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Summary: the avengers
Review: RICH COHEN'S NEW BOOK TAKES THE READER ON AN EXHILARATING JOURNEY INTO THE PAST. SINCE HE IS A DRAMATIC STORYTELLER, THE AVENGERS IS BOTH READABLE AND RIVETING. A WARNING SHOULD BE POSTED ON THIS BOOK:MAY BE DIFFICULT TO PUT DOWN AND GET OUT OF YOUR MIND.
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Summary: What would I have Done?
Review: Rich Cohen's new book the Avengers is one of the finest books written about the Holocaust experience that I have ever read and raises the question that haunts every jew who was not in europe at the time of "what would I have Done?". In this case the individuals who Cohen writes about with such wonderful detail not only fight back but seek revenge for the atrocities perpertrated upon themselves and their families. If their is any criticism of the book it is that when talking about the revenge these avengers achieve against the Nazi's who are being held prisoner by the allies we never learn what exactly happened to the Nazis? where their any records kept that the author may have sought out through the freedom of information act. are their any americans who guarded these prisoners still alive and willing to talk? Or are we to speculate as to how many where actually killed in revenge? For someone who never experienced such horror what would I have done is not any easy question to answer and Mr. Cohen does not accuse those who went like sheep but he does praise those that stood and fought. Read this book. You won't regret it.
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Summary: Deeply moving.........a historical must-read
Review: Since a friend of my mother's was held in a consentration camp, I have always wanted to read something from someone who was there and witnessed it. Cohen, through family history, allows us this glimpse.....I could not put this book down. I believe that it will change the outlook of the reader and that the freedom we take for granted will be given a new appreciation. His descriptions, though painful to read, take you back to a time that is was so terrible, the acts so inhumane,......you may weep in remorse and stand in the gap, pleading for forgiveness, for those who commited these awful crimes. Don't miss this one.
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Summary: One of the most engaging and horrifying books I have read
Review: The Avengers follows the life of Abba Kovner and his associates, through the horror of Nazism through attempts at revenge, and to a life in Palestine. Although I have read several books on the holocaust, I must admit, I could not bought this book down. Cohen's writing style is very engaging. Cohen makes no value judgements here; it is up to the reader to decide right and wrong. Although I think most people would have a tough time accepting what the avengers tried to do after the war, I cannot possibly judge them. I also cannot imagine living the horrors (which are spelled out in graphic detail) that these Jews went through. One is struck again and again by the brutality and sadism used by these Nazi animals. Although not a comforting book, I believe this book should be read by anyone with an interest in one of the most evil periods in history.
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Summary: Amazing Avengers--Cohen does it again!
Review: The Avengers is the untold story of three partisians--Ruscza, Vitka, and Abba--who met, fell in love, and ultimately waged an underground war against the Nazis. It is a story that everyone should know--women, men, children--across cultural, religious, and economic lines. It tells of these three seemingly ordinary individuals and how each one overcame impossible odds and not only survived, but fought back. It is a story of true heroes. Rich Cohen does an amazing job of putting the reader in the Ghetto, in the forest, in the cities, and in the desert--caputring landscapes, faces, personalities, and the mood of the time. Parts of the story are dreamlike--pure beauty. Read this book!!!
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Summary: Good book very badly read
Review: The book is pretty good. The reading is awful. King pauses at unnatural spots, runs sentences together without a pause (obscuring the logic), places the emphasis in weird places, and even mispronounces some words. I have never listened to amore badly read taped book.
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Summary: A Real Treat
Review: This book is a revelation. I enjoyed it so much that I have recommended it to numerous people. The author paints a vivid portrait of 3 of young partisans who fight in the ghetto and then in the woods in eastern europe. I first heard about the book on the Vin Scelza Sunday Night radio show (it airs in NYC). The show's host and his guest, the author T.C. Boyle, were really talking it up this book. They were right to do so. Just shows that you can learn a lot from listening to the radio. My only quibble with the book is the title: makes me think of Mr. Stead and Emma Peale. Anyway, definately worth getting this one.
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Summary: A TRUE STORY THAT'S A PAGE TURNER
Review: THIS BOOK IS CONSISTENTLY MOVING WHILE AT THE SAME TIME BEING EXHILARATING. THIS TRUE STORY GRIPPED AND TOUCHED ME. IT'S A GREAT GIFT ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG GIRLS AND THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THE ABILITY OF HUMAN BEINGS TO PREVAIL UNDER THE WORST OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
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Summary: A great lesson of how to live a life
Review: This is a beautiful book and a story of true heroism. It tells of the Second World War as seen from the East, and of course it tells the story of a few stubborn people - they just happened to be Jewish -- who refused to be made into victims. I found it inspiring not only in regards to history but also to the world today, and how people can look at their life and realize in every moment they are given the privelage of choosing right over wrong. Which is to say, though the characters do not believe in God, I found in the book something religious, spiritual, even mystical. Mostly, it is a book I could not put down, and that, from the first page, carried me into another world and another time. I often felt as if I were making decisions right along with Abba, Ruzka and Vitka.
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Summary: Real Life Girl Power
Review: This is a book I would want my daughters, nieces or any other young woman in my life to read. While it's a story about many things -- Jewish partisans, exploding bridges, unspeakable suffering -- it is also a story about young women forced to make life-threatening choices under extraordinary circumstances. Central to The Avengers is the role of two teenaged girls--Ruzka and Vitka-and their contribution to the partisan effort, experiences contemporary society does not usually associate with girls who are 17 years old. In a culture dominated with images of pop singers, vapid models and movie stars, it is nearly impossible to present girls with substantive heroines, real-life role models who bravely acted in situations that we could only imagine. I'm not an advocate of war or violence --believe me, I don't want girls to experience situations like those faced by Ruzka and Vitka -- but at the same time I do think girls could stretch ideas about their own potential from reading this book.
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