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Like many white South Africans of his generation, Rian Malan fled his country to dodge the draft. He felt incredibly guilty for this act, but would have felt equally guilty for not doing it: "I ran because I wouldn't carry a gun for apartheid, and because I wouldn't carry a gun against it." Malan, the product of a well-known Afrikaner family, returned to South Africa and produced My Traitor's Heart, which explores the literal and figurative brutalities of apartheid. Death is a constant presence on these pages, and the narrative is driven by Malan's criminal reportage. This acclaimed book intends to illuminate South Africa's poisonous race relations under apartheid, and few books do it this well.
Book Description
A classic of literary nonfiction, My Traitor's Heart has been acclaimed as a masterpiece by readers around the world. Rian Malan is an Afrikaner, scion of a centuries-old clan and relative of the architect of apartheid, who fled South Africa after coming face-to-face with the atrocities and terrors of an undeclared civil war between the races. This book is the searing account of his return after eight years of uneasy exile. Armed with new insight and clarity, Malan explores apartheid's legacy of hatred and suffering, bearing witness to the extensive physical and emotional damage it has caused to generations of South Africans on both sides of the color line. Plumbing the darkest recesses of the white and black South African psyches, Malan ultimately finds his way toward the light of redemption and healing. My Traitor's Heart is an astonishing book -- beautiful, horrifying, profound, and impossible to put down.
Customer Reviews:
An insight into the tortured soul of a typical liberal wooftah.........2007-02-28
White liberal draft-dodger hard at work. He's a good writer and the book's a painful look into the heart of a white liberal. My admiration goes rather to those who fought to defend their country.... but it's an insight into the tortured soul of a typical liberal wooftah. Why people put themselves thru all this inner torment I have no idea - have a beer and get over it, bloke! If you'd just done your time in the armed forces like pretty much every other south african had to do instead of taking the chicken run, you wouldn;t be going thru all this turmoil.
memoirs of an Africaaner-1970-1990.......2006-02-24
Before a recent visit to S. Africa, this book was recommended as an introduction to the political climate in S. Africa, especially after Apartheid. This very personal account told by Rian Malan, whose ancestors were directly responsible for the formation of the Apartheid society, traces his teenage rebellion against Apartheid, his career as a liberal newspaper reporter and his ultimate rejection of the violence that the new government has spawned. Be prepared for graphic descriptions of violence committed by both whites and blacks.
A good introduction to the complicated history of S. Africa and leaves the reader with questions regarding the future of that sad country.
A Rare Look into the Afrikaner Mind..........2006-01-27
I really enjoyed this book, although I do have some problems with it. First and foremost I will recommend it because I think it offers amazing insight into the psychology of Afrikaners and should be read-by any serious student of South African History. It is a valid historical document in that sense, because it is an honest and well-written, and sometimes deeply moving, biographical account of a "liberal" Afrikaner who has to struggle with his progressive ideals and his residual prejudices.
Rian Malan is a fascinating individual who fully accepts the humanity of all his fellow men and loves people of all colors-but in a way he has also rather unapologetically bought into the idea of some deep and maybe unsurpassable "cultural differences" between "us and them". This involves repeating a traditional refrain about how outsiders "don't understand" how "they" really are. While I agree that outside observers tended to see things in only one dimension, I also think that Malan is somewhat won over to the colonial discourse of "Darkest Africa", that place where savagery reigns.
What about white savagery? Although Malan talks about some white atrocities and even explicitly says they are savage-e.g., a white man forces a black man to castrate himself at gunpoint and then flicks the testicles away with a stick-and although he suggests the Afrikaner is also "savage", he never seems to make this part of "white" South African character. It is always that the whites are acting from fear, because they are "swamped". But clearly the countless cases of white human rights atrocities cannot be attributed to fear. Somehow the violence of "natives" becomes assimilated to their "culture" in his mind-some ancient "African" culture outside observers can't understand, but white inhumanity, no matter how many instances of it there are, and there are countless, is not portrayed the same way, as an offshoot of "culture" that is somehow independent of environment. Whites are always granted a context for their actions; Zulus are simply doing things the way Zulus "always have".
Still, I do think it's a beautiful book in a number of ways, despite these serious flaws, and if you want to know how some Afrikaners think, I think this is a book to look at. I recently talked to a white South African and found his discourse to be similar to Malan's-talk of fear, talk of "strange cultural rites", talk of profound differences that are unbridgeable, upsetting things I generally disagree with, but this discourse is part of the white South African self-understanding. And although poverty and crime are very real in South Africa, I still believe that white South Africans often have a self-justifying ideology that simply refuses to look at what they've done to bring about the problems of modern South Africa and prefers to look at the problems they are faced with, as if they emerged from a vacuum. (Obviously, I'm not excusing anyone's violence of any kind here, just making a point).
This is only human that people prefer to avoid examining their own consciences, and Malan has more humanity, kindness, compassion and insight than most people do anywhere, but you will see what I mean about his essentializing of difference if you read the book, and you should. He loves these "native" men and women, he jokes with them, he finds some brilliant, and at the end of the book he accepts that he has to let go of his fear if he wants to move forward. But he has somewhat convinced me prior to these last pages that he isn't really ready to make that leap, and that his faith in building a new nation could be easily shattered, as of course it will be, if you think in terms of black and white.
Magnificent, brooding work.......2004-12-24
This book came out when I was working in South Africa. It explores in an uncompromising way two rival phenomena: the hopes of 'white liberalism' and some harsh realities of South Africa's 'African-ness' which many urban liberals at that point seemed to pretend either were not there or were somehow only a function of apartheid.
The passages on Creina Alcock, a 'white' South African who stepped far away from her background to live as a Zulu are are especially poignant, even stunning. I visited Creina in her remote hut on the strength of this book and was astonished by her courage and wisdom. Rian captures this extraordinary story in a moving if (for the average reader?) pessimistic way
This book has universalist insights for anyone interested in whether Civilisations really do Clash. Rian Malan was on to something very profound in this book. It is vivid and appalling in places, and not always easy reading. So what? These issues are as difficult as anything we face. Read it, lots of times.
Disturbing.......2004-02-29
This book is an investigation into the attitudes of a liberal who was raised in South Africa. In the book, Malan tells us that his original charge was to write the history of his racist ancestors, who were among the first Boer settlers in the region. But when Malan began his project, he found he needed to first explore and develop his own perspective on race in South Africa before he could begin. And once he began doing this, he never really got around to the history project.
The book is divided into 3 sections. In the first, Malan describes his own childhood and adolescence, leading up to his forced flight from South Africa, with a major focus on his youthful love for Blacks (especially in the abstract). The second part of the book details a number of violent murders that Malan investigated upon his return to South Africa in 1986 to write this book. In this section, Malan describes the intense violence that was occurring in South Africa at the time, and how all Whites, even doctors providing humanitarian services in the townships, became targets for Black rage. He also explores violence between rival Black political groups. In the closing section, Malan visits a White woman named Creina Alcock, who lived on the border of Msanga, a tribal homeland, where she and her husband had struggled to build a sustainable rural development project with the local Blacks. The woman was widowed after her husband was killed while trying to negotiate peace talks during a tribal disturbance in Msanga.
The book doesn't have a strong narrative thread- -instead it seems that Malan was trying to communicate some of his own confusion and ambivalence about racial questions by presenting so many stories and sides of the picture, and flipping rapidly from one to the next. The loose organization is effective to some degree; the reader slowly comes to understand the enormity and complexity of South Africa's problems. Yes, many Whites provoked anger from Blacks by their abominable behavior and laws. Blacks in turn responded with violence that was so overwhelming that even those Whites who tried as hard as they could to do the right thing were in mortal danger. And the worst and most senseless violence seemed to occur in Black communities that had no White involvement at all. The entire society was so focused on violence that as one White living on a farm in a rural area told Malan "The guy with the bigger stick wins." In closing with Creina Alcock's story, Malan tries to leave us with a little hope. He argues that Alcock's and her late husband's love for their community has made a marginal difference in the social structure, despite the ongoing attacks on them and thefts of their property by children they had adopted and raised as their own, and even the murder of Alcock's husband. With the infinitesimally small improvements that the Alcocks managed to make in their community by giving their entire lives over to the project, how many millions more Alcocks would it take to turn such a country around, and where might they come from?
Book Description
Imagine America on the first day of the 21st century. At the break of dawn, a thousand space ships descend from the sky, landing on the shores of the East Coast, bearing treasures of gold, safe nuclear power and detoxifying agents that could pay all debts and save the earth's environment. In exchange for these goods, guaranteed to rescue America from the excesses of its past, the Space Traders want just one thing -- to take all African Americans back to their home star.
What would our leaders do? White Americans were once capable of rationalizing Black slavery; would they be capable of justifying the trade of all African Americans to space, to improve their own lot on earth?
The situation is a chilling fantasy. But for Derrick Bell, the prominent civil rights activist and former Harvard Law School Professor, the danger is very real. In Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism, Bell uses allegory and historical example to argue that racism has always been an integral, permanent and indestructible component of American society.
Customer Reviews:
Challenging but flawed.......2004-05-21
This is a challenging but flawed book. This book is well researched and uses court cases to show the permanence of racism within American society. He brings up this points in a narrative style that is meant to challenge the reader not only on the basis of his facts but how those facts fit in with American society.
However, his characters become stereotypes themselves. One can see the roles that each of the characters in the story is supposed to play. His fiction continues the beliefs that he attempts to criticize.
Even with this flaw, this book is an important book and should be read by those who are concerned with racism.
Thought-provoking, powerful book.......2002-09-23
Bell is a true storyteller. He possesses the ability to capture your attention and keep you riveted and engaged. This book provides powerful, enlightening "accounts" of racism in America. Every American of every race, nationality, religion, creed and sexual orientation should read this book.
The Well is a distorted mirror..........2002-03-31
Harvard Law Professor Derrick Bell's book, Faces At the Bottom of the Well defines America's racial divide in terms of the book's subtitle; "The Permanence of Racism". Throughout the book, he uses fictional settings to illustrate his theory.
Derrick Bell was a controversial professor at Harvard Law, until he left over the school's refusal to hire a black female law professor. Harvard argued that other applicants had much stronger backgrounds and credentials, but Bell, a strong proponent of race based preferences, claimed that "diversity considerations" outweighed any "purely academic requirements."
After leaving Harvard, Bell was subsequently hired by NYU's Law School, where he continues his dual career as law professor and writer/activist.
Two of Bell's most vivid fictions involve blackmailing Space Aliens and a fictional land call Afrolantica. In the first scenario, the Aliens demand that all the blacks in America be handed over to them, so that they can be taken back to their planet. They refuse to divulge what they intend to do with America's black citizens. In exchange the remaining Americans will be given enough gold to eliminate taxes for a year and the technology needed to eradicate all of the effects of pollution. There is also the hint of violence if America's blacks aren't turned over.
In the second scenario, a fantasy about a fictional land called "Afrolantica," an island upon which only black people can survive and where white people can't even breathe, starts a controversy. Some blacks argue that all American blacks should move there and start their own nation, many whites support that plan.
Bell asks some interesting questions with this book, "How deep are the ties that bind us a nation?"..."How close to the surface are our grievances and distrusts?"
The problem with Bell's thesis is that it is limited by its complete one-sidedness. To Bell an Irish-American who seeks to live in a predominantly Irish neighborhood, or a Chinese-American who decides to reside in China Town, NYC are suspected "racists," while a black-American who chooses to reside in Harlem is not.
Contrary to Bell's assertions, the fact that most people identify with one ethnic group or another is merely a fact, not an indictment. That many people feel more comfortable among people more "like them" than not, is not an indictment either. What Derrick Bell is most guilty of is "Special Pleading" or perceiving anything that benefits "his side" or his point of view, as "good" and all that runs counter to that, "bad." As a result his writing takes on a harsh and bitter tone that often makes him appear as guilty of the bigotry he condemns in others.
If Bell's intention was to use the image of "the well" as a mirror, in order to force his readers to examine the racism that continues to exist, he has failed, because his own bitterness colors his arguments with decidedly racist observations and attitudes.
Bells' strength lies in asking questions, his weakness is that he offers no answers and in fact accepts the inevitability of racism. His writing pales in comparison to other contemporary scholars who've dealt with the isue of race in America, such as Thomas Sowell and Walter E Williams.
Bell makes it known, racism will always exist. Sad isn't it.......1999-02-02
After reading this book, Professor Bell became one of the main reasons I chose to attend NYU School of Law. Bell poignantly tells the story of an oppressed race through allegory that at once is entertaining and educational. Two stories in particular made such an impact that I still feel it a full 5 years after reading the book. The first, Afrolantica, focused on the accomplishments that African Americans can make when working toward a common goal. The ending points out that if African Americans focus and produce we can achieve anything, even the seemingly impossible by using cooperation and productivity. The last story literally reduced me to tears. Though the premise was a little far-fetched it brought home to me the realization of African Americans' importance (or lack their of) as people with hearts, minds and souls to those that form the majority in this country. At first it left me feeling hopeless, but then it made me want to fight harder. And after having met the Professor Bell and sat in his classroom I am certain that my later reaction is what he was after. The other stories are definately worthwhile also, but I point to these two because of the profound emotional effect they had on me. A must read for the believers and non-believers of the theory that racism is so ingrained in American society that it can never be eradicated.
Much-needed realism concerning race relations!.......1998-08-02
Professor Bell takes the bold step of examining, and relating, a crucial truth about US society: the oppresion of people of color has been, and remains, integral to the maintenance of this society as we know it. Using a number of fictional vignettes that containing an alarming amount of reality and possibility, he demonstrates how--contrary to the naive belief that the country is making so much progress--African Americans (and others of color) will continue to be used for the purposes of European Americans and their desire for control. In a particularly harrowing story entitled "The Sapce Traders," Bell portrays a deal, made between the United States government and and alien race, to trade all African Americans in exchange for new fuel and gold reserves and environmental aids. Indeed, the apsect of the story that requires the greatest excercise of imagination is the existence of the traveling aliens; the description of how this government and society would ! use African Americans for their own purposes is all-too believable! Those of all races who would examine this country and themselves should read this book at the first opportunity!
Customer Reviews:
Scary things to learn.......2007-01-15
I had to buy this book for a U.S. Minority Group Sociology class, and I loved it. It's amazing how in middle and high school I learned about a lot of the people that were mentioned in this book, but my past teachers neglected to tell us the truth behind the scenes and how so many of these historical figures were racists and bigots. It sickens me to know that the historical figures Americans today praise for their contributions to our society are the same ones that hated seeing races/ethnicities working together. I learned so much in this class, and so much from this book.
Jorge Boosh = Right Winger and Racist?.......2006-03-01
Maybe someone should inform Vicente Fox.
It's amazing what liberals write these days.
And by the way, the Republicans and the Democrats are two sides of the same coin, two halves of the same party. They aren't that different. Both want massive immigration, both want America involved in wars all over the world, both want to move our jobs to foreign countries, both support the new multicultural society, both of them are chock full of people who marry across the race lines, neither really cares for religion (regardless of what the politicians say...I don't see the Republicans putting prayer back into the schools), both woefully disregard the Constitution, ad infinitum.
Attack the Right...and TOTALLY ignore Leftist murderers.......2005-08-02
Pathetic...how can anyone discuss the "racist right" and ignore the overwhelming hate the left has for ordinary White Christian people?
Blacks rioting and murdering for "social justice" are treated with kid gloves because.."Oh they were just addressing White racism"...PUHLEEEZE...
Folks there is something going on with the White people of America. They are hammered constantly with "diversity" aka less whites equals better...but should White people DARE to suggest that maybe just maybe White people should be allowed to have a civilization of their own WITHOUT the horrendous black, Mexican violent crime rate...then they're "racists"...
Well... get used to it, the "movement" it is getting larger and larger by the day.
Soon White people will not give the smallest damn about your name calling, it will effectively mean NOTHING...it already does to MILLIONS of White people.
This book is yet another attack on White people who have simply become fed up, they've had enough, and they are now doing something about it.
So keep ignoring the overwhelming evidence of non-white on white violence...keep using the same rhetoric to attack anyone who speak up for White people...your point is moot...and White people WILL win back the America they so dearly love.
Detailed, Well Written, Excellent.......2002-08-09
An excellent, detailed textbook style examination of the radical right, in all its manifestations. Of all the books I've read on the right, and I've read a few, this one is the best. Carefully crafted and scholarly, Ridgeway pulls no punches. He gives detailed explanations of the history, origins and rhetoric of the KKK, The Posse Comitatus, The American Nazi Party and many related right wing haters. He makes copious use of the rights own pamphlets and speeches to reveal their twisted belief systems, and the book is full of pictures and even includes exerts of the infamous Turner Diaries. Well written and readable the book is also a gripping page-turner and will definitely keep you interested until the end. My only gripe is with the final chapter, which is unduly alarmist. It is true that the radical right is active and that they are a danger to society, but I am not convinced by the notion that there values are more acceptable in society than they have been in the past. Was Bull Conner an outcast in his time? Is David Duke more important politically than George Wallace was? Has the KKK been able to defeat a presidential candidate in modern times the way they defeated Al Smith? I also found the suggestion that Madonna and Tom Petty of all people are spreading racist propaganda to be laughable. Further the notion that opposition to affirmative action is evidence of a racist mindset is absurd, and revealing of the authors `liberal' bias. Affirmative action is not only a racist notion, based as it is on the idea that minorities need special help to succeed, but also has given aid and comfort to the racist cause. Racists can point to Affirmative Action as proof of their own beliefs. That being said, the ideological quirks of the author do not detract from the excellence of his scholarship. As a detailed explanation of the radical right across the broad spectrum, the book is peerless. Highly recommended.
Interesting; go check out the videotape.......2000-07-01
If skined88@hotmail.com had seen the video version of the book, he would see that Ridgeway did extensive interviews with neo-Nazis, and in fact let them speak for themselves.
The book itself is interesting, but the video shows these people up for the clowns they really are.
Book Description
For thirty years the director of the Wiener Library in London, the leading institute for the study of anti-Semitism, Walter Laqueur here offers both a comprehensive history of anti-Semitism as well as an illuminating look at the newest wave of this phenomenon. Laqueur begins with an invaluable historical account of this pernicious problem, tracing the evolution from a predominantly religious anti-Semitism--stretching back to the middle ages--to a racial anti-Semitism that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The author then uses this historical account as backdrop to a brilliant analysis of the newest species of anti-Semitism, explaining its origins and rationale, how it manifests itself, in what ways and why it is different from anti-Semitism in past ages, and what forms it may take in the future. The book reveals that what was historically a preoccupation of Christian and right-wing movements has become in our time even more frequent among Muslims and left-wing groups. Moreover, Laqueur argues that we can't simply equate this new anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism and write it off as merely anti-Israel sentiments. National and religious minority groups have been systematically persecuted from Indonesia, to Bangladesh, Rwanda, and beyond, but their fate has not generated much indignation in Europe and America. If Israel alone is singled out for heated condemnation, is the root of this reaction simply anti-Zionism or is it anti-Semitism? Here is both a summing up of the entire trajectory of anti-Semitism--the first comprehensive history of its kind--and an exploration of the new wave of anti-Semitism that will be of interest to all concerned about the future of Jews, Judaism, and Israel.
Customer Reviews:
Best book on Anti-Semitism.......2006-10-08
As I see it, Laqueur's book has advantages over the many other works on the same subject:
1) The author has a sure footing in two millennia of European history. Here and there I found myself in disagreement on matters of fact and interpretation. I looked these things up and found that in all of these cases Laqueur was right and I was wrong. This is not to say that there won't be specialists who can find errors here and there. There is no book that is immune to error. But I do not think that such errors will be numerous or grave.
2) The author is even-handed and sober. He flogs no ideology or partisan program. He is patient with the views of others, even when these are offensive.
3) He has taken the trouble of studying, in depth, what anti-Semites have to say. There are no second-hand condemnations based on handed-down opinions.
4) He knows the byways of history: shadowy characters like Abram Leon, the National Bolshevists, Michael Neumann, Horst Mahler, to name just a few, wander through these pages. Generally it is only the sectologists -- the historians of Trotskyism, the chroniclers of neo-Nazism, etc. -- who bother to tell us much about such figures. But where sectologists are interested only in these shadows, Laqueur shows us the shadows by way of illuminating the broader picture. He lets us travel both byways and highways.
When the messiah finally arrives, books will be perfect. This has not yet happened, and I must report that, indeed, there are things that I wish were better in this book.
Laqueur has no footnotes and only rarely makes direct reference to other scholars. Most of the time this is not a big problem since the facts that he adduces are generally well known, and, with Wikipedia and other internet resources widely available, a reader can often provide his own references, as indeed I have done. Sometimes, however, a topic cries out for emendation by footnote. On page 49, for example, the author mentions the "Deutsche Christen," a Nazi formation of Protestants who repudiated the Old Testament as Jewish. ("Deutsche Christen" is not found in the book's index.) Well, the reader should have been referred here to more information on this group. As it happens, the group Deutsche Christen was repudiated by the Nazi leadership and lost all influence after 1933, and the reader of the present book will be misled if all he reads is what he reads here.
I am also not happy with the long list of (unannotated) recommended readings. It is too long to be of much help. I would have liked to see a much shorter, annotated list of things that the interested reader should look into.
Laqueur tells us that there are about 40,000 books about modern anti-Semitism. My own overall opinion of his work is best expressed by the fact that I have ordered a copy for each of my nine grandchildren. I have included my youngest, now three, because of my confidence that by the time he reaches reading age for this sort of thing -- roughly ten years from now -- this book will still most likely stand as the best scholarly treatment of anti-Semitism.
An excellent book.......2006-07-13
This thoughtful and rather comprehensive book got me to come up with my own definition of anti-Semitism:
Anti-Semitism is participation in a gratuitous war against the Jews.
I know that most folks may disagree with this definition. But I feel it removes some of the mysteriousness from this phenomenon, reducing it to a special case of war in general, an easier topic for many of us to relate to than, say, "hatred." I would call the mass murderers of Jews in World War Two "anti-Semites" whether they hated Jews or not. My definition also makes it easier to characterize acts (including slander) as anti-Semitic when they clearly contribute to such a war against the Jews (even if the perpetrators deny any intent to oppose all Jews). It means that wars against Israel's existence or against the existence of Judaism are anti-Semitic. It means that the wholehearted and gratuitous support that Mahatma Gandhi gave to the enemies of the Jews in the 1930s was anti-Semitic. And it means that mere constructive criticism of Jews, Jewish behavior, Judaism, Israel, the Hebrew language, or Zionist behavior is not anti-Semitic. There is surely a line between constructive criticism and acts of war.
My inclusion of the word "gratuitous" avoids issues of whether justified wars (or wars of self-defense) against the Jews are necessarily anti-Semitic. They aren't. A gratuitous war is by definition not truly one of self-defense. And the morality of such a war is (again by definition) very dubious at best.
The wars against the Jews for the past one (or two) thousand years appear to have been almost entirely gratuitous, so we need to ask ourselves about the persistence of such counterproductive fights. Now, what does Walter Laqueur tell us about this phenomenon?
Laqueur is one of "the last surviving members of a generation that lived through" European anti-Semitism "in its most extreme form." That is why, having lost his parents and family in this period, it is no surprise that he does not treat anti-Semitism as a laughing matter (as opposed to Canadian professor Michael Neumann, who Laqueur says has argued that where anti-Semitism exists, "it ought to be treated as a huge joke" or Mikis Theodorakis, who has said both that there really isn't any anti-Semitism and that the Jews are "the root of all evil"). Again, not surprisingly, Laqueur is "unlikely to overreact, crying `wolf' at the appearance of every mouse or mosquito."
There is plenty of good material in this book. We see how in the 1930s, Jews were told to move to Jerusalem; now they are told to move out of Jerusalem. We see so-called liberals saying that Jews would be tolerated only if they ceased to be Jews (notice that by my definition, that is pure anti-Semitism).
We learn about the remarkably vicious anti-Semitism of Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Augustine, and Martin Luther. Of the three, Augustine was the most moderate, but not by much, as Laqueur does mention that even Augustine explicitly wished that all the Jews be put to death by the sword. We see all sorts of preposterous conspiracy theories, such as an alliance of the Jews and Freemasons. We see anti-Semites declare that Jesus Christ could not have been Jewish (as a Pagan, I've also seen anti-Semites refuse to have anything to do with Christianity because Jesus was Jewish). We also learn about blood libels, the "Protocols," and the misuse of the Talmud to slander Judaism.
We learn a number of aspects in which the treatment of Jews during World War Two was qualitatively different (and worse) than even the simultaneous treatment of Gypsies, homosexuals, Slavs, Jehovah's Witnesses, or Communists.
We then get to anti-Semitism on the Left. That includes Holocaust denial (an automatic idea, given that if anti-Semitism can lead naturally to such consequences, most folks would not want to be part of an anti-Semitic movement). And we see some Arab Muslims argue simultaneously both that the Holocaust never took place and that it was justified. We see claims that the Jews are obviously trying to take over the world, even though if they are, it is strange that they are starting with a small region (the Levant) which has no natural resources (and which they could simply buy with no trouble were they permitted to bid for it at an open auction).
We see those on the so-called extreme left claim that all nations have a right to a state except for the Jews. To Laqueur's credit, he admits that it may be unreasonable to call such people (especially if they are pro-terrorist) members of the "left." I certainly think of such attitudes as a defining aspect of the anti-Semitic right wing. And that is all the more true for those who are against rights for women or homosexuals. As Laqueur says, this "New Left" closely resembles a medieval church.
Laqueur tells us about theories that Jewish "self-hatred" is an unusual and significant phenomenon. Laqueur doesn't buy it, and I agree with Laqueur here. He also strongly implies that if there were fifty million more Jews in Israel (with Israel correspondingly larger), the attacks on Israel would greatly diminish. That sounds quite plausible. On the other hand, he indicates that even though there is plenty of anti-Semitism in the absence of Jews (he cites Pakistan as one example), anti-Semitism would greatly diminish if there were no Jews. That may seem obvious, but my feeling is that since the attacks on Jews are gratuitous in the first place, the war would simply continue unabated against other victims.
As Laqueur relates, Sheik Qaradhawi says "that `there is no dialogue between us and the Jews except for the sword and rifle.'" I think that makes it clear that the failure here is on the part of the anti-Semites, and that whatever happens to the Jews, the anti-Semites will lose.
I disagree with much of Laqueur's politics, but I highly recommend this book.
Advance Praise for The Changing Face of Antisemitism.......2006-05-23
"Walter Laqueur provides us with powerful new insights into an age-old problem. Distinguished scholarship and an authoritative moral voice are the hallmarks of this important book. Anyone wanting to understand the history and persistence of anti-Jewish hatred should read it." -- Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League and author of Never Again?: The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism
"Once more, Walter Laqueur has brought his formidable learning, incisive style, and sheer brilliance in writing concise and yet gripping history to a subject matter of extraordinary complexity. The result is vintage Laqueur and an extremely valuable contribution to the subject of the history of antisemitism." -- Michael Stanislawski, Nathan J. Miller Professor of Jewish History, Columbia University
"Walter Laqueur has written a thoughtful book about a difficult subject, bringing history and his own keen analytical skill together in a new way. Engagingly written, it offers both an overview of the past and an analysis of the 'new antisemitism.' He treats antisemitism sympathetically, even as he largely avoids the apologetics that characterize so much writing on the subject." -- Mark R. Cohen, author of Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages
"A remarkable and eminently readable review of antisemitism throughout history from the persecution of the early Israelites in Egypt to the recent attacks on Jewish targets in twenty-first century Europe. Laqueur describes with skill and precision antisemitism's context in every era--be it economic, religious, social, or political." -- Rabbi Andrew Baker, Director of International Jewish Affairs, The American Jewish Committee
"A brilliant, lucid and compelling survey of a social, psychological, cultural, political and intellectual malady that has preoccupied and distorted European and Arab societies, Christian and Muslim civilizations, and both the political right and the political left. In this short volume, Laqueur provides an elegant, fast-paced and immensely readable account of a complex, confounding and still-mutating condition that continues to afflict our world. This book is a vital contribution to our understanding of an important and disturbing dimension of our past--and, as Laqueur so incisively shows, of our present and our future. There is no other book like it." -- Walter Reich, Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Professor of International Affairs, George Washington University
Book Description
Now in paperback,
The Rural Face of White Supremacy presents a detailed study of the daily experiences of ordinary people in rural Hancock County, Georgia. Drawing on his own interviews with over two hundred black and white residents, Mark Schultz argues that the residents acted on the basis of personal rather than institutional relationships. As a result, Hancock County residents experienced more intimate face-to-face interactions, which made possible more black agency than their urban counterparts were allowed. While they were still firmly entrenched within an exploitive white supremacist culture, this relative freedom did create a space for a range of interracial relationships that included mixed housing, midwifery, church services, meals, and even common-law marriages.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent academic perspective. .......2007-05-08
This is a fine academic study of rural practices of segregation and subordination of black people in one area of the South. Highly recommended. Of course, it is not an easy read.
Book Description
Why can't a white kid sit with the black kids in the cafeteria?
What happens when a biracial girl from Trinidad falls for a guy from a very different culture?
How does a teen deal with being the only Palestinian boy or the only Japanese girl in a small American town?
Face Relations offers eleven original works by celebrated authors Joseph Bruchac, Marina Budhos, M. E. Kerr, Kyoko Mori, Jess Mowry, Naomi Shihab Nye, René Saldaña Jr., Marilyn Singer, Rita Williams-Garcia, Sherri Winston, and Ellen Wittlinger that explore the possibilities of embracing diversity in a world still rife with bigotry and racism. As editor Marilyn Singer writes in her introduction:
"...the characters in these stories tear down the barriers that separate us." Their stories may be troubled, funny, sad, or fierce, but all are full of hope.
11 stories about seeing beyond color
> "Phat Acceptance" by Jess Mowry
> "Skins" by Joseph Bruchac
> "Snow" by Sherri Winston
> "The Heartbeat of the Soul of the World" by René Saldaña Jr.
> "Hum" by Naomi Shihab Nye
> "Epiphany" by Ellen Wittlinger
> "Black and White" by Kyoko Mori
> "Hearing Flower" by M. E. Kerr
> "Gold" by Marina Budhos
> "Mr. Ruben" by Rita Williams-Garcia
> "Negress" by Marilyn Singer
Customer Reviews:
The usual. . ........2005-02-22
I'm glad I took this book out of the library before I wasted my money on it.
The only reason I took this book out was to read Kyoko Mori's story which was about the only good one in the entire book next to "Hum" and "Epiphany".
Most of the stories in here, first off, were structured horribly and were seemingly random, jumping from point to point making the story confusing and unreadable.
As for the actual content of 80% of the book - It's all pretty much propaganda. Most of it was "Please pity me!" or "How DARE you pity me!". The usual whiny politically-correct stuff.
Richie's Picks: FACE RELATIONS.......2004-06-19
"It seems to me as though I've been upon this stage before
And juggled away the night for the same old crowd"
--Al Stewart, "One Stage Before"
"Then Brandon wondered how he should react. The other students were watching him, too. He felt as if he was up on a stage and no one had told him what part to play. This massive black boy was invading his space on the very first day of high school, dammit! It felt like his cool was a house of cards and this woolly black mammoth was shaking the floor. Brandon had gone to a private school from kindergarten through junior high, so he didn't know anyone here. He had no posse to take his back and validate his coolness permit. He remembered something his father had said about making career decisions. Nobody would dis him for dissing this dude, but they'd probably dis him for not. And they'd have him under a microscope for all this freakin' period. Observer, hell! he told himself; he was the one who was being observed, scanned, filed and categorized, labeled and tagged for the next four years by how he treated this huge black kid within the next forty minutes!"
--from "Phat Acceptance" by Jess Mowry
Last November 18th my wife's middle school participated in Teaching Tolerance's "Mix It Up At Lunch Day." While students in other, tougher places--where they truly fear for their personal safety at school--might scoff at our earnest and enthusiastic efforts to have students get to know kids in some of the "other" groups on campus, we certainly have testimony from students who are intimidated and discouraged by the barriers they perceive between groups.
" 'Well, I'm sorry, DeMaris, but you cannot eat at our table!'
" 'Why?'
" 'Because it makes everybody uncomfortable. Can't you tell that?'
" 'Yes. But I still don't know why. We were best friends for six years. How come all of a sudden you can't even sit at a lunch table with me?' Just saying it out loud made the sadness bunch up at the back of my throat, making my voice sound thick."
--from "Epiphany" by Ellen Wittlinger
But I expect that a number of those students will ease up on their cynicism after experiencing FACE RELATIONS, a stellar collection of short stories about the "relations" part of race relations. Written by some great YA authors who are, themselves, from a multiplicity of family backgrounds, and utilizing the wisdom of their own firsthand experiences within the changing American social structure, their fictional tales probe the subtleties and complexities that arise amid the interactions of variously hued adolescent characters in today's world.
"Sometimes I'm right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I'm in"
--Sly & the Family Stone, "Everyday People"
"When you go to a high school in a town so small that you have to look twice to see it when you're passing through, everyone knows who you are...That's especially true in school, where you've been with the same kids ever since you were in preschool together. As a result, they remember the time when you were five and you got yelled at by the teacher and expelled for a week because you bit a certain girl in the butt so hard that you left tooth marks."
--from "Skins" by Joseph Bruchac
Yes, the collection contains a wealth of humor, alongside the tension, and the questions posed by the stories. You can add Jess Mowry's hysterically funny leadoff piece, "Phat Acceptance" to my all-time Best of the Best short stories list. Not only a crackup with its Goths, Geeks, and Surferdudes, it also teases us with an intriguing little slice of history, as does Ms. Singer's own provocative piece, "Negress."
"Everyone is changed
Everyone is still the same
They can't get out of the game"
--Todd Rundgren, "Black and White"
"It gets worse. The girls are on me, something bad. 'You think you something special, huh? Little brown girl with straight hair showin' up the brother, huh? Who you think you are?'
" 'Just let me go,' I beg, pressing my books to my chest. I angle through them, but it is all pinches and shoves; my scalp burns needles from where they pull my hair. 'Runnin' to your mama?' they taunt. Please, I think, let me go. Let me disappear into my down jacket and be no different. I tie up my hair in a bun, but in math class a girl pokes it with a pencil and starts hissing, 'Chinky girl now?' "
--from "Gold" by Marina Budhos
The book is prefaced with a letter from the Outreach Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center (the folks responsible for Teaching Tolerance and "Mix It Up At Lunch Day"), which nudges us with, "What unwritten rules limit our ability to enjoy new experiences, explore new cultures, and to make new friends? Once you identify those rules, break them."
FACE RELATIONS provides ammunition for readers to do exactly that, stocked as it is with new perspectives galore, as its variety of teen characters reevaluate their relationships with peers and reconsider their feelings about who they, themselves, are and where they've come from. A fine sense of realistic optimism weaves through the collection, leaving us feeling hopeful at the end of each story.
"My eyes burn into him. For a moment, his dark pupils become video screens and Emmaline and her pain flash across the bridge of his nose. The time I spent working on that story, interviewing Emmaline and all the others, carrying their pain around in my notebook, gave me a companion. They talked about feeling scared and unsafe. I feel scared and unsafe all the time.
"All the time."
--from "Snow" by Sherri Winston
Thoroughly entertaining, and consistently thought-provoking, FACE RELATIONS will serve superbly as both a component within a middle school short story unit, and as a prelude for catalyzing change for the better among diverse middle school students.
A great anthology on an important subject........2004-05-17
"The kids were a typical Santa Cruz mix -- meaning that most of them were white -- from surfers in tank-tops, hoodies and shorts, to hip-hops in big-jeans and backward-turned caps. A pair of gothics, boy and girl, had so many piercings that Brandon winced, even though he was wearing an earring himself. There were also a couple of obvious jocks."
I assume Jess Mowry is describing a typical 9th grade World History class in Santa Cruz, California in this early paragraph of his peppery and hilarious story, "Phat Acceptance", which opens this great anthology dealing with modern-day race relations. Another clue is when Mowry teases us with a mention of a youth gang from the early 1960s who were known as the "Tola Rats" for their stomping ground of Capitola, Ca, a little seaside town bordering Santa Cruz. Mowry goes on to illustrate this mix:
"...one of the jocks could have been on TV as a model for all-American boys. There was also a skinhead in boots and suspenders who could have passed for an albino ape, though the only "statement" he seemed to make was that some Caucasians had lame-looking skulls and should have kept something on top of them. ....The other students included three Asians, two slender girls who were Vietnamese... and a pair of rolly Mexican boys in tattered white T-shirts and faded big-jeans. ....The black race hadn't been represented, until this ebony mountain of blubber had lumbered casually into the room."
So begins Brandon Williams' -- age 14, blond, blue-eyed, and a sidewalk surfer -- first day of high school, and we might also assume his introduction into the real world of race relations, being that he's gone to a private school from kindergarten through 8th grade.
I love Mowry's style of seemingly writing about one thing while actually writing about another ("Phat Acceptance"), and even though pedigreed Kirkus Reviews didn't seem to think this story was funny, or even important enough to mention -- citing, instead, Rita Williams-Garcia's offering, "Mr. Ruben", as "the only really funny story in the collection" -- I would recommend this book for Mowry's story alone, and I'm not surprised that Simon & Schuster chose it to open this well-compiled and thought-provoking anthology.
While I agree that "Mr. Ruben" is indeed quite amusing, I think it's significant that Ms. Marilyn Singer's poignant (and also quite funny) contribution, "Negress", wasn't mentioned either. I've read enough Kirkus Reviews, especially those dealing with "minority" and social issues, to know that when they ignore something it's often just the thing I do want to read; and much more importantly, often just the thing young people want to read. As a middle-school librarian, I'm much more concerned with this than what conservative reviewers may think kids "should" read.
The eleven stories in "Face Relations" are by no means all funny, though every one is hopeful without being saccharine or preachy. I highly recommend Marina Budhos' Caribbean story "Gold". Sherri Winston's devastating, yet happily-ending, "Snow" -- about a black principal "cleaning up" a troubled and predominantly black school by favoring lighter-skinned and non-Haitian students, rouses one to anger and is not to be missed -- which is probably why Kirkus didn't mention it either.
"Then my junior year, I challenged King. Told him too many non-African-American students were treated like second-class citizens. We were right here, in this office. He yanked me from my seat and told me to get out and go cool off. ...'Your Haitian story, Noelle, concerns me'."
All in all, I think "Face Relations" will be a welcome and, more importantly, much-read addition to any school library or a young person's collection.
Book Description
Every summer since 1993, the woods of Maine have witnessed aremarkable attempt to plant the idea of peace in the hearts and minds of the next generation of Middle East leaders. For three weeks, hundreds of Arab and Israeli teenagers leave behind the violence and hatred ingrained in their homelands to meet their "enemies" face to face. At times its an emotionally wrenching process, but it can produce surprising friendships and an enduring belief in coexistence.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2003-03-08
A very moving book. It marks out in detail the words of Israeli and Palestinian youth as they confronted each other, offering enormous hope to the idea that yes, these people can live together. A remarkable book about a remarkable program.
A waste of your hard earned money.......2001-09-13
This book is the worst book I ever read. I can't understand why someone would publish this. He presents ideas that are radical to say the least. And it's seems like he is living in his imgination. He doesn't know anything about the middle east, I mean he his romantsizing terrorists as though they were freedom fighters (like car boomings is a good thing!?!). Thats probbly why only people from is orgnizition are recommanding you to buy this terrible book. My 3 year old dughter can probbly write better then him (John Wallach is the main autor if you can even call him an autor).
Pro-Peace IS pro-Palestine, Pro-Israel.......2001-05-28
The escalating rhetoric of Palestinians and Israeli, the escalating fighting is all the more absurd if one has enjoyed the experience of two groups meeting not in enmity but friendship, as in the covers of this great book. Since one will never win, the only way to peace, real and just peace, is a meeting of minds, young or old, or in-between. This is the only way. How long will it take? What is so obvious, as seen here, is strangely, so hard to achieve. This book best exemplifies the way barriers are broken down when face to face meetings occur.
The people of Peace Rejoice.......2000-03-10
I participated in the Seeds of Peace camp this past summer. Even though the book used examples from more early years, I could relate my experiences to the amazing process described in the book, the unmasking of the enemy, and the establishment of friendships amongst foresworn enemys. But this book wouldn't appeal only to those who have gone through the program, it will show those who aren't fimiliar with it, and even those who do not know much about the middle east, the work being done to resolve this conflict, and the emphasis that even though the participants are young in age, they can and will shape the society, and the future of the middle-east to a better place for all religions and nationalities.
The SOP Story.......2000-02-12
I only read parts of the paperback covered book, and i tell you, as an active member of SOP here in Israel, that this book is the best of expression to our feelings here in the middle east, and our hopes and fears of and for the future. i recomend this book to anyone who is interested in making the world a better place. thank you, E.
Israel
Book Description
A bold and compelling analysis of race in America and the possibility for racial reconciliation.
Customer Reviews:
Best Book Written on Race!.......1998-08-09
Just finished this insightful book last weekend, and I must say that it is the best book on race in America that I've read in the past several years. It reads well and is full of helpful resources. A must-read for anyone interested in finding unity in diversity in America.
Critical for those interested in racial reconciliation........1998-04-06
Both powerful and eloquent, James Waller's compelling examination of racism in America is beyond timely-- it is crucial for our nation's evolving consciousness. Nowhere is the convergence of race and culture felt more acutely than in our public schools. Face to Face, therefore, is critical reading for anybody -- teacher, administrator, parent -- who recognizes the role, potential, and responsibility of our schools in fostering racial reconciliation. I highly recommend this book!
Face the truth with this book!.......1998-04-01
It is difficult to accept the truth about ourselves as human beings and Waller's book takes the daring step of doing just that. We are all guilty of racist behavior no matter how well we have been brought up to love and accept one another. Waller tells us to face the truth about ourselves and open our eyes in order to diminish the impact of racism in future generations. It took guts to write this book.
Book Description
Are the Chinese people unique? How can we compare the Chinese with other groups? Are the Chinese more concerned with "face" than other people? How can we explain the relative academic success of immigrant Chinese students? What is the impact of learning an ideographic script on the Chinese
people's way of thinking and perceiving? Are the Chinese more or less family centered than other national groups? How can we understand Chinese negotiating techniques? Questions such as these have long fascinated people with an interest in China. In this book Michael Bond, a western psychologist,
draws on nearly twenty years' experience of studying the Chinese people to provide insights which will be valuable to westerners and Chinese alike. Clear, concise, and free from jargon or technical language, this is the book for anyone who wants to understand Chinese people, whether for day-to-day
social interaction, teaching, counseling, or for business dealings.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent read!.......2007-01-04
This is an easy-to-read yet thorough examination of the Chinese culture. It has a current focus and provides the reader with an excellent guideline for communicating with Chinese people. An important guide to dealing with the major economical influence of our time!
Making sense of a new environment.......2002-05-08
I have now been working in Hong Kong for nearly four months. A colleague lent me `Beyond the Chinese Face' in my first week here in Hong Kong. I have lived in several different countries and cultures, and so have at least an intellectual understanding of different perspectives and ways of seeing the world. But it is amazing how unhelpful one's intellectual awarenesses are when faced with understanding actual events or situations in a new cultural setting. What `Beyond the Chinese Face' managed to do for me was to assist me in building a framework in which to understand what I observed on a daily basis. By enabling me to feel that I understood more about the context I was in, I felt more relaxed, and so was able to engage with different customs and rules more easily. Even Hong Kong bureaucracy became more comprehensible! I liked the fact that the book made it clear that many of the existing research studies are flawed, but the overall patterns emerging from research were clearly laid out. It was refreshing also to read a book that was based on academic research but was written in a style that was accessible and easy to read. If only more academic writing were like this! This is a valuable resource for all newcomers to Hong Kong. Thanks, Michael.
Very good introduction if you know how to use it.......2001-09-13
I think the reader from Victoria, BC, Canada was probably most right here in this forum. You have to know what you can expect and what you cannot. What you cannot expect here, is a guide to the thinking of around 1,5 billion people, because that is the number of people we're talking about.
And they are very very different, I would dare to say more different than any other ethnic (can we say so?) group worldwide: you have ABCs (American born Chinese), their parents and certainly CBCs, Aussie BCs and so on. There are Singapore-Chinese and overseas Chinese in other Asian countries. Taiwan Chinese and Hong Kong Chinese. And then there is this huge mainland area with around 1.3 billion Chinese, where the living conditions differ so greatly that it's hard to imagine for anyone who hasn't been there.
All those people are Chinese, but the all have different backgrounds: capitalistic system or planned economy (though even the mainland is shifting very quickly towards capitalism, stronger than outsiders usually see), freedom of speech or getting killed for speaking out the truth, diversity or open hate from other societal groups (e.g. Indonesia) and so on and so on. And then there is the fact that people differ even within a society, with the result that you could very easily meet Chinese people from, say Beijing, who are very open sexual and have more sexual experience than, say, an American 30 year old who never had a girlfriend. Nevertheless it's a fact that most Chinese are not like that but instead having less sexual experience than their western counterparts (I'm not judging this, just stating the fact as the book says it and also as my own experience supports it).
Now, one could say (and 3 other readers did so) that this book is therefore useless. I strongly disagree. First of all the author states exactly this fact at the beginning and warns about generalisations (as every psychological book should do so). Second the information he gives is in around 95 % of the cases supported by my own experience (nationality: German; 8 months living in Hong Kong, studying Business and Chinese and working, travelling on the mainland to Shanghai/ Beijing/ Guangzhou/ Shenzhen, also having lived in the US for 6 months meeting quite a few ABCs,).
So use this guide as a background information but not as a "now I know everything about Chinese"- guidebook. Nobody will ever know everything about the Chinese, simply because there are no "Chinese" as such. But this is the general problem of all social sciences where there is no 1+1=2 like in maths. Knowing that, this book helps you a bit and gives you quite a few "I see!"s on your journey into the fascinating Chinese culture (which is indeed possible for a non-Chinese although the reader from San Francisco obviously doesn't think so). Therefore I rate the book 5 star because it delivers what it promises and this is how I define quality.
To See Behind the Chinese Face, We Need to Be Chinese.......1999-11-07
The fundamental flaw in this book is that it is written by an American. For any Westerner to presume that they can, with authority, describe what makes Chinese tick is ludicrous. The book is all the more damaging because it is written in a style that leads some readers to believe it is based on scientific study by a well-healed professional.
I know the author of this book. I have seen him as a client, and was dismayed by his lack of understanding of Chinese people. He is an American who has lived in Hong Kong for over twenty-five years, but has retained his American viewpoint. When his book came out, my Chinese husband and I both read it. There are so many Western-style generalizations about Chinese people in this book that it is an insult to all Chinese. I was very surprised to see it still on the shelves of the foreign language section of Xinhua Book Store the last time I was in Beijing.
A fascinating yet understandable voyage into Chinese Culture.......1999-10-21
What an insightful, sensible, readable and informative book that explores the question that many ask about other cultures - "HOW and WHY do others think and behave as they do?" Without a doubt an expert in his field, Dr. Michael Bond masterfully weaves for the reader an explanation to this question in a thorough and understanding fashion. A fascinating, yet understandable voyage into Chinese culture. This small yet valuable book truly goes - "Beyond the Chinese Face."
Average customer rating:
- The Enemy Has a Face
- Good Book
- 2003 Notable Book, Association of Jewish Libraries!
- A Gripping Story for Adults and Children
|
The Enemy Has a Face
Gloria D. Miklowitz
Manufacturer: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0802852610 |
Customer Reviews:
The Enemy Has a Face.......2007-02-08
Gloria Miklowitz tackles the prickly subject of the Arab-Israeli conflict in this new novel for young adults. She sets her story in Los Angeles where 14 year old Netta Hofman wakes up one morning to find that her older brother, Adam, did not come home the night before. Three months earlier, the family had moved from Israel to LA and they are baffled by Adam's disappearance. They assume it may have something to do with Palestinian terrorism since Netta's father's work is related to the defense industry. During the course of the investigation into Adam's disappearance, Netta reluctantly befriends a Palestinian boy in her school, learns about the murky cyber-world of Palestinian chat rooms, and finds out information about her brother that surprises her. This short novel retains its suspense until the final pages, when we finally find out what happened to Adam.
The author of this book is clearly trying her best to balance both sides of the Middle East conflict. However, using a 14-year-old girl's view to explore the issue of Palestinian-Israeli relationships is only partially successful. Both sides are represented to the reader, but Miklowitz wisely keeps politics from overwhelming the storyline. The book works better as a young adult mystery.
A few highly unlikely scenarios in this book do detract from the storyline, however. From discovering Adam's computer password on the third guess to making her way around the city on public transportation, things come a bit too easily to the young Netta. One must also conclude that her spoken and written English is perfect, even though her family arrived in Los Angeles only three months earlier. Also, it is unlikely that this clever young teen would chose to keep some of her discoveries about her brother a secret from her parents during such tragic circumstances.
However, if these flaws can be set aside, the novel does attempt to show how young people in a political conflict can often be much better than adults at examining their prejudices. The growing and tenuous relationship between Netta and Laith, the Palestinian boy, is plausible and realistic. Miklowitz has captured the flavor of the middle school world well. The characters here are appealing and could even merit a longer book so their true depth could be discovered. The subject matter, however, is suspenseful and ultimately sad, so this book is recommended for 5th grade and up.
Reviewed by Lisa Silverman
Good Book.......2007-01-11
This book was a good book. I wish it was a tiny bit better. I think it was a tiny bit weird and the story is confusing. It is sad in the end.
2003 Notable Book, Association of Jewish Libraries!.......2004-02-08
This title was declared a 2003 Notable Book by the Association of Jewish Libraries! Almost 200 children's books of Judaic content were reviewed during the year to find the best of the bunch. Find out more at www.jewishlibraries.org.
A Gripping Story for Adults and Children.......2003-05-16
This gripping story is the account of the Hofman family recently moved from Israel to Los Angeles. Their seventeen year old son Adam was in high school and fourteen year old daughter Netta in middle school. Adam quickly found friends and began enjoying the new school while Netta did not really feel at home. The family was panic stricken when Adam failed to come home one night. The story from there on is a description of the search for the missing Adam. Because of the bitter feeling between people in Israel and those in Palestine, the Hofmans were sure that Adam was the victim of Palestinian Terrorists. Netta took some risks in her effort to find out her brother's fate and who was responsible. In the process she learned to value people as individuals rather than as part of a group. This timely well-written story of a family in grief is especially important now in the present world situation. The book is directed to ages 12 and up but is also excellent for adults because it helps them see the struggle through the eyes of a young person experiencing the emotional impact of the crisis situation in Israel.
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