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Summary: My review of a Great Book
Review: The book Schindler's List is one of the best Holocaust books I have ever read. It gives you real life accounts of prisoners from multiple concentration camps, from guards, and from others who knew Oskar Schindler about what actually took place during all the terror and evil of the time. In this book you can actually feel the terror and fear mothers had for their children. You can hear the cries of the children as their mothers are pulled away from them by Nazi guards. And you can see the sliver of hope offered by this stranger who is setting up a sub camp and wants you to be a resident of it.
This book is the true story put together by Thomas Keneally based on accounts of the Schindlerjuden, or Schindler's Jews. This man knows the fate of the millions of Jews in Europe. Like other factory owners, Schindler has many Jews who work for him in his factory. After a series of events Oskar Schindler builds his own camp for his workers to stay in. There he provides them with the more food and comfort than any other camp in Europe. He begins to build friendships with his "prisoners", and after the war is looked down upon for his acts of bravery and courage. His homeland becomes his enemy and Israel honors Schindler's actions in many ways.
While this book does get hard to understand at times, it is an excellent book that really blows you away with the actual stories of people who experienced such evil no one should ever have to go through. And through the tough times of Germany shines the hope of one man who was able to save more than 1,000 lives during this reign of terror.
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Summary: Provoking, Powerful and Memorable!!
Review: Since I hadn't seen the movie before reading the book, it gave such a powerful impression. An amazing story that have been very well written by Keneally. And even the story behind the book is a story of it's own, which makes the book even more special.
This is the story about Oscar Schindler, a German, who had a factory with Jewish slave workers in Poland during the 2nd World War. Schindler is corrupt, a heavy drinker and loves women. A powerful and provoking book about Holocaust and the Nazism. But Schindler wasn't a Nazi, and most of the Jews, that worked for him, survived Hitler. Over 6 million Jews were killed, mostly in concentration camps, and Schindler stands as a symbol to those to survied because of him. He managed to do justice when no one else seemed to care.
You'll be filled with anger, sadness and other emotions throughout the book, as it's so very provoking and sometimes sad. Highly recommended for anyone and everyone. You will not regret reading this book, and most likely you will read it again, trying to understand...
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Summary: "He who saves a life saves the world entire...."
Review: Schindler's List, Thomas Keneally's 1982 non-fiction "novel" about Oskar Schindler's transformation from a hedonistic bon vivant German (actually, Sudeten German, born in what is now part of the Czech Republic) war profiteer to savior of over 1,000 Jews during World War II, is one of the most fascinating accounts about the darkest chapter of that global conflict, the Holocaust. It vividly portrays the horrors of the Nazi effort to exterminate the Jewish inhabitants in German-occupied Europe while at the same time proving that one person, no matter how flawed and contradictory in nature he or she is, can rise to the occasion and make a difference.In his Author's Note, Keneally explains that he uses the oft-used technique of telling a true story in the format of a fictional account, partly because he is primarily a novelist (Confederates, Gossip From the Forest) and "because the novel's techniques seem suited for a character of such ambiguity and magnitude as Oskar." He also acknowledges the persistence of Leopold Pfefferberg, a Los Angeles leather-goods store owner and one of the "Schindlerjuden" -- the handful of mostly Polish Jews saved by Schindler from the SS by Oskar's use of his charm, connections with high Nazi Party officials, and ultimately, the fortune Schindler had gone to make in Krakow after Poland's surrender in the fall of 1939. Like Steven Spielberg's 1993 Academy Award-winning film it inspired, Schindler's List (published in Europe as Schindler's Ark) describes how Schindler takes over a factory -- formerly owned by Jewish investors -- and makes a fortune selling, among other things, pots and pans to the German Army. But as the war goes on and Schindler sees first-hand the horrible crimes the Third Reich is committing in the name of the "Final Solution," the well-connected charmer and ladies' man becomes more concerned about saving lives than making money. First, he has a few fortunate Jews listed with the SS as "essential war-industry workers" in his Krakow factory; later, when he discovers that SS Commandant Amon Goeth has been given orders to dispose of every inmate and slave laborer at the Plaszow Labor Camp before the advancing Soviets reach Krakow, he spends all of his wealth paying Goeth and other corrupt SS officials for the lives nearly 1,200 of the Jewish men, women, and children who form Schindler's workforce. While Spielberg's movie faithfully captures the novel's account of the Holocaust years, Keneally's book gives the reader more details about Oskar's life before and after the war, including a short account of his prewar activities and his postwar business failures in Europe and Argentina. However, Keneally's focus is on Schindler's inspiring transformation from shameless and charming entrepreneur to "Righteous Person," proving that decency and righteousness can triumph over even the most implacable tyranny and hatred.
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Summary: A breath taking story
Review: Schindler's List is an extremely well written novel. It truly grasps your attention and makes you feel as if you're part of the story. Adults may have an easier time reading this book rather than children younger then the age of twelve. What makes it so difficult to understand, are some of the gruesome details and the very straight forward way of writing. If you are interested in chronicles about war and history, and aren't bothered by some mind blowing facts, this is a very appealing book.
It is about Oscar Schindler, a heavy drinker that loves women, and cares mostly about himself. Not until he realizes how horrible the Jewish people are being treated in the concentration camps, is it when he takes action. Schindler was able to save over one thousand jews. He saved them from having the same fate as millions of other Jews.
This novel is one of the best i have read in along time. Though very heart-breaking and deppressing, it truly lets you see what it was like for the Jewish people in that area of time.
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Summary: Beautiful book, one of best of the 80s
Review: The Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally is one of his best achievements. Thomas Keneally is an outstanding author, but this was his crowning achievement. He presents the story of a person who is selfish and petty. The movie is good, but is nowhere as good as the book. Oscar Schindler was a lot like his father, who did not spend time with his mother, but he hated his father for it. Though all of his relatives knew it, he himself did not. All the human aspects of the person did not come out in the movie, but were brought out beautifully in the book. It shows him from his youth to adulthood, when he starts making money of the Jews and then starts changing gradually, to his old age. His old age is shown in the book, but not in the movie. That is sad, as he is not treated well in Germany (he was called a "Jew kisser") but was treated like a beloved child in Israel. Whenever he went there, he used to eat at a Romanian restaurant of one of his children who used to make sure that he did not drink too much. When he died he was buried in the Protestant cemetary in Jerusalem, which was ironical as he was a person who was least into religion. The book is also balanced in bringing out how the Jews who made money of the others like Goldberg escaped to South America after the war. It is ironical that Amon Goeth expected the Jews to come and help him out after the war during his trial. After reading the book, one wonders if the movie did justice to the character of Oscar Schindler in the book, he was too complex. The book is put together wonderfully, there is scarcely a word out of place. It is a classic and is one of the best Booker winners.
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Summary: An Exciting Account of Bravery and Struggle
Review: Schindler's List, by Thomas Keneally, is based on the true story of a German industrialist who saved over 1,000 Jews from extermination during the Nazi occupation of Poland. It presents a very realistic and persuasive account of how Oskar Schindler placed himself at great risk (he was arrested three times) to oppose the Nazi regime and protect the Jewish workers in his factory. The book also describes the subhuman treatment of those that Schindler could not save. Most of those reading this brief review will have seen the movie and it must be said that the book does not have quite the impact of the movie. Still, this is a fine book and a tribute to a man who chose to act decisively when he met evil. It deserves to be widely read.
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Summary: " Herr Schindler has Come to Save Us"
Review: "Schindler's List" written by Thomas Keneally is a great book that took place in the late 193s. Oscar Schindler is a rich German man who trys to save as many Jews as possible from a nazi camp. I would say that Keneally's book is for ages 12 and up.I think this book is for this age range because of some gruesome details. This book can be appreciated by people of all ages. I'm 13 and it is my favorite book, and my grandpa,65, loved it. "Schindlers List" is a true story about Oscar Schindler and the Schindler Jews.The book is based on the movie "Schindlers List". If you like reading about history and war, you'll love this book.
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Summary: A Detailed Human Account of a Dark Time in History
Review: I saw the movie ten years ago so I thought I knew what to expect from this novel. (By the way, this is a _fictionalized_ account of a story that is, for the most part, true, and is well-researched by the author) This novel is very well written, and full of themes that apply today as much as they did during the holocaust. The thing I like about this story is it forces the reader to examine what makes a man good vs. what makes a man evil. Schindler starts the novel as a brilliant but self-serving war profiteer, exploiting his jewish workers in some of the same ways as the Nazi Party starts out doing. However, Schindler sees a few things that start him on the course to becoming a modern-day saviour, the most impressive image being the brutal killing of a little jewish girl whose beautiful red dress he had admired from across the ghetto. The book is filled with shocking imagery such as this, which make it all the more moving, but not recommended for the faint-of-heart. There were many passages I read, after which I could feel my stomach turning. Oskar Schindler saw all this first-hand, and you feel as if you do as well when reading this book. Schindler risked his life throughout the entire war to save thousands of jews who were completely dependent on him. The whole time he was also competing with an SS Captain who probably killed, on any whim, ten Jews for every one life that Schindler saved. I would highly recommend this book, despite the fact that there are thousands of holocaust books on the market. This one transcends the setting.
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Summary: Schindler's List--Takes you back in time
Review: Schindler's List, originally published as Schindler's Ark, is the true story of how Oskar Schindler, an aristocratic German industrialist, heavy drinker, briber, and womaniser, was transformed into a saviour during the horrors of World War II. His remarkable rescue of more than a thousand Jews is retold brilliantly in this honest and detailed account by Thomas Keneally. The story is set in Poland, where Schindler struggled to protect his Jewish factory employees from the cruel and terrible claws of the extermination camps. Schindler's efforts in saving souls increased as the war worsened, and climaxed with Schindler's List, the book of life and ticket to freedom for many Jewish survivors, whose accounts are carefully retold in this book. Although Keneally's long and descriptive sentences require patient concentration, and could become a stumbling block for some readers, once overcome, no reader could fail to be drawn into the action-packed plot. For Keneally summons terror and disgust with his gruesome profiles of the SS Gestapo, and draws smiles and smirks with his descriptions of Schindler's devious dealings with them. In Keneally's book, metaphors and similes vividly contrast the characters and scenery, omitting no details, and succeed in taking the reader to a different time and place. Although a biography, and therefore brimming with names, dates, and numbers, Keneally manages to navigate history so that no event is left without significance. Schindler's List is a riveting read which no one should miss out on, as not only is it an exciting story, it also gives an accurate glance into the labour camps of World War II, and takes a look at the darker side of humanity. A Booker Prize-winning novel, now also an Oscar-winning movie, Schindler's List is a must for anyone over 15.
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Summary: Well adapted from the original story.
Review: Schindlers list was a very enthralling read that came across as heavy duty the first time i read it and the second time i had a clear perspective as to what was actually going on. This book has won quite a few awards and the booker prize and definatley does deserve to have one them. Schindlers list is a book thats hard to put down even if it does loose you the first time around and is very well written, it's a powerful book and one of the real stand out war orientated novels, it's definatley one of the more stand out war books around thats a great book and i also think the schindlers list film was actually quite good aswell.
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