Anne Frank : The Biography (Hardcover)

~ Melissa Muller (Author), Rita Kimber (Translator) "Hush. Be quiet..." (more)
Key Phrases: annex residents, secret annex, police examination, Otto Frank, Edith Frank, Johannes Kleiman (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One of this book's great strengths is writer Melissa Müller's ability to situate Anne Frank's famous diary within a larger historical and biographical context--more than half of it covers the years before the Franks went into hiding. Equally important is her discovery of the existence of five pages Otto Frank removed from his daughter's original diary and entrusted shortly before his death to Cor Sujik, international director of New York's Anne Frank Center. Sujik showed these pages to Müller, who accurately notes in the biography that they "enhance our understanding of the diary's author."

Until now, readers have known the eight people sequestered in the secret annex through Anne's eyes only. Müller reveals everyone's correct names (they were changed for the diary's publication) and tactfully corrects a teenager's skewed perceptions when necessary, always reminding us of the claustrophobic closeness and material deprivation that sometimes fueled Anne's uncharitable comments about, for example, the middle-aged dentist with whom she was forced to share a room. Müller also plausibly identifies the Dutch informant who betrayed the secret annex's inhabitants to the Gestapo. Horror suffuses Müller's grim recap of the Franks' ordeal at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, though there is some comfort in survivors' reports that Anne, her mother, and her older sister formed "an inseparable trio," all former quarrels forgotten in their fierce struggle to save each other. They failed, and Müller does not gloss over that tragedy. But she reminds us that, "In the end, the Nazi terror could not silence Anne's voice, which still rings out for all of us."

From School Library Journal

YA-This biography is in no way a substitution for Anne Frank's moving diary but it is a well-written addition to our knowledge of the young woman, her family, and her tragically short life. What is new here is the depth of background. M?ller includes a family tree; a family history; and considerable insight into the character, personality, and quality of life of Anne's parents, relatives, and friends. Interviews with many of these surviving people give a clearer idea of the situation and Anne's reactions to it. There seems to be no contradiction to her diary statements, but Anne's father, Otto Frank, had admittedly suppressed though not destroyed several pages of those writings, some of them dealing with Anne's evaluation of her mother's life and marriage. This recovered material shows Anne's feelings to be kindly and understanding. Also, the question of who betrayed the Secret Annex's residents is analyzed. One chapter covers the seven-month period from the time of the arrest, imprisonment in Westerbrok, and the family's transfer to Auschwitz-Birkenau to the deaths of Edith, Margot, and Anne. Information on the concentration-camp existence is based on reports of those who encountered Anne there. An epilogue reviews the experiences and fates of those friends, heroic helpers, possible betrayers, and surviving relatives of the Frank family. A dozen photographs of Anne, her family, and her friends are included. The book closes with a moving four-page note by Miep Gies, who salvaged and preserved Anne's diary.
Frances Reiher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Books; 1st edition (October 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805059962
• ISBN-13: 978-0805059960
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #517,533 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very emotional journey through Anne's life, March 21, 1999

By A Customer

I read about Anne Frank when I was around 8 years old. I was very touched by her story, and begged my aunt - who lives in Amsterdam - to take me to the Anne Frank House to visit the Secret Annex. Ever since, Anne's tragic story has been with me. I read her diary, as well as other books written with her. Now I read this book - Anne's biography. I just finished it - and I sit here with a pale face and tears in my eyes. It's a very touching story with happy times and dark times, and a very tragic end. The author describes this end in every detail you could possibly think of... the arrestation of the eight people in the Annex, Mieps attempts to free the family by offering money to Gestapo police offers, the family's deportation to the camps... how Anne lived in happiness in Westerbork after having been locked in the Annex for two years. How she was deported to Auschwitz - where she was separated from her father and, later on, from her mother. How she and Margot were deported to Bergen-Belsen, where she died so tragically. If this part of the book doesn't move you to burst out in tears, the part when Otto finds out his daughters won't come back, will. This book is a journey through Anne's life and after the last page the terrible truth gets you by the throat: this young girl, who described this terrible period in her life so lively, will never ever come back. Anne's spirit is with us forever. Whenever I'm in Amsterdam, I always stop by Prinsengracht 263 to visit the Annex. And when I'm standing in Anne's room I still feel the same as when I was 8 years old, and visited her room for the first time.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DESPITE PROBLEMS THIS BOOK IS STILL VERY MUCH WORTH READING, March 28, 2001

By	Randy Berkman (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

It is difficult to criticize anyone who has devoted so much of her mind and heart to writing a 300+ page birth-to-death camp account of Anne Frank.

However, the book's jacket incorrectly claims "Here, after five decades is the first biography of this remarkable figure." Having been moved many years ago by Ernst Schnabel's book ANNE FRANK: A PORTRAIT IN COURAGE (1958) I was put off by this inaccurate statement. That Schnabel's biography is not even acknowledged by author Melissa Muller is also troubling. How could a journalist who has done such detailed historical research fail to even mention a previous author's detailed biography? Hopefully, this will be corrected in future editions.

Like Schnabel, Muller interviewed many people who knew Anne frank. Schnabel was able to speak with people not available to Muller because they had died before she started her research--such as Anne's father Otto Frank. To Muller's credit, her interviews include Frank family relatives, one of the Franks' protectors in hiding--Miep Gies--co-author of ANNE FRANK REMEMBERED as well as Jacqueling Van Maarsen ("Jopie" in the Diary)--author of MY FRIEND ANNE FRANK and Willy Lindmer--author of THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS OF ANNE FRANK.

Another nice touch is the Epilogue which sums up what happened to many of the people described in the book. For example, it is deeply sad and chilling to read about one of Anne's sweet friends, Sanne Ledermann, then turn to the Epilogue and find that she and her parents were gassed in Auschwitz.

Muller's writing varies from fascinating to overly detailed. For example, do we really need to know that one of Edith Frank's cousins divorced her husband because he was having an affair with his secretary? On the other hand, she offers new insights into who may have been the betrayer(s) of the Franks and others in hiding with them. She also sensitively describes "new" pages of the Diary that Otto Frank had deleted from the original version because he found Anne's perceptions of his marriage too embarrassing. Like other books about Anne frank, she quotes extensively from the Diary, citing many of its most moving passages. So despite the criticisms, I still believe this book is very much worth reading.

While Muller's choice of style and content may be too academic for the average reader, there are also flashes of inspiration and insight regarding Anne's deepest feelings. Schnabel's book is more consistently inspired, often expressing the heart of a spiritual poet. An example is found in his final words:

"Thus her voice was preserved out of the millions that were silenced, this voice no louder than a child's whisper. It tells how those millions lived, spoke, ate, and slept and it has outlasted the shouts of the murderers and soared above the voices of time."

Muller concludes:

"In the end, the Nazi terror oculd not silence Anne's voice, which still rings out for all of us, whom she had hoped so ardently to serve."

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing account of Anne's short life, May 20, 2001

By	"mamabookworm" (Salem, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anne Frank: The Biography (Paperback)

Melissa Muller has written an absorbing, probing, sincere account of the life of Anne Frank. She provides a historical background that proves fascinating, from the backgrounds of Anne's parents, grandparents and extended family, to the political climates in Germany and Holland before and during World War II.

This worthy biography depicts with subdued insight the Frank family's relationships. I was particularly touched while reading about the Franks' love and concern for their two daughters, and by the inclusion of several letters from the Franks to extended family members, particularly those exchanged between Otto Frank and his mother.

Throughout the book, Muller's interest in the subject matter is evident and her unsensational interpretation of events rings true. The translation is flawless and the text is woven together seamlessly. All in all, this biography triumphs as one of the most well-written biographies I have read.

I agree with Miep Gies' statement at the end of the book: Anne's life does not, as some writers and historians have suggested, symbolize the millions of lives lost in the Holocaust, because her life was hers alone. Millions of individual lives were tragically and cruelly ended. After reading this book, I feel privileged to have had a poignant glimpse into one of these lives.