The Survivor: An Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps [Paperback]

Terrence Des Pres (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Remains a perfect analytic supplement for students reading (as mine do) the memoir literature (Wiesel, Levi, Tec, etc.) in courses on the Holocaust and its impact on survivors and, through them, on western imagination."--A.J. Slavin, University of Louisville

"Powerful book! An intriguing look into the inner workings of the death camps. A must reading for anyone who wants to know just how inhumanly the Naqzis treated their victims."-- Prof. Marvin Seperson, New England College

"[A] very fine book."--Saul Lerner, Purdue University Calumet

"A brilliant and beautifully written book about one of the ultimate human experiences."--E.O. Wilson, Harvard University

"An important, tormented, tormenting book."--Elie Wiesel, Boston University

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 7, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195027035
• ISBN-13: 978-0195027037
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Survivors live to witness, August 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Survivor: An Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps (Paperback)

A close and penetrating look at how the survivors of the Nazi and Stalinist death camps came through such horror in human ways. Des Pres explodes the myths about the Jews going to their deaths "like sheep;" of survivors saving their own lives by becoming amoral; of those who lived suffering from "survivor's guilt." Rather, says Des Pres, survivors felt an obligation to the dead to bear witness; survivors lived by maintaining their moral sensibilities and by cooperating with one another and sharing in each other's tribulations and successes; to survive in the conditions of extremity found in the death camps was, in itself, an act of resistance. Humans are social by nature of their very biology, says Des Pres, and this is perhaps our main hope in this century. His depiction of survivor as "hero" is a welcome contrast to the numerous dead heroes of Western literature -- and a necessary one in this century of atrocities. Des Pres also wrote _Praises and Dispraises: Poetry and Politics, the 20th Century_ and _Writing Into the World: Essays 1973-1987_ -- both important books about the social and political role of the poet (and other writers). It's unfortunate that these two volumes are currently out of print.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surviving, April 1, 2001

By 

Elaine Bernard (New York, N.Y. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Survivor: An Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps (Paperback)

I have never read a more important or more accurate account of life in a concentration camp. Des Pres gives a new and important meaning to the word 'courage.' Des Pres' analysis of courage provides the lie to the depiction of Jews succumbing like sheep to the Nazi horror. He clearly demonstrates the courage it took to stay alive, to bear witness, to resist. Furthermore, he provides a base for understanding the meaning of the courage it took for Jews to survive 1,000 years of Christian efforts to debase Jews in their European diaspora- the courage to survive and live as Jews. I am only sorry that I did not discover this book earlier in my life.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The most important book ever written about the Holocaust, April 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Survivor: An Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps (Paperback)

Few historians have the stomach to tackle an in-depth historical survey of the Nazi Holocaust. Even fewer have the depth and intelligence to look deep into its many figures and faces to create a work of literature which deals with the ontological essence of humankind. Such an effort would seem like an unreachable and naive goal if it weren't so beautifully examined in Des Pres' book, in which he uses a wealth of haunting voices from the Holocaust to introduce his readers to a new chapter of the human spirit: the Survivor.