The reissue of the 1988 first edition freshens up the format (the lines have more space between them, making the text easier to read) and adds new information to this monumentally important history of the Holocaust. Rogasky takes the reader from the roots of anti-Semitism in Germany through Hitler’s rise to power and his immediate implementation of the war against the Jews, the death camps, the liberation of the camps, and the Nuremberg trials. Additions to the text include a section on the role of the German army and the Order Police, the mobile death squads responsible for killing approximately two million Jews. The evidence is overwhelmingly against the argument that the Holocaust was carried out only by the Special Forces of the SS and not by the ordinary soldiers of the German army. A chapter has been added about the desperate efforts of the Germans to finish off the job of killing the Jews and to destroy the evidence as it became clear that they were losing the war. The last chapter about hate groups and Holocaust deniers is expanded to include direct responses to specific claims made by so-called revisionists. Rogasky pulls no punches in her forthright and unflinching account. The shameful suppression of the truth when it was known by the British and American governments, their refusal to help by taking in Jewish refugees when it was still possible, the Allied decision not to bomb Auschwitz and thus disable the killing machinery are all detailed. A source list that is more than three times as long as in the earlier edition speaks to the scrupulously thorough research, with most of the additional sources having been published since the first edition. Clearly written, comprehensive, sensitive, and nuanced: an indispensable resource. (bibliography, footnotes, time line, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2002
ISBN: 0-8234-1612-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
Historical fiction examines the famous case of Emmett Till, whose murder was one of the triggers of the civil-rights movement. Hiram Hillburn knows R.C. Rydell is evil. He watches R.C. mutilate a catfish, but does nothing to stop him. “I didn’t want to end up like that fish,” he says. He watches R.C. throw stones at a neighbor’s house and humiliate 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African-American visitor from Chicago, and still he does nothing. Hiram says, “When things are scary or dangerous, it’s hard to see clear what to do.” When Till is brutally murdered, Hiram is sure R.C. is involved. Hiram, a white teenager who has come back to the Mississippi town where his father grew up, is the narrator and the perspective of the white outsider and the layers of his moral reflection make this an excellent examination of a difficult topic. When the case comes to trial, Hiram knows he must face his own trial: can he stand up to evil and do the right thing? He knows Mr. Paul, the local storeowner, is right: “Figure out what’s right and what’s wrong, and make yourself do the right thing. Do that and no matter what happens, no matter what people say, you’ll have no regrets.” This is a complicated thing to do, as Hiram must summon inner strength and come to terms with who he is—the son of an English professor who hates everything about the South and the grandson of a farmer who loves everything about it. Teen readers will find themselves caught up in Hiram’s very real struggle to do the right thing. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8037-2745-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future.
An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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