Book Reviews

“Now I know why I am here.”

This was a quote from the soldier right after the unit discovered its first concentration camp late in the war. A while back, I had read a fabricated FB image post where Churchill was reported to have said something along the lines of stating that defending the arts in school why what the world was fighting Germany. And while the arts are important, there should be no confusion of the real reasons to stop the Axis Powers—to prevent the torture and massacre of countless innocent lives. Being denied a music class is unfortunate, but being starved to death or gassed is just incalculably worse. Normally, I don't try to correct the endless bits of misinformation out there, but some things simply cannot stand.

There aren't many many books that I would give a rating of 10. I mean that's a perfect score and there seems like anything could always use improvement. But once in a while something is just at the top of my list in regards to reading.

That's not to say that the writing is perfect. Are a few small problems with it, mainly the author's Point View shifting unexpectedly on occasion. And it's a little confusing. However the content is just so strong that it makes up for any other flaws.

If anyone has watched the HBO series, he will immediately see the similarities. They did a fantastic job recreating the events and capturing the characters. There are so many places where you just stop and think, “Wow! I remember that!” and ponder things a little, and then continue reading. It makes me want to go out and buy the whole series on DVD.

There were a few surprises. One was how the soldiers upon the final stages of the war stated that they actually liked the German civilians the best, along with the Dutch. They did not seem to care for the French much. Again, this is in general and many personal stories will surely differ.

The post war stories are also fascinating as many became teachers and builders. Sobel apparently did not have a good life after. He just didn't play well with others. Some could never kill again—even a small animal.

At any rate, all were changed, and this book tells why. I usually don't keep my books after I read them, but this may be a tough one to part with.