I had this idea that a history book written for schoolchildren might make for a lighter and easier read. It turns out I didn't like this, but I'm not sure whether my idea was mistaken or whether this is simply a bad book. Honestly, I remember as a child how much I hated feeling like an author was talking down to me. I think this book would have given me this kind of feeling had I read it as a child. In the end it's like I read a couple wikipedia articles in Simple English. I did learn a few things but I also wasted a lot of time.
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silly little guy he/it
My languages in order of proficiency: German French English Chinese. The reason I read so much in English is only because most pirated epubs are in English. I have no consistent grading system, the stars are based on vibes, don't read into it. I am not a critic; my "reviews" simply document what it was like for me to read the book in question.
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possm's books
2024 Reading Goal
70% complete! possm has read 21 of 30 books.
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possm started reading Minima Moralia by Theodor W. Adorno
possm started reading Adorno by Stefan Muller-Doohm
possm reviewed Wiesel, Wiesenthal, Klarsfeld by Tabatha Yeatts
"Discusses the experiences of people who survived the Holocaust, the trials of Nazi leaders at …
The aftermath of the Shoah explained to children
2 stars
possm finished reading Wiesel, Wiesenthal, Klarsfeld by Tabatha Yeatts
Wiesel, Wiesenthal, Klarsfeld by Tabatha Yeatts
"Discusses the experiences of people who survived the Holocaust, the trials of Nazi leaders at Nuremberg, the establishment of the …
possm started reading Wiesel, Wiesenthal, Klarsfeld by Tabatha Yeatts
Wiesel, Wiesenthal, Klarsfeld by Tabatha Yeatts
"Discusses the experiences of people who survived the Holocaust, the trials of Nazi leaders at Nuremberg, the establishment of the …
possm reviewed Exil unter Palmen by Magali Nieradka-Steiner
Chronicles of exiled German intellectuals in one French village
2 stars
The book contains a couple of fun anecdotes, I especially enjoyed reading about Marta Feuchtwanger, she sounds amazing. But for the most part, it's not making the most of the material. Bad structure, bad transitions between parts, sentences that should have been broken up. Often the writing devolves into just listing names of notable people, sometimes over half a page. The author is clearly passionate about her research and very knowledgeable, which is great. But this book is not well written.
possm finished reading Exil unter Palmen by Magali Nieradka-Steiner
possm started reading Exil unter Palmen by Magali Nieradka-Steiner
possm reviewed Fritz Bauer by Ronen Steinke
Fritz Bauer zwang die Deutschen zum Hinsehen: Inmitten einer Justiz, die in der jungen Bundesrepublik …
This is how you write a biography.
5 stars
Extremely solid biography. Just the right amount of detail, just the right amount of historical context, just the right amount of philosophical context, very little psychological speculation with a good amount of solid evidence-based argumentation. Very little sentimentality, deployed appropriately. Good, matter-of-fact prose. Absolute Goldilocks type biography. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the subject matter.
possm finished reading Fritz Bauer by Ronen Steinke
Fritz Bauer by Ronen Steinke
Fritz Bauer zwang die Deutschen zum Hinsehen: Inmitten einer Justiz, die in der jungen Bundesrepublik noch immer von braunen Seilschaften …
possm started reading Fritz Bauer by Ronen Steinke
Fritz Bauer by Ronen Steinke
Fritz Bauer zwang die Deutschen zum Hinsehen: Inmitten einer Justiz, die in der jungen Bundesrepublik noch immer von braunen Seilschaften …
possm reviewed Jüdischer Widerstand in Europa by Dieter Bingen
You should read this book if you want to know about Jewish resistance in Europe 1933-1945.
4 stars
Each chapter is a paper by a different historian, so there's a lot of variation in the quality of the writing. The book is divided by geographic area, which makes sense: the conditions and forms of Jewish resistance did vary by area quite a lot, it turns out. The subject matter of Jewish life during national socialism is pretty grim, so it was a tough read at times, still the fact that the book is about resistance gives it a relatively optimistic focus. I especially liked the chapters that were about individual figures or groups. The chapters that focused more on the broader history were a little boring to me. The contextualization of the book in the discourse among historians (first two chapters) was very interesting. The art history and literary studies chapters in the last part were boring to me personally. The collection of yiddish resistance songs at the …
Each chapter is a paper by a different historian, so there's a lot of variation in the quality of the writing. The book is divided by geographic area, which makes sense: the conditions and forms of Jewish resistance did vary by area quite a lot, it turns out. The subject matter of Jewish life during national socialism is pretty grim, so it was a tough read at times, still the fact that the book is about resistance gives it a relatively optimistic focus. I especially liked the chapters that were about individual figures or groups. The chapters that focused more on the broader history were a little boring to me. The contextualization of the book in the discourse among historians (first two chapters) was very interesting. The art history and literary studies chapters in the last part were boring to me personally. The collection of yiddish resistance songs at the end, on the other hand, was a great, non-dry way to close the book.
I learned a lot from this book. It is an academic work that is exactly about what the title says - very straightforward. I knew what I was getting into, and got what I expected.
