Rating: 
Summary: Sure To Be A Valuable Volume
Review: This book on Anne Frank,among other things,helps to disclose the identity of the betrayer of the Secret Annexe,and it is very good proof indeed. One of the new suspects is now Lena Hartog,a cleaning woman who occasionally worked at the building during the war. Sources indicate that she occasionally asked if the building was housing Jews,as she was frightened of Nazi arrest. Still more sources say that it was a woman's voice that tipped off the Gestapo about the Secret Annexe. Lena Hartog died shortly before the case was reopened. It is a very intriguing premise that Melissa Muller approaches here,both telling the story of Anne and her history,and telling of the events after as well,with Meyer Levin and Hannah Pick-Goslar mentioned. Truly absorbing.
Rating:
Summary: The heart still aches for her and her family...
Review: This is one of the most poignant biographies that I have ever read. As with most teenagers in the late 60's and in the 70's, Anne's diary was required reading in our highschool. I remember reading it, but not paying the attention I should have, because as a teenager, her story seemed to be a part of a world that no longer existed. Teenagers cannot appreciate the reality of that time, and though I grew up during the angst of the civil rights era and the Vietnamese War, it was not until some other life happenings occurred that I can now appreciate her story. This includes becoming a mother and an activist for disability rights, and seeing for myself in small and distant ways, man's inhumanity to man.Muller did an exquisite job in the biography. She avoided speculation, which seems to be a problem for writers of biographies. Anne's story cannot be fully appreciated without more knowledge of her family and the people who protected them. As Anne and her father lived without bitterness for their fate, so too did Melissa Muller write with patience and understanding far beyond the abilities of most of us. The book is eloquent in its simple praise for the goodness of people who made the right choices during that conflict between good and evil. I hope that reading of the courage of Miep Gies and her husband, and the others in the business formerly owned by Otto Frank, will inspire all of its readers to stand up for what is right whatever situation we may find ourselves in. My heart still aches for the waste of human potential. And yet, Anne fulfilled so much of that potential and continues to inspire long after her life was over. Much of my heartache was felt for her parents, who in their desire to be with their children, left it until too late to get their children to safety. I understand their choices, and I know they must have lived with the knowledge that they put their children at great risk and berated themselves. My admiration for the people in Holland and other occupied countries who helped those singled out for destruction on the basis of race and prejudice is immense. I continue to be surprised at how much was done by people who were not perfect, and at their own risk. This is a near perfect biography, in writing and in intelligence. I wish there were more like this out there...
Karen Sadler
University of Pittsburgh
Rating:
Summary: What Every Biography Should Be
Review: This is perhaps the most thorough, detailed scope into the life of Anne Frank, aside from her own diary. The author has done an incredible amount of research about this young heroine who has served as a voice for the most horrific period of time in our modern history. The book follows Anne's family from their time before she was born to the end of the Holocaust and her father's life thereafter. I especially appreciated the updates and locations given of other survivors and friends related to the Franks. This is an extensive, yet human look at a remarkable girl - and an important lesson for the world. It should be required reading in schools everywhere, simply for its detailed horrors of the concentration camps where so much suffering occured.
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