since I read this book. My girlfriend pulled it off my shelf of her own accord, and she's reading it now. It's one of those books that every thinking person should read. Other reviewers have conveyed its gist very well. It's not really like other Holocaust literature, as important as that school is. It's more concerned with the capability of human beings to absolutely degrade one another. Auschwitz is a stewpot in which the worst of human nature bubbles to the top and sets the bar.
One would think the average camp prisoner would have put his head down numbly and hoped to get out alive. Levi somehow was able to observe and work through the ramifications of nearly every aspect of camp life, not with numbness, but with serene clarity (at least as he writes it later). Everything related in this book is literal and symbolic, mundane and profound, degraded yet fundamental. Levi doesn't spare himself, either. As he put it, to die in Auschwitz, all one had to do was play by the rules. He cheated, stole, and turned his back on his fellows in order to stay alive, and no fellow prisoner who knew the rules of Auschwitz would have held it against him. So much for uniting against one's oppressors.
I should add that "The Truce" tells the story of Levi's very circuitous journey home from Poland to Italy, through a post-war Europe that was barely functional on any level. It is less bleak by far than "If This Is A Man", but the insights into human nature are similiarly profound and essential.
Heart-breaking but informative and important.......2005-04-07
A truly amazing book - I cannot promise that you will enjoy it, in fact I can almost guarantee that you will find most of it heart-breaking and painful.
It is a little like watching Kieslowski's A Short Film About Killing - on many levels you do not enjoy it but it enthrals you. The subject matter is so important and it is so beautifully made and eloquent that you feel compelled to watch (or read in the case of Levi).
Levi tells the story of his own internment in Auschwitz - he concentrates on the details of everyday life slowing building a vivid picture of how the Nazis were intent on not just killing them but breaking their spirit, humiliating them, degrading them. He captures many moments so well that they live on in the mind, for example when he describes how the terrible regime made Jew turn on Jew. He even manages to raise a guilty smile occasionally. For example, he describes the second worst thing that could happen at night was to take out the toilet bucket as it was always full to overflowing and would spill on your feet. The worst thing was when your bunkmate took it out as they shared bunks sleeping head to toe.
Levi is a fantastic writer (try the Periodic Table if you want to read something easier and more enjoyable) with a light touch. He describes his time in Auschwitz calmly, clearly, with great compassion but remarkably objectively; he gives the reader space to think and understand.
A work of heart-breaking genius
If this is a man; and The Truce.......2005-02-03
Primo Levi is the most insightful, pragmatic realist of all holocaust authors. I have read more than 50 books on the subject, and his insights into what happened, human nature, the (bad) luck of the draw, and the tragedy of his experience are brilliant and by far the most articulate. Somehow, perhaps with his scientific mind, Levi was able to maintain his awareness through an experience that is utterly beyond the scope of imagination. He somehow emerges from the ashes of this horrific epoch like a literary phoenix. He doesn't dwell on the inhuman acts and suffering, although he has a perfect right to do so, but instead offers his account almost from an omniscient perspective. This book contains the best of Primo Levi, but his other writings demand to be read as well. And, if you haven't seen The Truce, starring John Turturro, you should do so. It's not a hundred percent historically accurate, but it is a great presentation.
illuminating.......2004-06-18
Primo Levi's "If This is a Man" and "The Truce" remain one of the most horrifyingly realistic depictions of life in Auschwitz. Primo Levi recounts the daily ordeals of life in Auschwitz with a stirring and poignant narration, concentrating on not only the physical and emotional hardship but on another level questioning plainly what it is to be human. Both books present an illuminating view into life in a prison camp, and Primo Levi's narration ensure that no suffering remains untold. An illuminating read.
Book Description
BREAKING UP IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
A ROADMAP TO RECOVERY
THE END
- STORMING OUT
- LISTENING TO THE SAD MIXED TAPE
- HAUNTED BY A PAIR OF SHOES
- THE PHONE CALL
- GENERAL WALLOWING
- YOUR DOG CAN HELP
- THE SETBACK
- GENERAL AWKWARDNESS ACCOMPANIED BY PAIN
- THE GRAY AREA
- THE BREAKUP (PARTII)
- ANGRY DATING
- ACTUALLY, YOUR DOG CAN'T HELP
- SLEEPING ALONE
- OVER IT, REALLY OVER IT
- A NEW HOBBY
- SEASONAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE LONELY
- THE WEDDING INVITATION
- GETTING OVER IT
THE NEW BEGINNING
Customer Reviews:
Mandatory reading.......2007-04-30
Yeah, really funny -- me too stumbled upon this faboulous little book totally by accident, what a wonderful surprise. Flipping through its pages I became hypnotized by the artwork and originality. I put down the book, but could not stop thinking about it and finally bought it online many weeks later. The book strikes a deep chord and resonate. I recommend reading it one page each day to totally process its simplistic and honest beauty. It deals with dark subject matter in a very funny way. It is like a childrens book for grown-ups.
Cute Book.......2007-01-11
The book was really cute and made me laugh, even though I was in a crapy 'break up' mood. The book is a collection of the author's funny monograms and pictures. I would suggest going to barnes and noble or another book store to flip through it...it's the kind of book you only look through once, so it's almost not worth spending $10, $15 dollars on. Buying it used is also a good idea.
Most delightful.......2006-06-25
Yeah. This book is quite dandy. My girlfriend and I were walking around the bookstore roundabouts Valentine's Day lamenting what a horrific time of year it was when we found this splendid little book and whiled away our afternoon reading it crammed into an armchair in the store. It is completely hillarious in that random sort of way where things you didn't know were funny suddenly cause you to find yourself rolling on the ground in hysterics. We got some rather harsh looks for our laughter by the other patrons. Even though we had read it all in the shop, we still had to buy it. Split the cost in half.
She's my ex-girlfriend now and it's her book. I meant to ask her if it helped.
laughing about the awful.......2006-03-28
This book accomplished a nearly impossible feat... it made me laugh at my own heartbreak. A refreshing, hilarious take on what people go through when they've lost their love. I was happy to be able to relate to this book. Great for anyone who's ever eaten dinner with their cat and a mini-bottle of wine.
Painful and perfect.......2006-02-05
I saw this in the bookstore today. I picked it up and started flipping through it, and then kept flipping through it because I have a habit of self-flagellation when it comes to painful relationships, and this book is possibly the most achingly insightful look I've ever seen at the aftermath of a relationship that you thought really meant something. Don't read the whole thing in one sitting, though; it'll make you want to kill yourself. I bought it, needless to say. The line drawings have a precarious beauty to them, and the accompanying text is raw and agonized and self-revelatory. And the fact that it's written by a man gives it a slightly different flavor than a lot of the other "oh my god breakups hurt" books out there. (If you like this, I also recommend "The Peril of Magnificent Love," by Emma Magenta.)
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If this is a man: Remembering Auschwitz
Primo Levi
Manufacturer: Summit Books
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Survival In Auschwitz
ASIN: B00070WLUU |
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Cambridge Wizard Student Guide If This is a Man (Cambridge Wizard English Student Guides)
Alison Rucco
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0521608961 |
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If THis Is A Man
Manufacturer: Folio Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I3XP7O |
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If This Is a Man
Primo Levi
Manufacturer: FOLIO SOCIETY LTD (ENGLAND)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UYNAIA |
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If This Is a Man
Primo Levi
Manufacturer: The Folio Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OR29TY |
Book Description
" . . . American history on a human scale . . . " --Kirkus Reviews
"The author gives some of the best descriptions of the daily life of a Civil War soldier that can be found anywhere." --Library Journal
"On Many a Bloody Field is a masterpiece of Civil War scholarship and painstaking historical research." --The Bookwatch
". . . meticulously researched, day-by-day history of Company B, 19th Indiana Infantry Regiment. . . . the real essence of this book is its detailed attention to the common soldiers. . . . as a representative of its genre, it probably is without many peers." --Journal of Southern History
On Many a Bloody Field follows one of the Civil War's most famous combat organizations - Company B, 19th Indiana Volunteers of the Iron Brigade, in a vivid account of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Alan Gaff follows the men from recruitment through mustering out, from the tedium of camp to the excitement of battle. A close-up view of the experience of war, told from the soldiers' perspective, often in the words of the men themselves.
Customer Reviews:
A bully book!.......2003-10-11
This is a thoroughly researched and carefully written book for serious students of the Civil War and the Iron Brigade. Has details and insights not available in other books. The reader can get a good sense of life in the Civil War military.
An Alternative To Sominex.......2001-02-16
Boring and submerged in minutia. I looked forward to a good read such as Mr. Gaff's "Brave Mens Tears", but instead felt I was reading a dictionary. Don't get me wrong, the book was well documented for historians, but a sluggish read.
An interesting story bogged down in trivia.......1998-06-04
The story of the famous Iron Brigade has been told many times before, rarely, however, with this kind of obsessive detail. Alan Gaff's highly subjective style of writing focuses on minutiae, often at the expense of topics larger than what the soldiers ate for breakfast. Much is made of the trivia found in quatermasters records and battle descriptions are abridged versions of those to be found in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War." Overall, the book is marked by a tedious accretion of detail with overwrought writing and dubious attribution of sentiments. Not the worst book on the Iron Brigade surely, but not the best read either.
Splendid history writing........1997-08-26
The author has woven an impressive mass of research
into a compelling narrative as he traces a company
of the 19th Indiana Infantry from their recruitment,
to their return home (with less than 10% of their
original members).
It is a mark of Gaff's skill that the reader is drawn
into this brave company, sharing their hardships and joys,
feeling some of the terror of combat, and finally
coming to know a little of the bond of warriors.
This is history writing at its best, and sets a
new standard for "unit history". Alas the same
cannot be said of the maps, which are perfunctory
and not keyed to the text.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting
within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not
employ numerical ratings.)
A "must read" for anyone interested in the civil war........1997-07-03
On Many a Bloody Field by Alan Gaff is one of the best contemporary accounts of what the Civil War meant to the soldiers in the field. The book is a close look at the experiences of the soldiers in the famous Iron Brigade and is focused on one company of the Indiana regiment which served with the brigade. Gaff expertly portrays what the soldiers felt, what they did to combat the loneliness, discouragement and terror of war. He has successfully described the emotions of these brave men who signed up to save the Union and who were sorely used by the US government and the Army administration. Most Civil War histories are mired down by broad spectrum "movements" and social and political events of the time with little attention to what the small picture is. But this amazing history manages to give the reader details of these important events as well as a close-up portrait of the men who were actually involved in the famous battles of Antietam and Gettysburg, Wilderness and Petersburg. I would recommend this book to anyone who desires to learn about the soldier experience and about what the nation really experienced during the Civil War. I have added this book to my class reading requirements for the fall semester and I predict that it will become a classic account of the soldier experience. Mr. Gaff is to be congratulated
Book Description
Here is the reality: Bush won; Kerry lost.
Here is your reaction: AA#RGH*HG@GHW&WGRWW!!?!
Here is your salvation: The Bush Survival Bible
Although many of you may try, you can’t really do anything about the election results. But you can do something about your postelection stress disorder. Here are 250 ways to help you get through the next four years. For instance:
• Are you suicidal? Here are 5 antidepressants to consider.
• Are you cold? Here are 6 reasons to love global warming.
• Are you ready to leave the country? Here are 7 countries to move to.
• Are you political? Here are 6 ways to get involved in local politics.
• Are you spiritual? Here are 9 prayers to get you through the night.
No matter who you are, no matter what you feel, there’s a solution for you. Yes, Bush won. But that doesn’t mean you have to lose. And remember, he can’t run for a third term. Just 1,461 days to go! Light a candle, don’t sweat the Bush stuff, and pray.
Customer Reviews:
Funny but Unnecessary.......2006-07-04
This book was rush-released in the wake of the 2004 election. I found a copy at my local bookstore so soon after the election that I can only assume the publisher had already compiled the book on the expectation that Bush would take a second term. It's a mix of actual pointers on getting through the second Bush term and a bunch of jokes designed to take some of the sting out of the fact that your candidate lost.
The problem is that it's so lightweight. Sure, many of us who voted for Kerry could be well advised to join Moveon.org or do other largely symbolic actions, but then what? Read Jared Diamond and watch Michael Moore? That's just more of the same that hasn't worked before. Mere protests and letters to our congressmen have been ineffective so far, so we need to figure out what comes next. Frankly where the pointers for committed actions are concerned, we could have figured these out for ourselves.
And the jokes are funny. I'll never say they aren't. But as you read one Bush joke after another it's easy to become anesthetized. When you laugh at something it's easy to feel superior to it, and when you feel superior to a problem it's easy to assume it's not your responsibility to do anything about it. A few jokes are good to keep us from lapsing into hopelessness and despair, but with what we're offered here we're a lot more likely to lapse into jovial inaction.
The publisher of this book was smart enough to craft and push a book that taps into the frustrations of many of us feel as the second term drags on and on. But this book is a clarion call to inaction, a guidebook for ideological sloth. It encourages us to do the same as we've been doing, and not a lot of it either. Sure, this book is funny, but it's unnecessary, and we can all do better than this if we really want to make things better.
ok,so what.......2006-06-07
I was actually surprised to see such high ratings for this book. yeah it's comedic and witty but it's a little bit over the top and after reading it about half the way through the comedy gets old and witt seems more like a person overwhelming disdain for Bush. Even though the book is a more than a bit extreme, I can see the book being useful some weeks and even months after the election, after that i find it useless. Personally the author seems like a an overly bitter democrat who's letting out some aggression that exploded after the 2004 election. I myself sympathize with the author and share some sentiments but some of the stereotypes were just too much and over the top to appreciate. I do admit that the jokes and the Bushisms did serve
A funny & insightful book at a serious time for America........2006-02-02
This book turned out to be better than I anticipated. Bush stories, Bushisms, politics in America, things to tell our children ("We survived Nixon; you can survive the Bush years.") For all of us who felt numb when Kerry lost, who cannot believe what Bush is doing to our economy & country, this book offers humor and hope. Worth reading & sharing with others. Buy it!
Very funny........2006-01-10
I laughed out loud and still have my Kerry bumper sticker on my car. In fact, I have noticed an increase in Kerry bumper stickers in 2005 in Ohio! The Bushism's are hysterical and would be helpful for English teachers "what not to write" lists.
informative and comic.......2005-06-09
This little book is silly at times and interesting at others. It is exactly what it says it is. 250 Ways. Albeit some of the ways are drinks to get you by, example "banana swift boat" (hardy har har) but other points are actual, valid points. We all know Banana Swift Boat isn't going to get us through the next four years but it's fun to read. But for the more serious, the book gives you organizations to join in order to stay politically active over the next years despite setbacks. I think the best part of this book are the little Bush stories scattered throughout. They are absolutely funny and for me made the whole book worthwhile. I like to show them to my friends. Overall it was a good read but just not enough substance for me.
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Nature's Geography: New Lessons for Conservation in Developing Countries
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
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Binding: Paperback
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Globalization and New Geographies of Conservation
ASIN: 0299159140 |
Book Description
"The best hope for protecting and sustaining the earth rests in understanding the way it works, particularly the ways in which human activities shape the natural world. The geographers reporting here bring a special set of skills to their work. They show us how complicated, delicate, and enigmatic the interactions of people and nature can be, and how careful we must be in our tinkering if we want to keep celebrating a planet like this one."-David R. Brower, Earth Island Institute
"This is a substantial and scholarly contribution by geographers to the biological conservation literature."-Thomas T. Veblen, University of Colorado
Developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are increasingly influenced by human-induced environmental changes. It is crucial that sustainable development be based on insights into these expanding processes-conservation as well as deterioration. Nature's Geography offers a new perspective on the geographical nature of these changes. The book reveals how human-environment relations must be understood at multiple scales and time frames.
Editors Karl S. Zimmerer and Kenneth R. Young have forged an exciting group of case studies from distinguished geographers focusing on high mountains, tropical forests, and lowlands, as well as humid and arid-semiarid landscapes. Each chapter analyzes the implications for meshing environmental protection and sound resource use with development.
The case studies evaluate three topics: spatial habitat fragmentation and forest dynamics; disturbances in mountain ecosystems; and the major activities of settled areas, chiefly farming, livestock-raising, and forestry. Included are analyses of interactions involving wildlife, such as primates and wild pandas; assessment of fire impacts and road-building; long-term forest management as well as recent techniques; and the role of environmental variation and ecosystem properties in agriculture and rangeland.
Nature's Geography demonstrates the vital importance of advancing a new approach to geography. This definitive study of landscape change and environmental dynamics will have wide appeal for those interested in geography, ecology, environmental studies, conservation biology, and development studies.
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- Learning Disabilities and Life Stories
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- Living to Tell the Tale
Books Index
Books Home
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The Periodic Table
The Drowned and the Saved
The Reawakening
If Not Now, When? (Penguin Modern Classics)
