World War II (1931-1945)
“The Second World War presented a mirror to the human condition which blinded anyone who looked into it.” — Norman Mailer, “The White Negro: Superficial Reflections on the Hipster” (1957)
Of the endless ocean of books on the Second World War, we have dozens and dozens of new and carefully chosen titles. I define it as beginning with the Japanese Empire’s invasion of Manchuria and ending with not only V-E and V-J Days but also the immediate crises of displaced people, the Soviet Union’s creation of the Iron Curtain, and the growing revelations of the extent of the Holocaust.
In significant ways the Second World War was the defining crucible of the 20th Century. The First World War was prelude, the legacy of the 19th Century’s imperialism, and the Cold War was the sequel. Of the making of books about it there is no end — but the persistence of good research and good writing, and good publication underscores the war’s centrality of the world we live in today and the world our descendents will live in for the foreseeable future.
Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family
Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family
For the millions moved by Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, here at last is Miep Geis’s own astonishing story.
For more than two years, Miep Gies and her husband helped hide the Franks from the Nazis. Like thousands of unsung heroes of the Holocaust, they risked their lives each day to bring food, news, and emotional support to the victims.
She found the diary and brought the world a message of love and hope.
It seems as if we are never far from Miep’s thoughts...Yours, Anne.
From her own remarkable childhood as a World War I refugee to the moment she places a small, red-orange, checkered diary—Anne’s legacy—in Otto Frank’s hands, Miep Gies remembers her days with simple honesty and shattering clarity. Each page rings with courage and heartbreaking beauty.