At Suvla Bay

Book Description

He lay flat under a huge rock. I left the stretcher-squads, and, crawling behind a bush, looked through the glasses. It certainly was a Turk, and his position was one of hiding. He kept perfectly motionless on his stomach and his rifle lay by his side.

Download Description

Average customer rating:

At Suvla Bay.
John, (White Fox), Hargrave
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0CVSU

At Suvla Bay;: Being the notes and sketches of scenes, characters and adventures of the Dardanelles campaign,

Average customer rating:

At Suvla Bay;: Being the notes and sketches of scenes, characters and adventures of the Dardanelles campaign,
John Hargrave
Manufacturer: Constable
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

The Landings at Suvla Bay 1915: An Analysis of British Failure During the Gallipoli Campaign

Average customer rating:

The Landings at Suvla Bay 1915: An Analysis of British Failure During the Gallipoli Campaign
Michael J. Mortlock
Manufacturer: McFarland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Turkey | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

World War I | Military | History | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0786430354

Product Description

This work is an extensive analysis of the 1915 British landing at Suvla Bay, one of the most mismanaged and ineffective operations of World War I. Chapters examine the events that led to the landings on the Gallipoli peninsula, provide a comprehensive report on the landings themselves, and analyze the events and decisions contributing to their failure. Appendices provide first-hand accounts of the landings from period news articles, military documents and personal correspondence.

The Times History and Encyclopaedia of the War - Part 83, Vol. 7, Mar. 21, 1916 - The Dardanelles Campaign (IV): Sari Bair and Suvla Bay

Average customer rating:

The Times History and Encyclopaedia of the War - Part 83, Vol. 7, Mar. 21, 1916 - The Dardanelles Campaign (IV): Sari Bair and Suvla Bay
Correspondents of The Times
Manufacturer: The Times
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IDFP6I

Diary of Lt-Colonel Viscount Hambleden: September 26, 1915-January 4,1916 ; and a memorandum of the work of the 1/Royal First Devon Yeomanry at Suvla Bay

Average customer rating:

Diary of Lt-Colonel Viscount Hambleden: September 26, 1915-January 4,1916 ; and a memorandum of the work of the 1/Royal First Devon Yeomanry at Suvla Bay
William Frederick Danvers Smith Hambleden
Manufacturer: Arden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

The Pals at Suvla Bay
Henry Hanna
Manufacturer: Irish Academic Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

The pals at Suvla Bay;: Being the record of "D" Company of the 7th Royal Dublin Fusiliers,

Average customer rating:

The pals at Suvla Bay;: Being the record of "D" Company of the 7th Royal Dublin Fusiliers,
Henry Hanna
Manufacturer: E. Ponsonby, Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008BX7ZG

Suvla Bay and after, (The soldier books)

Average customer rating:

Suvla Bay and after, (The soldier books)
Juvenis
Manufacturer: Hodder and Stoughton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Appearing first in 1981, this dictionary remains the largest and most comprehensive book of sign language ever published. Now, completely revised and expanded, American Sign Language features:

More than 7,000 sign entries, plus cross-references
More than 12,000 illustrations
2,000 more signs than any other ASL dictionary, including dozens of signs that have only recently come into usage
Arranged alphabetically to enhance usability

Other features include a pronunciation guide for English language glosses and a foreword to the original edition by the late Mary E. Switzer, United States Commissioner of Vocational Rehabilitation.

American Sign Language (ASL) is the third most frequently used language in the United States after English and Spanish. ASL has its own distinct grammar and syntax. The entries appearing herein represents signs, not words, and the illustrations of the hand, arm, and facial expressions will aid the reader in forming the signs.

This book is indispensable to deaf people and their relatives, friends, and associated. Social workers, otologists, hearing and speech therapists, audiologists, and rehabilitation workers have long considered this book a major addition to their libraries.

Customer Reviews:

The Most Comprehensive ASL Dictionary Available.......2006-02-24

I have owned many sign language dictionaries in the past 10+ years. All of them have fallen short of my needs. Martin L. A. Sternberg's unabridged ASL Dictionary is simply the most comprehesive, invaluable resource available. I work with children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, and I always recommend this dictionary for parents, so that they can look up just about any word they may ever need to know.

This is an outdated source now........2005-05-06

A little fact. ASL is still rather young and signs you learn today can still be modified by tomorrow. It is a good source to go to if you need to know a certain sign, but the problem is it may not have the sign you want. For example, if you want to find the sign for the color red, you are better off going to ask someone, because it most likely does not have it. It is very weak when it comes to number and color signs. This book is too outdated if you are a perfectionist, go somewhere else. It is only a dictionary, it will not teach you proper ASL grammer or deaf culture.

If you are a deaf person thinking I am a know-it-all hearie, well I am a hearing impaired person.

Can't Recommend This ASL Dictionary.......2004-06-02

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book. More than 60 percent of the signs I got out of it were rejected as wrong or outdated by Deaf persons and ASL teachers and interpreters. it was a big disappointment, because of the cost. Better choice is the "Handshape Dictionary."

Top Choice for Thorough Vocabulary.......2004-04-08

If you're simply looking for a good dictionary with a variety of regional signs and lots of entries, this is the best bet! It has over 7,000 entries and 12,000 illustrations. Some of the illustrations aren't the easiest to understand, but if you already have a basic knowledge of sign language, you can't beat this book! Not only does it have many English gloss entries, but it shows you various signs for the same gloss, which ones are cosidered vulgar, which ones are distinctly regional, and gives you some synonyms that can be used with the same gloss. A must-have addition to any serious signer's library!

American Sign Language Dictionary.......2004-01-13

I have many sign language books but find this one the easiest to use. It tells if there are other words that will use the same sign and I really like this. It is very helpful.

Random House Webster's Unabridged American Sign Language Dictionary, Second Edition

Average customer rating:

Random House Webster's Unabridged American Sign Language Dictionary, Second Edition
Elaine Phd Costello
Manufacturer: Random House Reference
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

Dictionaries & Terminology | Reference | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Encyclopedic on Exotic Fruits

Exotic Fruits

The Great Exotic Fruit Book: A Handbook of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, With Recipes
Norman Van Aken , and John Harrisson
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Fruits | Cooking by Ingredient | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Fruit | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Great Mango Book

Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables : A Commonsense Guide

Handy Pocket Guide to Tropical Fruits (Periplus Nature Guide)

Tropical Fruit

New World Kitchen : Latin American and Caribbean Cuisine

ASIN: 0898156882

Customer Reviews:

Encyclopedic on Exotic Fruits.......2001-07-13

Van Aken is lauded by the likes of Emeril Lagasse as being a true pioneer in a new cuisine which fuses American-Caribbean-Pacific Rim foods into exciting new taste combos.

Significant in this cuisine is the use of tropical fruit, so Van Aken has been experimenting. Here we garner the fruits of his research on fruits, with this guide. He also prepared the colorful posters which one can obtain, deatialing the two categories of tropical and sub-tropical varieties.

This is from a series of such works put out by Ten-Speed Press, one of my personal favorite cookbook pubs. They do Trotters, et al. This is another of their fine "The Great ... series," also I enjoy their one on pears and am awaiting the one on mangoes. They go through all the types and then provide recipes, here on drinks and salsas, and desserts, etc.

Fine reference work for those of us who like to find exotic, different components to cook with. This and his wonderful cookbook "New World Cuisine" will get a workout at my kitchen.

Exotic Fruits.......2000-05-27

This is a beautiful book of lovely photographs and tempting recipies. Great for summer parties & cook outs. Mango and guava are my favorites & there are wonderful recipies for these in the book. Could also be used as a "Coffee Table" Book because of the attractive photography.

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Resource.......2001-09-01

This is the book the Greyhound rescue in my area suggested. It's a great book, full of pertinent information pertaining to Greyhounds. I recommend it without reservation to anyone considering adopting, in the process of adoption, or already in possesion of one of these magnificent creatures.

Adopt a GREYHOUND! SAVE a LIFE and get a GREY-T dog to boot!!

An Excellent Read!.......2000-06-29

I recieved this book as a Gift from a friend shortly after getting a greyhound. I found it very helpful and informative, what to look out for, what to do, what not to do, and it even gave me a head-start to finding recreational activities to participate in with my greyhound, such as lure coursing , which my greyhound will be participating in once she gets settled in.

A good guide to owning a greyhound.......2000-04-05

This book provides helpful information and insights for owners of greyhounds as well as to those thinking about getting a greyhound. It contains first aid tips and obedience training guidelines that aren't available in most other greyhound books. It also has beautiful photos of the breed. There are only two drawbacks I have found about this book; it does not fully emphasize the need to keep greyhounds on leashes or in enclosures and the reading continuity is interrupted by the "How To" sections (not that they're not helpful but they seem misplaced).

An Exceptional Resource.......2000-01-08

There have been several thorough resources published about adopting and caring for greyhounds with the caveat that greys are "different from other dogs". They include technical paragraphs about the physical and psychological sensitivity of these dogs, but don't give many examples about how greys differ from other dogs emotionally and psychologically. This book fills that gap, bringing a realistic and focused perspective to what it is REALLY like to have a greyhound in your house. It does this with a friendly, companionable voice rather than a clinical one, although the technical information is included as well. If you love greyhounds, you will love this book. It is obvious from the text that Coile loves her greyhounds.

Excellent coverage of an excellent breed.......1998-07-01

This book was recommended to me by Greyhound Friends. A concise and accurate discussion about adopting and caring for Greyhounds. Covers in detail virtually everything you need to know for your dogs entire span - even a small and touching section on dealing with the eventual loss of your pet. I read and re-read this book leading up to adopting my greyhound, Gromit, and things have gone quite well (of couse, Gromit is wonderful, even for a greyhound). A few nits: I would have liked more information about training your dog to climb stairs (Gromit figured it out in about a week with a lot of help from me). The book is very pro lure coursing (a non-gambling kind of greyhound racing); many sources on the net feel that lure coursing is very dangerous for ex-racers due to injuries the racers encounter during their careers. Still, a fine and useful book.

Average customer rating:
The Bead Jewelry Maker: Stylish Handcrafted Jewelry to Make at Home
Cheryl Owen
Manufacturer: Barron''s Educational Series
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Beadwork | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Jewelry | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Stringing Style: 50+ Fresh Bead Designs for Jewelry

100 Beaded Jewelry Designs: Easy-to-Bead Necklaces, Bracelets, Brooches, and More

Making Designer Seed Bead, Stone, and Crystal Jewelry

Making Designer Bead and Wire Jewelry: Techniques for Unique Designs and Handmade Findings

Beading for the Soul: Inspired Designs from 23 Contemporary Artists

ASIN: 0764131923

Book Description

Featuring more than 100 instructive, full-color, close-up, step-by-step photos, this handsome book shows how to make more than 30 beautiful pieces of jewelry, using different-size colored glass beads and seed pearls. Following an opening section that describes basic jewelry-making techniques, the book presents 30 projects that include—

A five-row floating beads necklace

Pearl and crystal drop earrings

A choker with silver spacers

A turquoise bracelet

Coral effect earrings

A beaded flower brooch, and many others
Each project is presented with a large color photo of the finished piece plus a list of materials, which, in addition to beads, may include nylon line, gold wire in various thicknesses, and jewelry hangers—all items widely available from jewelry suppliers. Detailed instructions are presented in the form of lengthy captions that accompany each how-to photograph. The Bead Jewelry Maker offers a wide range of projects that use an ample choice of materials to create exquisite items owner's will be proud to wear. 110 color photos.

Book Description

This monograph by the curator of the Orchid Herbarium at Kew considers the history, biology, evolution, conservation, cultivation, and classification of cypripediums, the most popular of the temperate orchids.

Customer Reviews:

A concise and must-have manual for Cypripedium devotees........1999-10-20

Specialist books such as this are few and far between. It is a good thing then, that this book is by no means a let down in any department. It contains concise and factual information about the genus Cypripedium, ranging from cultural details, to taxonomic and nomenclatural discussion, and including information on the distribution and relative rarity of the species the genus encompasses. The photography and art presented within is of fantastic quality, and helps to complete a very thorough and admiral work covering these North American and Pan-European gems. Superlatives abound.

On the floral conformation of the genus Cypripedium,

Average customer rating:

On the floral conformation of the genus Cypripedium,
Maxwell T Masters
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008C7CO2

Customer Reviews:

A must read book for any Christian youth worker or parent!.......1999-09-28

This book gives you excellent insight into the mind of a child and the needs of a child. This book is an effective training tool for any youth worker, minister, or parent. I you are serious about ministering to youth get this book. You will love it and the author speaks with Godly wisdom.

Siete Necesidades Basicas del Nino / Seven Things Children Need

Average customer rating:

Siete Necesidades Basicas del Nino / Seven Things Children Need
John W. Drakeford , and John M. Drescher
Manufacturer: Casa Bautista de Publicaciones
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Timeless!

Good autobiography

Act One

Superb Theater Autobiography

The best book about the theater ever written, Act One.

Act One: An Autobiography
Moss Hart
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
History | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart

The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography

Moss Hart: A Prince of the Theater

The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway

Three Plays by Kaufman and Hart: Once in a Lifetime, You Can't Take It with You and The Man Who Came to Dinner

ASIN: 0312032722

Amazon.com

Moss Hart was in the thick of American theater when everyone wore black tie on opening night and the world's most witty people entertained each other around a grand piano at late-night supper parties. It's an era of glamour that will never come again, but we have Hart's words on paper, and that is no small thing. A renowned director and theatrical collaborator, the brilliant Hart died too soon after the curtain went up on Act Two. If you want to know what it was like to be on the inside track in NYC in the '30s, '40s and '50s, here's a good place to find out.

Book Description

The Dramatic Story that Capitvated a Generation

With this new edition, the classic best-selling autobiography by the late playwright Moss Hart returns to print in the thirtieth anniversary of its original publication. Issued in tandem with Kitty, the revealing autobiography of his wife, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Act One, is a landmark memoir that incluenced a generation of theatergoers, dramatists, and general book readers everywhere. The book eloquently chronicles Moss Hart's impoverished childhood in the Bronx and Brooklyn and his long, determined struggle to his first theatreical Broadway success, Once in a Lifetime. One of the most celebrated American theater books of the twentieth centure and a glorious memorial to a bygone age, Act One if filled with all the wonder, drama, and heartbreak that surrounded Broadway in the 1920s and the years before World War II.

Customer Reviews:

Timeless!.......2006-11-03

A look back in time to understand the struggles in defining-and reaching your goals. A study in human nature. Things haven't changed. Great lessons still!!

Good autobiography.......2006-03-19

This book is a down to earth, heart warming story of how Moss Hart became a premiere playwriter. Good book for those interested in working in the theater.

Act One.......2005-08-10

A great read; very inspiring and funny and well written. A tale of a writer in a city which he knew so well, at least Broadway, his own neigborhoods, and the subway. His spontaneous decisions are what great showbiz tales are made of and from! His book made me want an Act Two and Act Three....excellent investment. Book in GRAND shape. Quick delivery too.

Superb Theater Autobiography.......2003-06-23

Act One is one of my favorite books. I have rearead it often since the first time I picked it up in my late teens. I love the anecdotes about the Broadway greats ans near greats and how Mr. Hart became famous, but my favorite parts of the book concern his memorable Aunt Kate, a woman whose fate in life was other than she deserved. She is very humanely portrayed, and so is the rest of Mr. Hart's family. I also enjoyed learning more about George Kaufman and his wife. This book's great!

The best book about the theater ever written, Act One........2003-06-13

Moss Hart is arguably one of the finest and most successful authors of the 20th century theater in this or any other country. Like many successful men in the theater, he came from a background of serious poverty and the true drama of Act One is his perseverence and victory in extremely trying circumstances. There are fascinating glimpses into the theater world of NYC in the 40s and 50s, excellent sketches of George Kaufmann, Beatrice Kaufmann and Max Siegel, and poignant views into the people and places that forged Moss Hart into the extremely urbane, charming and successful man he became, against the hardest possible odds. Superb book!

Average customer rating:

Act One and Autobiography By Moss Hart
Moss Hart
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer

ASIN: B000O00M2W

Average customer rating:

Act One, An Autobiography
Moss Hart
Manufacturer: Random House c1959
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KE3OQ8

Best Sellers from the Reader's Digest: Advise and Consent, Act One: An Autobiography, Mrs. 'Arris goes to Paris, and Dear and Glorious Physician

Average customer rating:

Best Sellers from the Reader's Digest: Advise and Consent, Act One: An Autobiography, Mrs. 'Arris goes to Paris, and Dear and Glorious Physician
Moss Hart, Paul Gallico, and Taylor Caldwell Allen Drury
Manufacturer: The Reader's Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NOHK9C

Average customer rating:

India : One Act of Kindness
Brendan McCauley
Manufacturer: Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0974093920

Product Description

The true account of revival in India and how it began with 'One Act Of Kindness.'

Average customer rating:

Rave Review

Act One
Moss Hart
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0451028333

Customer Reviews:

Rave Review.......2004-04-08

Most thoroughly enjoyable read in quite a while. The theatre is truely timeless, for this book, written around 1958, is still quite resonant today. His prose is wonderful - "There is nothing like tasting the grit of fear for rediscovering that the umbilical cord is made of piano wire." And it was also, at times, hilarious. I laughed out loud at many parts. An engrossing, exciting, truly touching book. It has the momentum of a play; suspense, pace,and excitement, which is all the more amazing because you already know what a famous playwright he would become. The incredible drive, perseverence, and just plain miracles in his life!

Average customer rating:

Act One : An Autobiography

Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HMJQW4

Average customer rating:

Act One an Autobiography
Moss Hart
Manufacturer: MODERN LIBRARY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WUBPN4

Average customer rating:

Act One an Autobiography
Moss Hart
Manufacturer: NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WU6WFA

Act One an Autobiography By Moss Hart (Light up the Skies! Moss Hart has another Hit!)

Average customer rating:

Act One an Autobiography By Moss Hart (Light up the Skies! Moss Hart has another Hit!)
Moss Hart
Manufacturer: Signet Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000V1YHFM

Product Description

Moss Hart has written some of Broadways biggest hits. He also directed the fabulous My Fair Lady Now he presents his greatest drama, his greatest comedy, Americas favorite autobiography. Filled with laughter and heartbreak, this is Moss Harts story. The story of a stage struck kid with nothing but talent who fought his way up from the Bronx, to the Borscht Circuit, to the bright lights of Broadway fame

Book Description

A searing account of the rise and fall of the author of Fragments, told by a descendant of the Wilkomirskis of Riga.

In 1997, Binjamin Wilkomirski came to New York to read from his prize-winning Holocaust memoir Fragments: Memories of a Wartime Childhood, raise money for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and meet his perhaps-relatives, the Wilburs (once Wilkomirskis). The Wilburs—and the world—embraced Binjamin as a humanitarian whose eloquent and haunting tale of childhood stood for untold others. A year later, however, Binjamin was publicly accused of being a gentile impostor. He insisted his memories outweighed the documents against him but proclaimed, "Nobody has to believe me." Journalist and presumed cousin Blake Eskin recounts the dispute through riveting reportage and memoir, interviewing Binjamin's acquaintances and visiting Riga in search of actual Wilkomirskis. The reactions of the media, the child-survivor community, and the Wilburs themselves shed light on debates about the reliability of memory, the nature of identity, and the uses and misuses of history. 7 b/w photographs.

Customer Reviews:

Ultimately unsatisfying.......2004-11-26

I was so much looking forward to reading this book to learn the details of the author of Fragments, but ultimately this book left me with more questions than I had before I read it, not to mention bringing up more issues and then leaving them unresolved. For example, was Binjamin tattooed with a number on his arm? We are told that Varena is not Binjamin/Bruno's wife, but then are never told who she is or what connection she has to him. Was any DNA evidence ever made public, or is Binjamin/Bruno's true identity an ongoing mystery? I am reading the article in Granta #66 by Elena Lappin, and in the first few pages have learned that Binjamin/Bruno was married prior to his relationship with Varena and has three children! What a shocker. Why was this not mentioned in Eskin's book? Where are the children now and what do they think about the whole Wilkomirski affair? In any case, this book is passable as an introduction to the case, but I do agree with another reviewer here who stated that Eskin's personal history, other than being the catalyst to his investigation of the Wilkomirski affair, is really not very interesting (and this from a lover of memoirs and family history).

Me, Too.......2002-06-25

In a word, too much "me", too little on the affair Wilkomirski. As the author recounts, Wilkomirski repeatedly refused to be interviewed, and despite valiant, pushy attempts, Eskin never succeeds in cornering his quarry. But descriptions of these nonencounters do not make for compelling reading. Nor do long ramblings about the extended Wilkomirski family. With little to write about, Eskin falls back on writing about himself, and neither he nor his relatives have a story to tell that merits book length treatment. This is essentially a family memoir piggybacked over the Wilkomirski affair. Eskin plays up his tangential connection to the curious Fragments episode, but the family connection is based on hope, not reality, and the writing, amorphous and rambling, reflects the lack of content.

Most important, I miss entirely a moral viewpoint. The crux of the issue is evaded: is there an objective truth, or is being a Holocaust survivor an entirely subjective matter of "feeling" like a survivor? The payoff at the end - the discovery of a tangible connection to distant relatives in Israel - is awfully thin stuff for the overlong buildup that preceded it.

A Fascinating Story.......2002-03-01

I enjoyed "A Life in Pieces" very much! Far from the narrative being jumbled, I found Eskin's weaving together of his personal search for his family's roots, along with the related story of the Wilkomirski hoax, very skillful. The story is told on 2 levels. It was the fraudulent claims of Bruno Grosjean/Doessekker, AKA Binjamin Wilkomirski, which ironically awakened interest in the author's ancestors, since his mother's family name was originally Wilkomirski. After a family reunion to meet the bogus 'relative', the author details his attempts to learn of his family from elderly relatives. This leads ultimately to a visit to Riga, Latvia, where the family's forebears came from. He then moves on to Israel, where long lost relatives, descendents of that remnant of the family that remained in Europe, are located. Eskin's own experience as a 3rd. generation Jewish American mirrors those of many, like myself, whose families had relatives who escaped from or who became victims of the Nazis. This book was written as part memoir. Therefore, his use of 'I', 'me' and 'myself' is wholly appropriate. It is a fascinating story which raises all sorts of troubling philosophical issues. These issues include the plight of former child survivors, false memories, victimhood, and family. Unfortunately, these issues more than ever before, took form with 'Wilkomirski' and his claims. I very strongly recommend this thought provoking work.

Archetypal.......2002-02-25

When I read Fragments I could not understand how anyone could have believed Binjamin Wilkomirski's story. It was incredible that a child as small as he claimed to have been could have survived a Nazi death camp (much less two) or recalled the things he claimed to remember. By the time I read it, the book had been exposed as fiction. But the tale seemed to me so weak that I doubted I would have found it any more convincing had I read it in 1996, before the scandal broke.

As a longtime student of the Holocaust, I was therefore fascinated by Wilkomirski's exposure as Bruno Doessekker, the Swiss birth-child of Yvonne Berthe Grosjean, who surrendered her son for adoption in 1945; he was ultimately adopted by the Doessekkers.

Stefen Maechler's Wilkomirski Affair (2001) provided a superb and thorough expose of the fraud Bruno Grosjean Doessekker perpetrated. Maechler pursued every possible lead, compared each minute detail in Doessekker's narration of "events" with historical records from such leading Holocaust scholars as Raul Hilberg and Lawrence Langer and accounts of other child survivors. He interviewed members of the Doessekker and Grosjean families and more. The most damning evidence Maechler unearthed was that in 1981, Doessekker/Wilkomirski contested the will of Yvonne Grosjean, whom, in a letter to officials in Bern Switzerland, he called "my birth mother." He received a third of her estate.

Wilkomirski/Doessekker had also used Laura Grabowski, who claimed to have known him in a children's home in Krakow, to "corroborate" his story. In fact, Grabowski is an American citizen of Christian faith who has since her youth fabricated stories about her victimhood, the most well-publicized being a book called Satan's Sideshow: The Real Story of Lauren Stratford. Lauren Stratford's Social Security number is the same as that of Grabowski, who used it to make a false survivor's claim. Maechler even found similarities between Satan's Sideshow and Fragments. But Maechler did not answer the question of how Wilkomirski/Doessekker drew people in.

Blake Eskin masterfully picks up that loose strand from a personal perspective: His maternal great-grandmother Anna Wilbur had immigrated in 1929 to New York from Riga--the Latvian city Wilkomirski/Doesseker said he was from. Her family had changed their surname name from Wilkomirski to Wilbur on their arrival in New York. Moreover, Anna Wilbur's brother and sister-in-law had in 1926 lived at 80 Moskva Street, the same address Wilkomirski/Doessekker claimed as his. Thus was Eskin's family taken in.

They understandably longed for news of distant relations left behind in Riga, years before the Holocaust. They knew existentially what the Holocaust had done. They had not yet personalized the loss, however. In that context, it is not surprising that Eskin's mother, Eden Force Eskin, and her first cousin once removed, Miriam Vim, wanted to believe that Wilkomirski/Doesseker was Anna Wilbur's long lost nephew.

Eskin takes readers on his two-fold journey, as he discovers both Doessekker/Wilkomirski's fraud and his family's roots in Riga and Israel. He covers some of the same ground as Maechler, but he adds a human dimension of which Maechler's sturdy reportorial account is devoid.

This book opens new intellectual and emotional understanding to losses suffered by the world's Jewish community during the Holocaust. Even now, families that once believed they had completely escaped that terrible trauma are discovering whom and what they lost--family, culture, language, and an entire world. Though but one example of that discovery, Eskin's investigations prove somewhat archetypal.

The Nazi Holocaust extinguished the lives of roughly a third of the Jewish people. Some families, like Eskin's, remained for years oblivious to their personal losses. But Eskin shows that very few were untouched. In that context, it's easy to see why families still hope to find their members among the living. And that context is the only thing that can lay the Wilkomirski/Doessekker fraud to its final and necessary rest. Alyssa A. Lappen

A disappointment.......2002-02-14

I am very interested in the Fragments affair and was eager to read this new account of it. Unfortunately I found this book disappointing. It adds little new to the other published works, notably historian Stefan Maechler's excellent account which was published in English last year. While Eskin has a good style, his narrative is jumbled, he skips around a lot and it is often hard to work out what is going on. Also Eskin virtually ruins his own book by going on endlessly about himself when it is really not relevant to Wilkomirski's story. There are too many unnecessary uses of the words I, me, and myself by Eskin to make this a focussed study of the Fragments affair.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books