The King of Children: The Life and Death of Janusz Korczak [Paperback]

Betty Jean Lifton (Author), Elie Wiesel (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1997

A classic as stirring as Schindler's List, The King of Children is the acclaimed biography of the first advocate of children's rights and the man known as the savior of hundreds of orphans in the Warsaw ghetto.

Janusz Korczak was known throughout Europe as a Pied Piper of destitute children even before the onslaught of World War II. But on August 6, 1942, Korczak stepped into legend. Refusing offers for his own safety, and with defiant dignity, he led the orphans under his care in the Warsaw Ghetto to the trains that would take them to Treblinka.

An educator and pediatrician, Korczak, a Polish Jew, introduced progressive orphanages for both the Jewish and Catholic children in Warsaw. Determined to shield his children from the injustices of the adult world, he built these orphanages into "just communities" with their own parliaments and children's courts. Korczak also founded the first national children's newspaper, testified on behalf of children in juvenile courts, and trained teachers and parents in "moral education," with his books How to Love a Child and How to Respect a Child.

The King of Children is now recognized as a classic work for educators, historians, parents, and anyone who lives or works with a child.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The tragic story of Janusz Korczak, who chose to perish in Treblinka rather than abandon the Jewish orphans in his care, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1988. The new paperback edition includes a passionate introduction by Elie Wiesel that sets the tone for the inspiring saga of a man who introduced progressive orphanages in his native Poland, defended children's rights in court, and wrote classic works of children's literature and child psychology. Korczak lives as a moral exemplar in this fine biography.

Review

"Warsaw's Pied Piper, astonishingly ahead of his time, is still able to move, inspire, and provoke any of us who live or work with children."--The Washington Post Book World

"We are in [Lifton's] debt for reconstructing the life of this amazing man....Few biographies have the power to move, to inspire, to enlighten. Hers does."--USA Today

"A reading of The King of Children makes known a remarkable man....A lesser man would have been broken by the tasks Korczak set himself....His strategy, sent to the head from the heart, was to remember as few can how it felt to be a child."--Geoffrey Wolff, The New York Times Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (April 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312155603
• ISBN-13: 978-0312155605
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,732,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr Lifton's masterpice deserves to be widely read, June 22, 2009

By 

Shimon ben Avraham "Shimon" (BC Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The King of Children: The Life and Death of Janusz Korczak (Paperback)

I am a long time admirer of Korczak and was impressed by the great effort that Betty Jean Lifton put in to bringing her subject to life for us. Korczak had an immense impact on the lives of children in inter-war Poland and thanks to Dr Lifton's book we can learn more about his ideas and life.
Korczak demanded much of those he worked with and trained and who helped him run his orphanages. He was also a man of much complexity and Lifton captures this well.
Perhaps Korczak's greatest gift was to help adults understand that children do not experience the world like us but are both more in touch with their emotions and more frgaile and easily hurt by the reactions of their elders. Lifton captures this well.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Work on a Titan of Humanitarians, November 2, 2008

By 

Daniel L. Berek (Flanders, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The King of Children: The Life and Death of Janusz Korczak (Paperback)

Most people who have heard about Janusz Korczak (Henryk Goldszmit) know him from decriptions of him during his years in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II and how he refused offers of shelter in safer areas because he refused to abandon the orphans in his care. His march, leading the orphan children in serene dignity to the cattle trains waiting to take them to the Nazi death camp of Treblinka, certainly makes for an unforgettable and compelling image. Indeed, but what about Korcaak's life? There is so much more to "Mister Doctor," as his beloved pupils called him, and this book tells the story of his life, philosophy, and dreams.

Betty Jean Lifton has done admirable job of covering Korczak's entire life, from his family background and sad childhood to his journeys while studying medicine to his establishment of the Orphan's Home to his religious beliefs, writings, and stint as radio personality ("The Old Doctor") to his final years in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he continued to manage an orphanage to give the child victims a life of dignity in their terrible last years.

Though there are 33 pages of notes in the end, these in no way detract from the readability of this book. For the most part, they serve as reference points for anyone wishing to research an aspect of Korczak's life further. They also bear testimony to the tremendous amount of hard work Ms. Lifton put into her book; it is obvious that this work was truly a labor of love.

Translations of works into English by and about the great Polish doctor, educator, and social worker Janusz Korczak are very hard to come by. Educators, social workers, policy makers, and parents - in short, anyone who cares for and about children - owe it to themselves and the children in their care to be familiar with his methods and philosophies of raising and educating children. It is a great pity that most of his original writings have not yet been translated into English; this book goes a long way to that end. Betty Jean Lifton has done the English-speaking world a great service in making the life of this true hero accessible. This is not just a book to be read, but one to be considered, reconsidered, and savored.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational Read, June 6, 2010

By 

Chrisann Justice "Inspire Me" (Barrow, Alaska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The King of Children: The Life and Death of Janusz Korczak (Paperback)

I found out about Janusz Korczak while reading the book "The Zookeeper's Wife." I was intrigued by him since he devoted his life to teaching and working with children. I absolutely loved this book. He lived an inspiring life and I feel that I am a better person just for learning about him. One of the reviewers complained that the book went into too much detail. I loved every minute of my reading and was grateful for all of the details. I came away feeling that I had known him as a real person. I loved that the author included details to show us a real man with his faults and follies and not just a saint. There are certain people that I am looking forward to meeting in heaven. Janusz Korczak is one of them.