Along the Edge of Annihilation: The Collapse and Recovery of Life in the Holocaust Diary (Samuel and Althea Stroum Book) [Hardcover]

David Patterson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Samuel and Althea Stroum Book | Publication Date: April 1999

This is an extraordinary book based on more than fifty diaries of Holocaust victims of all ages, written while the events described were taking place. It illuminates the spiritual and physical devastation experienced by European Jewry during the Holocaust, showing how Jews chose life and the spirit of life in the midst of the inferno.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Patterson, director of the Judaic studies program at the University of Memphis, continues his deconstructionist study of the Holocaust diary genre begun in Sun Turned to Darkness: Memory and Recovery in the Holocaust Memoir (LJ 10/1/98). Patterson attempts to understand the face of evil by reading the words of those who suffered. He has examined an impressive collection of Holocaust memoirs and diaries, many of which have never appeared in English; his bibliography of primary sources may be worth the price of the book for some university libraries. The unrelenting voices of the victims are heavy going, though, and, unfortunately, Patterson is only interested in Jewish writers. Where are the other victims, such as homosexuals and Romany? Many of Patterson's themes can also be found in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison (1953), but should Bonhoeffer be disqualified for being a Gentile? The reader must be ready for a heavy dose of Jewish theology and the realization that Patterson is essentially writing for a Jewish audience. Recommended for larger academic collections.ARandall L. Schroeder, Wartburg Coll. Lib., Waverly, IA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

HISUS

Product Details

• Hardcover: 311 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295977825
• ISBN-13: 978-0295977829
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,936,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Patterson is the winner of the National Jewish Book Award and the Koret Jewish Book Award and has published more than 30 book and more than 130 artices and book chapters.