Howard Greenfeld

There’s a lot of discussion right now (or maybe there always is) about what words do and should mean in our culture and politics. Greenfield’s book is a wonderful overview of the history of the English language that emphasizes the dynamism of a living language in brief, informative chapters that I found to be the perfect amount of information for my level of interest.

In the first half of the book, Greenfield discusses the Indo-European roots of English, Old English, the emersion of show more Middle English out of contact with the Norman French, the impact of the printing press, and more. English only recently came into maturity at the end of the 17th century after an influx of 10,000+ new words from European languages, with a comprehensive English dictionary coming into existence less than 300 years ago. The second half of the book discusses linguistic phenomena such as slang and euphemisms. This section makes this book more appropriate for high-schoolers and up, as it includes words that reference sexuality, drunkenness, etc. The words are not dwelt on, but used to illustrate concepts like euphemisms without going into detail.

Both the history of the English language and its current usage are robust and evolving. Some words fade quickly in and out of existence, while others retain their meaning for centuries. There is no point at which English has been perfectly “stable”, with even our most respected English author, Shakespeare, creating his own words and often ignoring grammatical convention. While that comes with its own challenges, I walked away from Greenfield’s book seeing this as a strength of a language that continues to grow to capture the experiences and meanings of the people who use it. Overall, this is an excellent, easy to read volume that can spark discussion between older students and adults while helping readers to remain grounded in the true nature of language. show less

This is a study of a handful of child or teen Holocaust survivors -- not a study of what they went through during the war, but about what happened to them after. As the author notes, not a whole lot has been written about the post-war experiences of survivors. Certainly they continued to suffer even after Germany's surrender -- their families missing or dead, being unable to go home or unable to stay once they got there, often stuck in displaced persons camps for years on end. But this was a show more self-reliant, resourceful lot and all were eventually able to find places in the world.

The book would, I think, be suitable for age ten or so and up. Adults would also find it of value. I do think the study was somewhat compromised though, in the fact that all the people interviewed were living in America. show less

Howard Greenfeld's project is an engrossing and heartbreaking look at the lives of young people who survived the Nazi regime, only to be forced to endure countless further hardships as they try to gain some sort of "normal" existence. After the Holocaust carefully balances research with first-person accounts, so the history itself becomes personal, and the book is all the more moving for the stories and photos shared by the participating survivors. I appreciate Greenfeld's attempts to move show more beyond the initial horror of the war and concentration camps to show contemporary readers the continued plight of an abused people. Likewise, I appreciate Greenfeld's attempts to widen the scope of victims; while the personal accounts are all related by Jewish survivors, Greenfeld's analysis frequently refers to the other ostracized and victimized peoples who fall victim to the same prejudice and horror. Recommended for everyone. show less

Chronicling the horrific fate of those who escaped, were liberated, or came out of hiding after the Holocaust, this story begins where other books regarding the Holocaust left off.

The author interviewed eight homeless, orphaned children/young adults and carefully, clearly documented their tragic lives during and after the Holocaust.

Outlining statistics and stories with photos throughout, Greenfeld's heart wrenching portrayal of displaced, parent less children roaming throughout Europe is a show more must read not only for those who study history, or are interested in the Holocaust, but this should be read compassionately by all.

The author not only focuses on Germany, but also gives detailed information regarding anti-Semitism throughout Poland, Latvia, Romania and Hungary.

I did not know that after returning to Poland, on July 4, 1946, 42 Jewish survivors in the town of Kielce were killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielce_pogrom

Though it is difficult, I highly recommend reading this book. show less