Rating: 
Summary: Accessible, entertaining yet still has gravitas
Review: This is a graphic novel based on the story of the author's father, and the story is a fascinating one - he survived Auschwitz, along with his wife (Spiegelman's mother). If this had been a 'normal' novel, rather than a comic (or probably better termed a Bande Desinee as it would be called in France or Belgium) it could have descended into self-importance, but rather it is a story of one of the 20th Century's darkest moments told in an all too human tone (even if the characters are portrayed as mice, pigs and cats). Spiegelman resists making his father into a hero - he is an annoying old man, almost impossible to live with. And the author doesn't try to write off these faults as scars of his father's experience - he points out that perhaps his father is just naturally an annoying person.
Spiegelman does a brilliant job of fusing the individual and the broad historical canvas, creating a fascinating, absorbing, moving and entertaining work of art. More history should be made individual and accessible in this way.
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Summary: Great for students, too.
Review: I first read this set in my first year of college as required reading for my freshman seminar. At first, my classmates and I were taken aback by the format--it is anything but "academic" in appearance. Once I delved into it however, I discovered the utterly compelling aspect of this tale! I was so engaged by Maus I and II, originally reading them weeks before I was supposed to. I enjoyed reading it again when it came time to discuss these works in class! I was also amazed and pleasantly surprised at the inclusion of this set to my freshman curriculum, meaning that my school recognized the art form of the graphic novel as something far greater in value than just a glorified "comic book". I would highly recommend this set as an addition to an academic curriculum, particularly on a high school and college level. It presents the subject of the Holocaust in a completely novel way--your students will not be able to put it down, and your class discussions will be afire with ideas.
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Summary: How do you talk about the Holocaust
Review: Spiegelman skillfully uses the comic-book style to examine one of the most difficult subjects of the last century.
Rating: 
Summary: foolish book
Review: Mouse ? After reading I was about to think that german nazi concentration camps built on Poland teritories to exterminate Poles and polish Jews was founded by polish people or polish Jews. Completly confused book. But I have read the other book about this field worth advertising:
Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation 1939-1944 by Richard C. Lukas, Norman Davies (Paperback - July 2001)
Rating:
Summary: Don't let the artwork fool you!
Review: Anyone who wants to know anything about the Holocaust should not miss this book. The graphic-novel style of the book tends to put the reader at ease as the story begins to unfold, and by the time the bad stuff hits, you're hooked. The book spends very little time discussing the social or political causes of the holocaust, but rather focuses on the author's father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish jew caught up in one of this centuries greatest crimes. The dialogue between Art Spiegelman and his father, Vladek, serve to humanize the characters right away, and serve notice that even though the Holocaust is over, it's scars have remained in the people who lived through it, and those whose lives were forever altered because of it. Spiegelman's characterization of the jews as mice and the Nazis as cats is a brilliant casting of the hunter v. hunted. Other castings, such as the Poles as pigs and Americans as dogs may not be altogether accurate, but they serve the story quite well. The artwork is very high quality, but retains enough of a comic-book feel to put the reader at ease as the war begins and the mousetrap is sprung. I was surprised at the brutal honesty of both Vladek and Art as they relay their experiences in both books, particularly as Art reprints his "Prisoner on Hell Planet", a story about his mother that was originally printed years ago. These kinds of no-holds-barred stories reveal the flaws that are inherent in all of us, and makes the story that much more universal. This is a tremendous story that should not be dismissed because of its format. READ THIS BOOK!!
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Summary: Powerful! Moving! A Comic! (..sorry...graphic novel)
Review: Mice don't seem to make the subject any easier or more difficult to grasp, but it allows you to digest it easier. Ooohh...those are PEOPLE!
Rating:
Summary: An astounding piece of non-fiction
Review: What an elaborately told tale. Mr. Spiegelman tells a heart-wrenching story using approachable metaphor. This book is an emotional and powerful read.
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Summary: Spiegelman is king
Review: Landmark work rightfully crowned with a Pulitzer. Essential component of any self-respecting collection of illustrated strips.
Rating:
Summary: Profound, Deep and Important book
Review: A comic book on the Holocost? That includes a love story? And humor? Seems far fetched, but somehow it works. Very well, at that. Spiegelman weaves three stories between two books. First and foremost is the story of his father Vladek's survival of the Holocost. Second is Art and Vladek coming to grips with each other, a relationship that is strained at best. Lastly is the story of Vladek's love for his wife Anja, and how Art and Vladek come to grips with her death. This is no Hollywood story. The humor is dark, at best. No punches are pulled with the Holocost. There is no great happy ending. The book covers how people cope with the terrible. It does so in a very real and true manner. Truly gripping. The author is to be commended to be opening up his life, as well as the lives of his family. The honesty makes for gripping and disturbing coverage of a most important topic.
Rating:
Summary: The comic that should be used in high school
Review: This is absolutely the most moving comic I have ever read. It's about Art Spiegelman's father's coping mechanisms in the face of a pure disaster, and also about Spiegelman's own coping mechanisms with his father's coping mechanisms. But it's also a history lesson. We learn lots about the Holocaust and how the victims of it perceived it as it was happening. And a bit of an adventure story. Though quite far from the heroic ideal--the narrow escapes often come by luck. Nothing else is possible with the Nazi misappropriation of the heroic ideal. As I said in the title block, this story should be mandatory reading in English or history classes in high school because (a) it is incredibly moving; (b) it has quite a bit of real-life history; (c) the kids will like it.
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