Rating: 
Summary: Scholarly, readable and mind numbing
Review: A review excerpt on the dust cover claimed, a book that will be read with "bleeding eyes".One would not expect a text giving a comprehensive history of the Holocaust to be a light read. Never-the-less, on turning the final page my eyes were indeed bleeding, my mind numbed and my emotions heart-fallen for this is was a tour de force, an unrelenting synopsis of over ten terrible years spanning the onset of the Third Reich to the post war recovery of Europe, guided by the hand of a master historian with an impecable drive to follow every contention with a evidential fact. The first death at the hands of Nazi anti-semitism in the streets is recorded so matter of factly that one merely acknowledges the act as would reading a crime in today's newspaper. By the end of 900 pages though, where the death of one has evolved into thousands per event, one seems rightly agahst at the breadth of what started with the Nuremburg Laws had brought about. Crime had morphed into sheer terror. A superb historical account covering the entirety of all events and theatres that would collectively become known as the "Holocaust". An insight into the centuries old culture of European anti-semitism precedes a thorough introduction to the rise of Nazism, the SS and the Third Reich. The Nuremburg Laws, the activities of the SA, the Kristelnacht all merge into the crossing of the Polish border, the invasions of the West, then the Soviet Union and the ride of the Einsatzgruppen in their wake. The collaboration of nationalists, the mass grave shooting pits, the construction of the killing factories, the pillaging of the Ghettos swirl amidst the din of eye witness accounts. For this reader, the total shock came as the tide of VE Day had swept the once conquered lands, where the absolute destruction of villages and cities may have erradicated a cultural heritage in architectural beauty but amazingly not that of Eastern Europe's base anti-semitism. The plight of the Polish Jews surviving the camps, seeking a way home, tears one apart as the revelation becomes apparent that not only were the most nationalistic of non-Jewish Poles pleased to be rid of their Nazi overlords but equally of the millions of their Jewish breatheren just the same. For the author, the extent of the horror came with the story of the relentless aim to liquidate Europe's Jewish children. A work that can not be put down, begging to be read as an epitaph to the times - yet, encouraging in its historical breadth and attention to fact based detail. Highly recommended to general readers seeking both an account of the Rise of the Third Reich and the methodical implementation of the precepts expounded in Mein Kampf. Military historians seeking to supplement their knowledge of the Allgemeine and Waffen SS will also find this an immense resource.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for any student of the Holocaust
Review: Gilbert has written an encyclopedia of the Holocaust. The index is great. I refer back to this book time and again when studying the Holocaust. Buy it...and, of course, buy it from Amazon
Rating:
Summary: I found Gilbert's book particularly tough going
Review: I found Gilbert's book particularly tough going. At times it becomes
a seemingly endless list of atrocities committed by faceless Germans,
Ukrainians, Poles and others upon the Jews. Its narrative style is
"matter of fact" and unemotional, which if anything makes it an even
tougher read. Anyone who picks up this book is unlikely to
expect anything less than a very disturbing read,
this book gives you that and more. My one
criticism of the book is that at times it appears anecdotal, due to
the authors attempts to describe the fate of individuals.
This is a near impossible task given the intended scope of the work.
For me this detracts from what is otherwise an
impressive book.
Rating:
Summary: Moving
Review: I found this book particularly moving as a good account of what happened. Living in Poland it was particualry moving
Rating:
Summary: Indispensable book for understanding the Holocaust
Review: Of the thirty books I have read on this subject, this one book tells the reader most of what they would ever want to know about this historic event. The book is logically laid out from the seeds of antisemitism to the "Final Solution." After reading this book, I visited some of the places mentioned and felt the power of these places through Gilbert's words. An outstanding read!
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional accounting of the Holocaust
Review: Of the thirty books I have read on this subject, this one book tells the reader most of what they would ever want to know about this historic event. The book is logically laid out from the seeds of antisemitism to the "Final Solution." After reading this book, I visited some of the places mentioned and felt the power of these places through Gilbert's words. An outstanding read!
Rating:
Summary: Shocking and eye opening!
Review: One of the best accounts of the jews of the Europe during the second world war that I have ever read. A intensely distrubing story of the one worst crimes of the 20th century. A must read for anyone interested in the history of last century.
Rating:
Summary: SHOCKING!
Review: Sometimes you ask yourself about a book: is it the author who is so good OR the actual past events that are shocking! In "The Holocaust" you will find both. This is a VERY DETAILED book on the fate of the Jews during the second world war: the events as they unfolded, the dates of extermination; the methods of killing; the marches; the ghettos; the numbers massacred. The author uses a lot of eyewitness accounts from all sides, and provides excellent facts. The book is MOST UNBIAS: it deals also with the early retaliations by Jews which intesified the already exisiting autrocities (against Jews) that were to follow! For me: it was the first time I came "face to face" with the detailed HORRORS and AUTROCITIES of the holocaust! The book is most depressing because it relates one of the most evil periods of humankind when indeed the forces of evil truimphed over matter. I have learned a lot from this book: as much as we are different in many aspects, we are all humans, and mostly, we possess that survival SPIRIT which is as hard as iron - this is the spirit that kept the Jews going. I am most glad I read this book. Indeed it must be reread, for those who have the heart to go through it again.
Rating:
Summary: horrific
Review: Sometimes you ask yourself about a book: is it the author who is so good OR the actual past events that are shocking! In "The Holocaust" you will find both. This is a VERY DETAILED book on the fate of the Jews during the second world war: the events as they unfolded, the dates of extermination; the methods of killing; the marches; the ghettos; the numbers massacred. The author uses a lot of eyewitness accounts from all sides, and provides excellent facts. The book is MOST UNBIAS: it deals also with the early retaliations by Jews which intesified the already exisiting autrocities (against Jews) that were to follow! For me: it was the first time I came "face to face" with the detailed HORRORS and AUTROCITIES of the holocaust! The book is most depressing because it relates one of the most evil periods of humankind when indeed the forces of evil truimphed over matter. I have learned a lot from this book: as much as we are different in many aspects, we are all humans, and mostly, we possess that survival SPIRIT which is as hard as iron - this is the spirit that kept the Jews going. I am most glad I read this book. Indeed it must be reread, for those who have the heart to go through it again.
Rating:
Summary: SHOCKING!
Review: Sometimes you ask yourself about a book: is it the author who is so good OR the actual past events that are shocking! In "The Holocaust" you will find both. This is a VERY DETAILED book on the fate of the Jews during the second world war: the events as they unfolded, the dates of extermination; the methods of killing; the marches; the ghettos; the numbers massacred. The author uses a lot of eyewitness accounts from all sides, and provides excellent facts. The book is MOST UNBIAS: it deals also with the early retaliations by Jews which intesified the already exisiting autrocities (against Jews) that were to follow! For me: it was the first time I came "face to face" with the detailed HORRORS and AUTROCITIES of the holocaust! The book is most depressing because it relates one of the most evil periods of humankind when indeed the forces of evil truimphed over matter. I have learned a lot from this book: as much as we are different in many aspects, we are all humans, and mostly, we possess that survival SPIRIT which is as hard as iron - this is the spirit that kept the Jews going. I am most glad I read this book. Indeed it must be reread, for those who have the heart to go through it again.
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