Holocaust [Hardcover]

Angela Gluck Wood (Author), Dan Stone (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2007 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Explaining the complex political and social backdrop that allowed the Holocaust to occur, as well as its progression and aftermath, this comprehensive volume contains first-hand testimony from survivors and enables readers to appreciate the impact of the Holocaust on real people and the lives they and their families have rebuilt today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. DK's signature editorial aesthetic, combined with the searing testimony of Holocaust survivors collected by the USC Shoah Foundation Institute of Visual History and Education, makes for a sobering and visually compelling work of history. An extraordinary array of materials—Nazi propaganda, documentary photos, artwork, artifacts—are employed in the service of a broadly sweeping chronicle, beginning with Jewish exile from Jerusalem in 70 CE after Roman occupation and ending with modern-day Holocaust denial and the creation of memorials around the world. Each chapter includes a two-page spread entitled Voices, devoted largely to excerpts from 23 interviews in the Foundation's video archives (an accompanying 40-minute DVD contains the actual interviews). One survivor recalls the horror of being herded onto dark, overcrowded trains en route to Auschwitz; another describes how her mother told her about every book she ever read, every movie she'd ever seen as they hid in a grave-like hole under a pigsty. Wood's prose is economical and reportorial, and she clearly wants to reclaim the individuality and humanity of those devastated by this enormity (In many ways, numbers, especially very large numbers, mean nothing to us. What matters is each and every human being who was murdered by the Nazis) and she never resorts to lecturing readers on how they should feel. The book's detailed charts and maps contain almost too much information at times, often demanding very close scrutiny to fully decipher. Overall, however, the visual sensitivity and expert pacing serves this vital subject very well. Ages 11-up. (July)
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From Booklist

Every minute was a total unknown thing. And not only did we not know what was going to be but we knew that it was going to be bad. Enriched with the moving words of Holocaust survivors and eyewitnesses, provided by Steven Spielberg's Shoah Institute (also available on accompanying DVD), this ambitious pictorial overview will horrify, sadden, and educate a wide range of readers. Wood tackles a massive project, moving from anti-Semitism in world history to a discussion of the Holocaust itself that steers clear of oversimplification—stressing, for instance, that many of those murdered were not Jewish, and that outside nations were culpable of postponing intervention. The book is designed in typical DK style, with thematic, clustered facts and images (many gravely disturbing), but much of the information appears in small type that less-patient readers will bypass. Sometimes, too, the book's attempt to cover so much results in statements and diagrams that lack sufficient context. But this succeeds more often than it falters, providing a wide-ranging supplement to the narrower, personal experiences recounted in Holocaust literature's many fine memoirs. Mattson, Jennifer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; Har/DVD edition (July 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756625351
• ISBN-13: 978-0756625351
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Children's Books > History > Holocaust

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holocaust, November 11, 2007

By 

L. Slick "laslick" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holocaust (Hardcover)

Really great book for teaching the Holocaust. I bought this book to add to my Holocaust unit that I teach inthe Spring. It has great information, written so intermediate kids can understand. The pictures are also great.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done, January 19, 2008

By 

Marian the Librarian - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holocaust (Hardcover)

My daughter loved this book. Once she picked it up she never put it down until she had read the entire thing from cover to cover. If you know anyone with a keen interest in this subject, I highly recommend this book as an addition to their collection on the subject of the Holocaust. It makes a thoughtful gift as well, due to the quality of the binding and the layout of the cover.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great single source reference, April 6, 2009

By 

Edward Pohlman (Toledo, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holocaust (Hardcover)

I would concur with the other reviewers, that this is a hard book to put down once you've started. The beauty of the book is that it covers nearly every topic of the Holocaust in a simple, yet easy-to-understand manner enhanced with many photographs and printed excerpts (of personal interviews) of many who went through that devasting period in world history.

This is an excellent reference for children and adults alike. It also provides stimulation for examining the event more in-depth if one so chooses with other resources.

The only potential weak spot was the DVD of the interviews. The technical quality was pretty much very good. However the length of the few interviews featured came out to a total of little more than 30 minutes. For a classroom visual aid, however, it might work. On an individual basis, more in-depth interviews would have been appreciated. It should be noted that the "printed" interviews in the book are more comprehensive. It was also a nice feature to provide short biographies of the participants in the back of the book.