A novel approach, 04 Jan 2009
Somewhat of a cliché to say but this book truly was what made me thing of a comic a something other than a mode of communicating with pre-pubescent children. Though the illustrations may not be spectacular the story certainly is and perhaps less simple illustrations would have taken away from this. The book tells the story of the narrator's father in World War 2, as a Jew in the concentration camps and his life afterwards. Interestingly also we get the story of the authors guilt about the lack of meaning in his life after looking at that of his father. A wonderful story, most originally told.

An extraordinary achievement !, 31 Dec 2008
A lot of people are put off by a comic book. It's not art, it's not literature, it's just kids entertainment, isn't it? Think again. Maus deservingly won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the most moving and chilling books I have ever read.

The true story of a holocaust survivor and the permanent effects it had on him and his family.

I actually had tears in my eyes at more than one point. At a comic book??? That's how good this is. Don't be put off by the comic book style; it takes a little while to get used to it but once you have done so, you won't be disappointed.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!!, 23 Oct 2008
Once you open this book it is nearly impossible to stop. Even people who normally do not like books will love this one. It's a comic but not comical.. (unless your sense of humour is very very dark). It let's you experience the horrors of the holocaust more realistically than any other book or film I have seen about it.

I love this book and could not recommend it more highly. Enjoy.

Are you trying to avoid it?, 25 May 2008
I had known of this book for about a year when i finally decided to buy it. I was put off by the slightly dodgy artwork and the very serious nature of the plot which to me is not what comics are about. Anyway,I wanted to read it so i could come on hear and rant about how it is an over-rated waste of time but I cant. The art isnt perfect i agree but it has its charms and as you read the story you really do get into the simplistic nature of it,it works for this,it doesnt distract from the story which over stylised art would. The story is VERY well written and everything i read totally shocked and moved me.
The jist of my review is - if you are put off by the art but you liked schindlers list or have a fascination with hearing about the holocaust from a personal perspective then you have to read this book. It would get 5 stars from me if I genuinely felt that everyone would like the artwork but I know thats not gonna happen but everyone who isnt an anti-semite must read this story!

Masterpiece, 11 Apr 2008
Only graphic novel to date to win the Pulitzer Price.

That should be compelling enough to endear anyone to this masterwork.

The drawing isn't perhaps as expressive as that of Sacco, but the novelty in Maus not only comes from the controversial bestialization of the characters (Poles are pigs, Jews are mice, Germans are cats, etc) but also from the timeline jumps that mix the chilling tale of Vladek's survival of Auschwitz and the author's process of discovery and acceptance of his father's personality as he is retold the survivor's tale.

So while we are presented with the horror's faced by Vladek, the book also deals with the strained relationship between the author and his father, his father's second wife and the author's converted wife.

One can only praise Spiegelman's honesty at the less than perfect portray of the old age Vladek and his own insecurities.

A novel approach, 04 Jan 2009
Somewhat of a cliché to say but this book truly was what made me thing of a comic a something other than a mode of communicating with pre-pubescent children. Though the illustrations may not be spectacular the story certainly is and perhaps less simple illustrations would have taken away from this. The book tells the story of the narrator's father in World War 2, as a Jew in the concentration camps and his life afterwards. Interestingly also we get the story of the authors guilt about the lack of meaning in his life after looking at that of his father. A wonderful story, most originally told.

An extraordinary achievement !, 31 Dec 2008
A lot of people are put off by a comic book. It's not art, it's not literature, it's just kids entertainment, isn't it? Think again. Maus deservingly won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the most moving and chilling books I have ever read.

The true story of a holocaust survivor and the permanent effects it had on him and his family.

I actually had tears in my eyes at more than one point. At a comic book??? That's how good this is. Don't be put off by the comic book style; it takes a little while to get used to it but once you have done so, you won't be disappointed.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!!, 23 Oct 2008
Once you open this book it is nearly impossible to stop. Even people who normally do not like books will love this one. It's a comic but not comical.. (unless your sense of humour is very very dark). It let's you experience the horrors of the holocaust more realistically than any other book or film I have seen about it.

I love this book and could not recommend it more highly. Enjoy.

Are you trying to avoid it?, 25 May 2008
I had known of this book for about a year when i finally decided to buy it. I was put off by the slightly dodgy artwork and the very serious nature of the plot which to me is not what comics are about. Anyway,I wanted to read it so i could come on hear and rant about how it is an over-rated waste of time but I cant. The art isnt perfect i agree but it has its charms and as you read the story you really do get into the simplistic nature of it,it works for this,it doesnt distract from the story which over stylised art would. The story is VERY well written and everything i read totally shocked and moved me.
The jist of my review is - if you are put off by the art but you liked schindlers list or have a fascination with hearing about the holocaust from a personal perspective then you have to read this book. It would get 5 stars from me if I genuinely felt that everyone would like the artwork but I know thats not gonna happen but everyone who isnt an anti-semite must read this story!

Masterpiece, 11 Apr 2008
Only graphic novel to date to win the Pulitzer Price.

That should be compelling enough to endear anyone to this masterwork.

The drawing isn't perhaps as expressive as that of Sacco, but the novelty in Maus not only comes from the controversial bestialization of the characters (Poles are pigs, Jews are mice, Germans are cats, etc) but also from the timeline jumps that mix the chilling tale of Vladek's survival of Auschwitz and the author's process of discovery and acceptance of his father's personality as he is retold the survivor's tale.

So while we are presented with the horror's faced by Vladek, the book also deals with the strained relationship between the author and his father, his father's second wife and the author's converted wife.

One can only praise Spiegelman's honesty at the less than perfect portray of the old age Vladek and his own insecurities.


Gripping yet fantasitc read., 17 Dec 2008
Well i have always been interested in the holocaust ever since i went to visit Anne Frank's house as a 12 year old girl. It really moved me yet didn't fully understand what the holocaust really meant or what had happened, yet I never forgot and since that day in Amsterdam I have followed documentaries intently and read around the subject.

Last year i decided i wanted, and needed to visit Auschwitz and I feel this is something everyone should do. I believe all school children should be taught about what happened there and we should never forget.

Visiting Auschwitz was a surreal experience and i felt as though i was walking round the set of a Hollywood movie. It is so surreal and hard to believe what happened there. It is beyond human comprehension the horrors suffered there, just over 60 years ago. I throughly enjoyed the visit and I mean that in a purely informative way. The visit brought me to tears and stays with you. There is so much to take in I would like to go back.

I will eventually get to my point!....

This book is a gripping read and a must for anyone who is interested in a first hand account of what actually happened there. I felt like i was living the experience with them and couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended and if you are thinking about visiting Auschwitz it is definatley worth the visit, there is lots of information on trip advisor about the best way to do it. Hope this helps xx

Disappointing, 15 Jul 2008
Truly the worst holocaust testimony ever written.So many mistakes throughout the whole text.Two examples of which were when Mr Muller mentions the camp orchestra in Birkenau,there was none, it was in Auschwitz 1.He also quotes that Kramer was in Birkenau and had came from Auschwitz 2.Both are one and the same place But important errors like these were repeated in every chapter and the worry for me is that Holocaust deniers may pick up on these simple blunders.Mr Mullers over use of adjectives and repetition of statements at times resulted in the book bordering on being boring.It read more like a students written essay who wasnt fully informed ,rather than an actual Holocaust survivors memoirs.Ive read many more imformative Holocaust testimonies and even Mr Muller must have been disappointed with the finished article.I tend to believe that the foreword said it all.

ochmister, 06 Jun 2008
Simple, one of the best books I have ever read. Very sad, sometimes un believable. But believe, this really happened and should not be forgotton. My respect goes to the author.

An account by somebody who witnessed everything first hand., 16 May 2008
There have been countless books written about Hitlers Final solution mostly by historians and occasionally by eyewitness survivors.

You can read account after account of conditions in the final months leading to the Russians eventual entry into the camp but few books will be as informative as this one written by camp Sonderkommando Filip Muller whose actual job was to operate the crematoria and dispose of the thousands of corpses.

During the latter half of 1944 an incredible 10,000+ were liquidated on a daily basis.This may appear too far fetched to comprehend at first but when you realise that those in command from Hitler right down to Himmlers eventual realisation that the war was turning against them a dramatic escelation in gassing took place until mass shootings were the norm and corpses were burnt round the clock in open pits.

At the height of the liquidation Berkenhau had over ten ovens working night and day resulting in a massive escalation of gassings.In early 1944,10,000 prisoners were murdered every day and there were sufficient ovens to cope with the huge number of bodies.

Filip was there as all this was going on and later as the mass of bodies became too overwhelming to cope with it was the Sonderkommandos duty to remove the rotting corpses for disposal in the ovens.

There are certain passages that will really make one think momentarily on the question of mans inhumanity towards his fellow man.

The arrival and first trial of mass gassings where under extream brutality men women and children were forced to undress knowingly they were facing certain death.

Possibly the most heart rending extracts are to be found on page 48 where Filip having discovered the arrival of his father at the camp has to cremate his body after his death from tythus.Fellow workmen working alongside him at the blazing ovens recite a prayer.

The book really brings the true barbarity of camp life to the reader.

The inhumanity of certain Kapos or team leaders given trusted duties by the SS who were extreamly sadistic beating fellow prisoners to death due to anger against what the SS were doing to their fellow countrymen.

Whilst reading the first two chapters one clearly realises these are the genuine testimony of somebody who lived on a daily basis where systematic murder was common place.Unless you witnessed at first hand you couldnot make up such testimony such as these.

As i have already said you can write about this highly documented period in history but unless you were physically there in person to witness these events no amount of research will reveal the actual truth.

This is why Filip Mullers book is so important,as less than a handfull of Sonderkommandos at Auschwitz actually lived to bear witness to their testimony.Every few months new Sonderkommandos were appointed whilst those working at the cremetoria were gassed with other prisoners so that the truth of Genocide was never allowed to escape.Filips survival is the more amazing in that he survived and bared witness to the atrocities.

Unless you were actually there in person you cannot envisage the horrors and brutality of camp guards and SS officers.Muller recounts day to day life within the confines of Auschwitz-Berkenhau like only a fellow prisoner could relate.

His matter of fact account of unimaginable horrors makes compelling reading if not unpleasant reading.He has not withheld any of the material that will disgust or distress us,everything has been accounted for right up to his amazing survival.

As a Sonderkommando he was to some extent safe as his services were of great importance to the camps efficient running.Without him and other workers the mass murder couldnot have taken place at such a large scale.

A book that is extreamly well written by somebody who actually knows what went on within the camp.Few books can bring home the true meaning of genocide as can this one.

If you are looking for great detail on events and life within Hitlers largest death camp then this book will not disappoint.

Brings the Reality of what went on home !, 11 May 2008
I visited Auschwitz earlier this year. I wish I had read this book before I had gone as it really brought home the terrible crimes that went on in this place. If you are interested in Auschwitz then this is a must read !

A novel approach, 04 Jan 2009
Somewhat of a cliché to say but this book truly was what made me thing of a comic a something other than a mode of communicating with pre-pubescent children. Though the illustrations may not be spectacular the story certainly is and perhaps less simple illustrations would have taken away from this. The book tells the story of the narrator's father in World War 2, as a Jew in the concentration camps and his life afterwards. Interestingly also we get the story of the authors guilt about the lack of meaning in his life after looking at that of his father. A wonderful story, most originally told.

An extraordinary achievement !, 31 Dec 2008
A lot of people are put off by a comic book. It's not art, it's not literature, it's just kids entertainment, isn't it? Think again. Maus deservingly won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the most moving and chilling books I have ever read.

The true story of a holocaust survivor and the permanent effects it had on him and his family.

I actually had tears in my eyes at more than one point. At a comic book??? That's how good this is. Don't be put off by the comic book style; it takes a little while to get used to it but once you have done so, you won't be disappointed.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!!, 23 Oct 2008
Once you open this book it is nearly impossible to stop. Even people who normally do not like books will love this one. It's a comic but not comical.. (unless your sense of humour is very very dark). It let's you experience the horrors of the holocaust more realistically than any other book or film I have seen about it.

I love this book and could not recommend it more highly. Enjoy.

Are you trying to avoid it?, 25 May 2008
I had known of this book for about a year when i finally decided to buy it. I was put off by the slightly dodgy artwork and the very serious nature of the plot which to me is not what comics are about. Anyway,I wanted to read it so i could come on hear and rant about how it is an over-rated waste of time but I cant. The art isnt perfect i agree but it has its charms and as you read the story you really do get into the simplistic nature of it,it works for this,it doesnt distract from the story which over stylised art would. The story is VERY well written and everything i read totally shocked and moved me.
The jist of my review is - if you are put off by the art but you liked schindlers list or have a fascination with hearing about the holocaust from a personal perspective then you have to read this book. It would get 5 stars from me if I genuinely felt that everyone would like the artwork but I know thats not gonna happen but everyone who isnt an anti-semite must read this story!

Masterpiece, 11 Apr 2008
Only graphic novel to date to win the Pulitzer Price.

That should be compelling enough to endear anyone to this masterwork.

The drawing isn't perhaps as expressive as that of Sacco, but the novelty in Maus not only comes from the controversial bestialization of the characters (Poles are pigs, Jews are mice, Germans are cats, etc) but also from the timeline jumps that mix the chilling tale of Vladek's survival of Auschwitz and the author's process of discovery and acceptance of his father's personality as he is retold the survivor's tale.

So while we are presented with the horror's faced by Vladek, the book also deals with the strained relationship between the author and his father, his father's second wife and the author's converted wife.

One can only praise Spiegelman's honesty at the less than perfect portray of the old age Vladek and his own insecurities.


Gripping yet fantasitc read., 17 Dec 2008
Well i have always been interested in the holocaust ever since i went to visit Anne Frank's house as a 12 year old girl. It really moved me yet didn't fully understand what the holocaust really meant or what had happened, yet I never forgot and since that day in Amsterdam I have followed documentaries intently and read around the subject.

Last year i decided i wanted, and needed to visit Auschwitz and I feel this is something everyone should do. I believe all school children should be taught about what happened there and we should never forget.

Visiting Auschwitz was a surreal experience and i felt as though i was walking round the set of a Hollywood movie. It is so surreal and hard to believe what happened there. It is beyond human comprehension the horrors suffered there, just over 60 years ago. I throughly enjoyed the visit and I mean that in a purely informative way. The visit brought me to tears and stays with you. There is so much to take in I would like to go back.

I will eventually get to my point!....

This book is a gripping read and a must for anyone who is interested in a first hand account of what actually happened there. I felt like i was living the experience with them and couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended and if you are thinking about visiting Auschwitz it is definatley worth the visit, there is lots of information on trip advisor about the best way to do it. Hope this helps xx

Disappointing, 15 Jul 2008
Truly the worst holocaust testimony ever written.So many mistakes throughout the whole text.Two examples of which were when Mr Muller mentions the camp orchestra in Birkenau,there was none, it was in Auschwitz 1.He also quotes that Kramer was in Birkenau and had came from Auschwitz 2.Both are one and the same place But important errors like these were repeated in every chapter and the worry for me is that Holocaust deniers may pick up on these simple blunders.Mr Mullers over use of adjectives and repetition of statements at times resulted in the book bordering on being boring.It read more like a students written essay who wasnt fully informed ,rather than an actual Holocaust survivors memoirs.Ive read many more imformative Holocaust testimonies and even Mr Muller must have been disappointed with the finished article.I tend to believe that the foreword said it all.

ochmister, 06 Jun 2008
Simple, one of the best books I have ever read. Very sad, sometimes un believable. But believe, this really happened and should not be forgotton. My respect goes to the author.

An account by somebody who witnessed everything first hand., 16 May 2008
There have been countless books written about Hitlers Final solution mostly by historians and occasionally by eyewitness survivors.

You can read account after account of conditions in the final months leading to the Russians eventual entry into the camp but few books will be as informative as this one written by camp Sonderkommando Filip Muller whose actual job was to operate the crematoria and dispose of the thousands of corpses.

During the latter half of 1944 an incredible 10,000+ were liquidated on a daily basis.This may appear too far fetched to comprehend at first but when you realise that those in command from Hitler right down to Himmlers eventual realisation that the war was turning against them a dramatic escelation in gassing took place until mass shootings were the norm and corpses were burnt round the clock in open pits.

At the height of the liquidation Berkenhau had over ten ovens working night and day resulting in a massive escalation of gassings.In early 1944,10,000 prisoners were murdered every day and there were sufficient ovens to cope with the huge number of bodies.

Filip was there as all this was going on and later as the mass of bodies became too overwhelming to cope with it was the Sonderkommandos duty to remove the rotting corpses for disposal in the ovens.

There are certain passages that will really make one think momentarily on the question of mans inhumanity towards his fellow man.

The arrival and first trial of mass gassings where under extream brutality men women and children were forced to undress knowingly they were facing certain death.

Possibly the most heart rending extracts are to be found on page 48 where Filip having discovered the arrival of his father at the camp has to cremate his body after his death from tythus.Fellow workmen working alongside him at the blazing ovens recite a prayer.

The book really brings the true barbarity of camp life to the reader.

The inhumanity of certain Kapos or team leaders given trusted duties by the SS who were extreamly sadistic beating fellow prisoners to death due to anger against what the SS were doing to their fellow countrymen.

Whilst reading the first two chapters one clearly realises these are the genuine testimony of somebody who lived on a daily basis where systematic murder was common place.Unless you witnessed at first hand you couldnot make up such testimony such as these.

As i have already said you can write about this highly documented period in history but unless you were physically there in person to witness these events no amount of research will reveal the actual truth.

This is why Filip Mullers book is so important,as less than a handfull of Sonderkommandos at Auschwitz actually lived to bear witness to their testimony.Every few months new Sonderkommandos were appointed whilst those working at the cremetoria were gassed with other prisoners so that the truth of Genocide was never allowed to escape.Filips survival is the more amazing in that he survived and bared witness to the atrocities.

Unless you were actually there in person you cannot envisage the horrors and brutality of camp guards and SS officers.Muller recounts day to day life within the confines of Auschwitz-Berkenhau like only a fellow prisoner could relate.

His matter of fact account of unimaginable horrors makes compelling reading if not unpleasant reading.He has not withheld any of the material that will disgust or distress us,everything has been accounted for right up to his amazing survival.

As a Sonderkommando he was to some extent safe as his services were of great importance to the camps efficient running.Without him and other workers the mass murder couldnot have taken place at such a large scale.

A book that is extreamly well written by somebody who actually knows what went on within the camp.Few books can bring home the true meaning of genocide as can this one.

If you are looking for great detail on events and life within Hitlers largest death camp then this book will not disappoint.

Brings the Reality of what went on home !, 11 May 2008
I visited Auschwitz earlier this year. I wish I had read this book before I had gone as it really brought home the terrible crimes that went on in this place. If you are interested in Auschwitz then this is a must read !

Excellent... but more pictures could be added, 09 Nov 2008
I visited auschwitz 6 months ago and decided that after my visit I would read a book on the subject to learn more about the camp. First of all, I would recommend anyone to go and visit the place because it is not the kind of place you would expect. On first glance it looks like a Butlins camp with the red brick blocks. It is not until you walk round a little more and go into each block that you really get to understand what awful things happen. I felt I was really able to appreciate the book because when the author was talking about the various blocks, gas chambers and the 'shooting wall' I had a clear image of what he was talking about having been to the place myself. For anyone who hadn't been there I felt images of the camp were lacking to give you a true idea of what the set up of the camp was like.

The interviews with survivors of prisoners and also SS guards were fantastic because it gave you a view from both perspectives. I did at times feel a little (and only a little) sympathy for the SS guards because they had grown up on propaganda and had been brainwashed that it was the Jews that had caused Germany to fall into such decline and the Jews had caused World War 1 but this should still not make the suffering and torture considered in anyway acceptable.

I would have also liked the author to include a little bit of information about the camp today and what each of the blocks now contain regarding the museum just as a little extra for continued research that people could continue to learn about.

I would advise anyone to read this book, it is shocking that all these things happened in my grandparents life times and the knowledge should be passed on and remembered.

I would also advise anyone to visit the Camp in Poland to really experience and understand the book more, it only costs about £25 quid from Krakow and it is an experience you will never forget.

Terribly good, 07 Aug 2008
I bought the book in one of the small bookshops at Auschwitz I, the main camp. I had just walked through the camp looking at the 2 tons of hair on display and all the other belongings of people that has suffered in the camp. The sight is sickening, but it wasn't the big shock that I had expected. I thought: "Maybe I know too much about the place before coming here".

The horror came with this book. All the personal stories combined with the hard facts of the book makes an interesting and disturbing read.

I have always thought that the people working in the Nazi camps were some kind of monsters or people that have been terrorized physically or mentally to become some kind of inhuman zombies. It turns out that most of them were quite ordinary people. This was the biggest eye-opener for me. For me it's just another reminder that we should never forget what happened here, and what human beings are capable of doing to each other.

Apart from my personal gain from this book, it is an excellent book for people to learn about the mass killings of the Nazis and the complex history of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is weel written and, as other reviewers have mentioned, you can't put it down once you have started to read it.

Being a Dane it is nice to read Mr. Rees' praise of what happened in Denmark during the war. It is however with mixed emotions that I read it. I am not sure that the Danes would be so generous to Muslim people in case of an armed conflict with the middle east as some Danish people were to the Danish Jews during the second world war.


very interesting , 06 Aug 2008
found this book very intersting, it leaves you in disbelief on how cruel mankind can be, very well written with great detail.

A story simply told, 13 Jul 2008
There are few places in the world that can tell their own story simply from the mention of their name. Hiroshima perhaps, Shangri La maybe (if it were a real place). Just the title of this book immediately evokes a response in the reader. We know what we are going to be told before we scan the first page.

So how to approach a subject that carries with it such emotional baggage and preconceptions? One often used method is the "Hobsbawm" approach - the laying on of thick layers of detail, facts and figures, as if reciting the precise quantities of cruelty can somehow blunt the emotional reality of what happened. Another is the "reality TV" approach - the eye witness account, the loving reconstruction of just what it was really like to be an inmate, this time aiming for the opposite effect, the kind of simplistic overidentification that had a modern expression in the aftermath of Diana's death. Heaven forbid they should start heaping bouquets at the end of this particular rail track...

But to return to the subject, Laurence Rees, a writer and producer of distinction and intelligence, has found a third way, a blend of hard facts and testimony that not only conveys the searing reality of the Final Solution (a term he points out was never actually used by the Nazis in the way it is now) but also distances itself enough to allow important conclusions to be drawn about how this abomination was allowed to happen and how (God help us) we might be able to avoid doing it again. It's not an easy task and some people might feel that it's too light a read for so heavy a subject, but don't be fooled: Rees has an eye for the devastating detail that carries more weight than a thousand numbers can. We all know about the heaps of glasses, the mountains of shoes. Rees find a more telling example: the silent funereal procession of baby carriages that were removed during a warehouse clearout. According to one prisoner, it took an hour to wheel them all by.

From this, Rees draws the lessons that begin to emerge from the testimonies of the most talented of the Holocaust witnesses - people like Bruno Bettelheim and Primo Levi - that we all have it in us to commit atrocities, that self interest packaged as ideology is an intoxicating blend and that conformity can very often be the enemy of virtue.


SIMPLY BRILLIANT..., 19 Jun 2008
When one thinks of the labor and death camps instituted by the Nazis during World War II, the notorious concentration camp at Auschwitz comes immediately to mind. One cannot help but wonder what kind of mindset would devise such an infamy. How could Germany, a nation that was noted for its richness of culture, have devised a plan of genocide that was so far reaching and so inherently evil?

The author attempts to answer that question and succeeds in doing so brilliantly. This is a very well-written book that will appeal to those who are interested in the general human condition, as well as those interested in the holocaust itself. It is scholarly, yet, at the same time, immensely readable. This is because the author has put a very human face on the dreaded death camp of Auschwitz. The stories and experiences of more than a hundred people are integrated throughout the narrative, which delves into the historical backdrop of the Nazi political machinery and its leadership. Survivors of Auschwitz, as well as Nazi perpetrators, tell of their experiences in the hell that was known as Auschwitz, and they tell it from their own unique perspectives. The symbiosis that often existed between prisoner and prison guard is quite unsettling, as are the attendant moral and ethical issues.

The author attempts to help the reader understand how it was that the "final solution" came about. It is an unsentimental, intellectually objective, critical analysis of one of the most infamous episodes in modern history and warfare. The author carefully delineates how the Nazis developed their reprehensible strategy for global genocide, and how it came about being implemented. The creation of Auschwitz was crucial to the Nazis' desire to rid itself of Europe's Jewish population but, however, that desire may not have been entirely ideologically driven. From his extensive research, the author postulates that there may have been a practical, more pragmatic component that dictated the actions of the Nazis in the final, waning days of World War II that was no less immoral than the ideological one.

This is simply a stunning and authoritative book by an author whose expertise in this area is undeniable. It is a comprehensive and insightful look at one of the most notorious death camps in the history of Nazi Germany. The author carefully explains the rise and fall of Auschwitz within the context of the Nazi mentality and ideology, as well as within the broader context of historical and military pragmatism. It is a devastating portrait, indeed, and with its sixteen pages of vintage black and white photographs, it is a book that will keep the reader riveted to its pages until the very last one is turned. Bravo!

Years ago, Adam Hochschild came across a reference to the "five to eight million lives" destroyed in the colonial exploitation of the Congo. Startled, he realised that this had been "one of the major killing grounds of modern times. Why were these deaths not mentioned in the standard litany of our century's horrors?" His corrective history makes sobering and gripping reading. In King Leopold of Belgium, who decided to buy himself an empire to compensate for his country's smallness, he portrays a villain of Shakespearian dimensions. Aided by Stanley (of "Mr Livingstone I Presume" fame) the king appropriated a section of central Africa the size of Western Europe as his personal territory. The appalling brutality that ensued, as Europeans plundered the country for rubber and ivory, is vividly captured by Hochschild. He manages to leaven the horror with touches of grotesque humour--for instance, when tricking tribal chiefs into signing away their land for bales of cloth, Stanley would, to impress his dupes, secrete a battery in his pocket with the wires in his palm, so that on shaking hands the chief "was greatly surprised to find his white brother so strong that he nearly knocked him off his feet". Hochschild has something of Simon Schama's gift for populist history; and among other things he provides astonishing background to Joseph Conrad's Congo-set masterpiece, Heart of Darkness. --Adam Roberts

A novel approach, 04 Jan 2009
Somewhat of a cliché to say but this book truly was what made me thing of a comic a something other than a mode of communicating with pre-pubescent children. Though the illustrations may not be spectacular the story certainly is and perhaps less simple illustrations would have taken away from this. The book tells the story of the narrator's father in World War 2, as a Jew in the concentration camps and his life afterwards. Interestingly also we get the story of the authors guilt about the lack of meaning in his life after looking at that of his father. A wonderful story, most originally told.

An extraordinary achievement !, 31 Dec 2008
A lot of people are put off by a comic book. It's not art, it's not literature, it's just kids entertainment, isn't it? Think again. Maus deservingly won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the most moving and chilling books I have ever read.

The true story of a holocaust survivor and the permanent effects it had on him and his family.

I actually had tears in my eyes at more than one point. At a comic book??? That's how good this is. Don't be put off by the comic book style; it takes a little while to get used to it but once you have done so, you won't be disappointed.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!!, 23 Oct 2008
Once you open this book it is nearly impossible to stop. Even people who normally do not like books will love this one. It's a comic but not comical.. (unless your sense of humour is very very dark). It let's you experience the horrors of the holocaust more realistically than any other book or film I have seen about it.

I love this book and could not recommend it more highly. Enjoy.

Are you trying to avoid it?, 25 May 2008
I had known of this book for about a year when i finally decided to buy it. I was put off by the slightly dodgy artwork and the very serious nature of the plot which to me is not what comics are about. Anyway,I wanted to read it so i could come on hear and rant about how it is an over-rated waste of time but I cant. The art isnt perfect i agree but it has its charms and as you read the story you really do get into the simplistic nature of it,it works for this,it doesnt distract from the story which over stylised art would. The story is VERY well written and everything i read totally shocked and moved me.
The jist of my review is - if you are put off by the art but you liked schindlers list or have a fascination with hearing about the holocaust from a personal perspective then you have to read this book. It would get 5 stars from me if I genuinely felt that everyone would like the artwork but I know thats not gonna happen but everyone who isnt an anti-semite must read this story!

Masterpiece, 11 Apr 2008
Only graphic novel to date to win the Pulitzer Price.

That should be compelling enough to endear anyone to this masterwork.

The drawing isn't perhaps as expressive as that of Sacco, but the novelty in Maus not only comes from the controversial bestialization of the characters (Poles are pigs, Jews are mice, Germans are cats, etc) but also from the timeline jumps that mix the chilling tale of Vladek's survival of Auschwitz and the author's process of discovery and acceptance of his father's personality as he is retold the survivor's tale.

So while we are presented with the horror's faced by Vladek, the book also deals with the strained relationship between the author and his father, his father's second wife and the author's converted wife.

One can only praise Spiegelman's honesty at the less than perfect portray of the old age Vladek and his own insecurities.


Gripping yet fantasitc read., 17 Dec 2008
Well i have always been interested in the holocaust ever since i went to visit Anne Frank's house as a 12 year old girl. It really moved me yet didn't fully understand what the holocaust really meant or what had happened, yet I never forgot and since that day in Amsterdam I have followed documentaries intently and read around the subject.

Last year i decided i wanted, and needed to visit Auschwitz and I feel this is something everyone should do. I believe all school children should be taught about what happened there and we should never forget.

Visiting Auschwitz was a surreal experience and i felt as though i was walking round the set of a Hollywood movie. It is so surreal and hard to believe what happened there. It is beyond human comprehension the horrors suffered there, just over 60 years ago. I throughly enjoyed the visit and I mean that in a purely informative way. The visit brought me to tears and stays with you. There is so much to take in I would like to go back.

I will eventually get to my point!....

This book is a gripping read and a must for anyone who is interested in a first hand account of what actually happened there. I felt like i was living the experience with them and couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended and if you are thinking about visiting Auschwitz it is definatley worth the visit, there is lots of information on trip advisor about the best way to do it. Hope this helps xx

Disappointing, 15 Jul 2008
Truly the worst holocaust testimony ever written.So many mistakes throughout the whole text.Two examples of which were when Mr Muller mentions the camp orchestra in Birkenau,there was none, it was in Auschwitz 1.He also quotes that Kramer was in Birkenau and had came from Auschwitz 2.Both are one and the same place But important errors like these were repeated in every chapter and the worry for me is that Holocaust deniers may pick up on these simple blunders.Mr Mullers over use of adjectives and repetition of statements at times resulted in the book bordering on being boring.It read more like a students written essay who wasnt fully informed ,rather than an actual Holocaust survivors memoirs.Ive read many more imformative Holocaust testimonies and even Mr Muller must have been disappointed with the finished article.I tend to believe that the foreword said it all.

ochmister, 06 Jun 2008
Simple, one of the best books I have ever read. Very sad, sometimes un believable. But believe, this really happened and should not be forgotton. My respect goes to the author.

An account by somebody who witnessed everything first hand., 16 May 2008
There have been countless books written about Hitlers Final solution mostly by historians and occasionally by eyewitness survivors.

You can read account after account of conditions in the final months leading to the Russians eventual entry into the camp but few books will be as informative as this one written by camp Sonderkommando Filip Muller whose actual job was to operate the crematoria and dispose of the thousands of corpses.

During the latter half of 1944 an incredible 10,000+ were liquidated on a daily basis.This may appear too far fetched to comprehend at first but when you realise that those in command from Hitler right down to Himmlers eventual realisation that the war was turning against them a dramatic escelation in gassing took place until mass shootings were the norm and corpses were burnt round the clock in open pits.

At the height of the liquidation Berkenhau had over ten ovens working night and day resulting in a massive escalation of gassings.In early 1944,10,000 prisoners were murdered every day and there were sufficient ovens to cope with the huge number of bodies.

Filip was there as all this was going on and later as the mass of bodies became too overwhelming to cope with it was the Sonderkommandos duty to remove the rotting corpses for disposal in the ovens.

There are certain passages that will really make one think momentarily on the question of mans inhumanity towards his fellow man.

The arrival and first trial of mass gassings where under extream brutality men women and children were forced to undress knowingly they were facing certain death.

Possibly the most heart rending extracts are to be found on page 48 where Filip having discovered the arrival of his father at the camp has to cremate his body after his death from tythus.Fellow workmen working alongside him at the blazing ovens recite a prayer.

The book really brings the true barbarity of camp life to the reader.

The inhumanity of certain Kapos or team leaders given trusted duties by the SS who were extreamly sadistic beating fellow prisoners to death due to anger against what the SS were doing to their fellow countrymen.

Whilst reading the first two chapters one clearly realises these are the genuine testimony of somebody who lived on a daily basis where systematic murder was common place.Unless you witnessed at first hand you couldnot make up such testimony such as these.

As i have already said you can write about this highly documented period in history but unless you were physically there in person to witness these events no amount of research will reveal the actual truth.

This is why Filip Mullers book is so important,as less than a handfull of Sonderkommandos at Auschwitz actually lived to bear witness to their testimony.Every few months new Sonderkommandos were appointed whilst those working at the cremetoria were gassed with other prisoners so that the truth of Genocide was never allowed to escape.Filips survival is the more amazing in that he survived and bared witness to the atrocities.

Unless you were actually there in person you cannot envisage the horrors and brutality of camp guards and SS officers.Muller recounts day to day life within the confines of Auschwitz-Berkenhau like only a fellow prisoner could relate.

His matter of fact account of unimaginable horrors makes compelling reading if not unpleasant reading.He has not withheld any of the material that will disgust or distress us,everything has been accounted for right up to his amazing survival.

As a Sonderkommando he was to some extent safe as his services were of great importance to the camps efficient running.Without him and other workers the mass murder couldnot have taken place at such a large scale.

A book that is extreamly well written by somebody who actually knows what went on within the camp.Few books can bring home the true meaning of genocide as can this one.

If you are looking for great detail on events and life within Hitlers largest death camp then this book will not disappoint.

Brings the Reality of what went on home !, 11 May 2008
I visited Auschwitz earlier this year. I wish I had read this book before I had gone as it really brought home the terrible crimes that went on in this place. If you are interested in Auschwitz then this is a must read !

Excellent... but more pictures could be added, 09 Nov 2008
I visited auschwitz 6 months ago and decided that after my visit I would read a book on the subject to learn more about the camp. First of all, I would recommend anyone to go and visit the place because it is not the kind of place you would expect. On first glance it looks like a Butlins camp with the red brick blocks. It is not until you walk round a little more and go into each block that you really get to understand what awful things happen. I felt I was really able to appreciate the book because when the author was talking about the various blocks, gas chambers and the 'shooting wall' I had a clear image of what he was talking about having been to the place myself. For anyone who hadn't been there I felt images of the camp were lacking to give you a true idea of what the set up of the camp was like.

The interviews with survivors of prisoners and also SS guards were fantastic because it gave you a view from both perspectives. I did at times feel a little (and only a little) sympathy for the SS guards because they had grown up on propaganda and had been brainwashed that it was the Jews that had caused Germany to fall into such decline and the Jews had caused World War 1 but this should still not make the suffering and torture considered in anyway acceptable.

I would have also liked the author to include a little bit of information about the camp today and what each of the blocks now contain regarding the museum just as a little extra for continued research that people could continue to learn about.

I would advise anyone to read this book, it is shocking that all these things happened in my grandparents life times and the knowledge should be passed on and remembered.

I would also advise anyone to visit the Camp in Poland to really experience and understand the book more, it only costs about £25 quid from Krakow and it is an experience you will never forget.

Terribly good, 07 Aug 2008
I bought the book in one of the small bookshops at Auschwitz I, the main camp. I had just walked through the camp looking at the 2 tons of hair on display and all the other belongings of people that has suffered in the camp. The sight is sickening, but it wasn't the big shock that I had expected. I thought: "Maybe I know too much about the place before coming here".

The horror came with this book. All the personal stories combined with the hard facts of the book makes an interesting and disturbing read.

I have always thought that the people working in the Nazi camps were some kind of monsters or people that have been terrorized physically or mentally to become some kind of inhuman zombies. It turns out that most of them were quite ordinary people. This was the biggest eye-opener for me. For me it's just another reminder that we should never forget what happened here, and what human beings are capable of doing to each other.

Apart from my personal gain from this book, it is an excellent book for people to learn about the mass killings of the Nazis and the complex history of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is weel written and, as other reviewers have mentioned, you can't put it down once you have started to read it.

Being a Dane it is nice to read Mr. Rees' praise of what happened in Denmark during the war. It is however with mixed emotions that I read it. I am not sure that the Danes would be so generous to Muslim people in case of an armed conflict with the middle east as some Danish people were to the Danish Jews during the second world war.


very interesting , 06 Aug 2008
found this book very intersting, it leaves you in disbelief on how cruel mankind can be, very well written with great detail.

A story simply told, 13 Jul 2008
There are few places in the world that can tell their own story simply from the mention of their name. Hiroshima perhaps, Shangri La maybe (if it were a real place). Just the title of this book immediately evokes a response in the reader. We know what we are going to be told before we scan the first page.

So how to approach a subject that carries with it such emotional baggage and preconceptions? One often used method is the "Hobsbawm" approach - the laying on of thick layers of detail, facts and figures, as if reciting the precise quantities of cruelty can somehow blunt the emotional reality of what happened. Another is the "reality TV" approach - the eye witness account, the loving reconstruction of just what it was really like to be an inmate, this time aiming for the opposite effect, the kind of simplistic overidentification that had a modern expression in the aftermath of Diana's death. Heaven forbid they should start heaping bouquets at the end of this particular rail track...

But to return to the subject, Laurence Rees, a writer and producer of distinction and intelligence, has found a third way, a blend of hard facts and testimony that not only conveys the searing reality of the Final Solution (a term he points out was never actually used by the Nazis in the way it is now) but also distances itself enough to allow important conclusions to be drawn about how this abomination was allowed to happen and how (God help us) we might be able to avoid doing it again. It's not an easy task and some people might feel that it's too light a read for so heavy a subject, but don't be fooled: Rees has an eye for the devastating detail that carries more weight than a thousand numbers can. We all know about the heaps of glasses, the mountains of shoes. Rees find a more telling example: the silent funereal procession of baby carriages that were removed during a warehouse clearout. According to one prisoner, it took an hour to wheel them all by.

From this, Rees draws the lessons that begin to emerge from the testimonies of the most talented of the Holocaust witnesses - people like Bruno Bettelheim and Primo Levi - that we all have it in us to commit atrocities, that self interest packaged as ideology is an intoxicating blend and that conformity can very often be the enemy of virtue.


SIMPLY BRILLIANT..., 19 Jun 2008
When one thinks of the labor and death camps instituted by the Nazis during World War II, the notorious concentration camp at Auschwitz comes immediately to mind. One cannot help but wonder what kind of mindset would devise such an infamy. How could Germany, a nation that was noted for its richness of culture, have devised a plan of genocide that was so far reaching and so inherently evil?

The author attempts to answer that question and succeeds in doing so brilliantly. This is a very well-written book that will appeal to those who are interested in the general human condition, as well as those interested in the holocaust itself. It is scholarly, yet, at the same time, immensely readable. This is because the author has put a very human face on the dreaded death camp of Auschwitz. The stories and experiences of more than a hundred people are integrated throughout the narrative, which delves into the historical backdrop of the Nazi political machinery and its leadership. Survivors of Auschwitz, as well as Nazi perpetrators, tell of their experiences in the hell that was known as Auschwitz, and they tell it from their own unique perspectives. The symbiosis that often existed between prisoner and prison guard is quite unsettling, as are the attendant moral and ethical issues.

The author attempts to help the reader understand how it was that the "final solution" came about. It is an unsentimental, intellectually objective, critical analysis of one of the most infamous episodes in modern history and warfare. The author carefully delineates how the Nazis developed their reprehensible strategy for global genocide, and how it came about being implemented. The creation of Auschwitz was crucial to the Nazis' desire to rid itself of Europe's Jewish population but, however, that desire may not have been entirely ideologically driven. From his extensive research, the author postulates that there may have been a practical, more pragmatic component that dictated the actions of the Nazis in the final, waning days of World War II that was no less immoral than the ideological one.

This is simply a stunning and authoritative book by an author whose expertise in this area is undeniable. It is a comprehensive and insightful look at one of the most notorious death camps in the history of Nazi Germany. The author carefully explains the rise and fall of Auschwitz within the context of the Nazi mentality and ideology, as well as within the broader context of historical and military pragmatism. It is a devastating portrait, indeed, and with its sixteen pages of vintage black and white photographs, it is a book that will keep the reader riveted to its pages until the very last one is turned. Bravo!

Leopold II: King Of The Congo, King Of Hell, 22 Sep 2008
This is a stunning account of Belgium's King Leopold II's rape and plunder of the Congo. His agents and officials dealt misery and death to millions of Congolese and subjugated the unfortunate natives with ferocious brutality. Meanwhile the King of the Congo (and Belgium) got fat off the staggering profits of ivory and rubber. This greedy consuming devil was master of planting friendly stories in the western press, cajoling, bribing, threatening and shouting to the world how much good he was doing in the Congo. Fortunately you can't fool all the people all the time. A group of very brave men (some who paid with their lives) soon expose the truth and hellish conditions of the the Congolese. Under severe pressure Leopold gifts (sells) the Congo to Belgium for a considerable sum. Half a century later after Belgium is forced to grant independence, the CIA assassinate the prime minister. A gruesome start for the young country.

The story is as upsetting as it is distasteful. Sad, sad, sad. The civilized shown up for their raw animism and the "uncivilized" pay the price for being behind the curve. I visited the Central Africa museum in Brussels shortly after finishing this book. It is truly frightening how the Belgians place virtually all blame on a few colluding chiefs and the competing Arab slave traders. It is said that history is written by the victors and state versions are the worst - nothing but brazen propaganda. With luck some day the Congolese will tell their own story. In the meantime, Hochschild does a wonderful job.

An emotional introduction to the history of Colonialism, 01 Sep 2008
I bought this book in a small dusty bookstore in an out of the way town, after reading Barbara Kingsolver's 'The Poisonwood Bible', set in the Congo and following the lives of an American Missionary and his family. I didn't imagine that I would be as moved as I have been having finished Adam Hochschild's book, and now understand so much more about the legacy of colonialism, not just in the Congo, but across the world. Sure, it's written in an easy to understand and follow format which undoubtedly skims certain events, and it's moralising tone does detract a little from other European and American atrocities elsewhere - but this leaves me with a strong desire to now seek out literature which helps me to understand the bigger picture.

I live in a British Overseas Protectorate where the roots of colonialism are still strong, and will be recommending this book to everyone here.

excellent, 25 May 2008
Not sure where some of the other reviewers are coming from on this book. It is first rate: entertaining, informative, well written. A real page turner. I live in Belgium and am familiar with some of the issues the book is concerned with, particularly the absence of any collective guilt about where so much of the money that built so many monuments actually came from. Strongly recommended if you enjoy reading and want to be educated at the same time....

Cursed with Wealth, 21 Apr 2008
The coldly-executed, bloody-minded exploitation of the Congo by King Leopold and his business partners is a story well-worth repeating. At times his conduct is so disgraceful as to force one to a variety of admiration. The ruthless self-interest has surely been a model for later exploiters of Africa (of whatever hue) but few can have stolen as much (once adjusted for current prices) as the King. Such a great evil summoned forth worthy opponents though at all stages they seem to have had to break through disbelief before they could get on the King's wavelength. The King's ability to understand and exploit European sentiment required his arch-opponent E.D.Morel to raise his game. This is a sorry tale, well-told by its author. However, it is really not quite as unknown as the puffery claims. Hochschild has not discovered a forgotten Holocaust, but he has kept its disgraceful memory "bright".

This should be read , 04 Nov 2006
This is an important book that really should be on School curriculums everywhere. If you're thinking of visiting or going to work in Africa you should read this book. It is written in an accessible and non academic way that will appeal to students and casual readers alike. A genocide almost still in living memory and but largely forgotten by the mainstream. Reading this book it helped me understand the Africa of today and how it is possible to see a direct relation between the action of the colonizers of yesterday and the mass apathy and western collusion in more recent and contemporary African genocides. However there is also a story of hope here as this book is also a exploration of how ordinary people (both black and white) came together to bring about social change.

A novel approach, 04 Jan 2009
Somewhat of a cliché to say but this book truly was what made me thing of a comic a something other than a mode of communicating with pre-pubescent children. Though the illustrations may not be spectacular the story certainly is and perhaps less simple illustrations would have taken away from this. The book tells the story of the narrator's father in World War 2, as a Jew in the concentration camps and his life afterwards. Interestingly also we get the story of the authors guilt about the lack of meaning in his life after looking at that of his father. A wonderful story, most originally told.

An extraordinary achievement !, 31 Dec 2008
A lot of people are put off by a comic book. It's not art, it's not literature, it's just kids entertainment, isn't it? Think again. Maus deservingly won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the most moving and chilling books I have ever read.

The true story of a holocaust survivor and the permanent effects it had on him and his family.

I actually had tears in my eyes at more than one point. At a comic book??? That's how good this is. Don't be put off by the comic book style; it takes a little while to get used to it but once you have done so, you won't be disappointed.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!!, 23 Oct 2008
Once you open this book it is nearly impossible to stop. Even people who normally do not like books will love this one. It's a comic but not comical.. (unless your sense of humour is very very dark). It let's you experience the horrors of the holocaust more realistically than any other book or film I have seen about it.

I love this book and could not recommend it more highly. Enjoy.

Are you trying to avoid it?, 25 May 2008
I had known of this book for about a year when i finally decided to buy it. I was put off by the slightly dodgy artwork and the very serious nature of the plot which to me is not what comics are about. Anyway,I wanted to read it so i could come on hear and rant about how it is an over-rated waste of time but I cant. The art isnt perfect i agree but it has its charms and as you read the story you really do get into the simplistic nature of it,it works for this,it doesnt distract from the story which over stylised art would. The story is VERY well written and everything i read totally shocked and moved me.
The jist of my review is - if you are put off by the art but you liked schindlers list or have a fascination with hearing about the holocaust from a personal perspective then you have to read this book. It would get 5 stars from me if I genuinely felt that everyone would like the artwork but I know thats not gonna happen but everyone who isnt an anti-semite must read this story!

Masterpiece, 11 Apr 2008
Only graphic novel to date to win the Pulitzer Price.

That should be compelling enough to endear anyone to this masterwork.

The drawing isn't perhaps as expressive as that of Sacco, but the novelty in Maus not only comes from the controversial bestialization of the characters (Poles are pigs, Jews are mice, Germans are cats, etc) but also from the timeline jumps that mix the chilling tale of Vladek's survival of Auschwitz and the author's process of discovery and acceptance of his father's personality as he is retold the survivor's tale.

So while we are presented with the horror's faced by Vladek, the book also deals with the strained relationship between the author and his father, his father's second wife and the author's converted wife.

One can only praise Spiegelman's honesty at the less than perfect portray of the old age Vladek and his own insecurities.


Gripping yet fantasitc read., 17 Dec 2008
Well i have always been interested in the holocaust ever since i went to visit Anne Frank's house as a 12 year old girl. It really moved me yet didn't fully understand what the holocaust really meant or what had happened, yet I never forgot and since that day in Amsterdam I have followed documentaries intently and read around the subject.

Last year i decided i wanted, and needed to visit Auschwitz and I feel this is something everyone should do. I believe all school children should be taught about what happened there and we should never forget.

Visiting Auschwitz was a surreal experience and i felt as though i was walking round the set of a Hollywood movie. It is so surreal and hard to believe what happened there. It is beyond human comprehension the horrors suffered there, just over 60 years ago. I throughly enjoyed the visit and I mean that in a purely informative way. The visit brought me to tears and stays with you. There is so much to take in I would like to go back.

I will eventually get to my point!....

This book is a gripping read and a must for anyone who is interested in a first hand account of what actually happened there. I felt like i was living the experience with them and couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended and if you are thinking about visiting Auschwitz it is definatley worth the visit, there is lots of information on trip advisor about the best way to do it. Hope this helps xx

Disappointing, 15 Jul 2008
Truly the worst holocaust testimony ever written.So many mistakes throughout the whole text.Two examples of which were when Mr Muller mentions the camp orchestra in Birkenau,there was none, it was in Auschwitz 1.He also quotes that Kramer was in Birkenau and had came from Auschwitz 2.Both are one and the same place But important errors like these were repeated in every chapter and the worry for me is that Holocaust deniers may pick up on these simple blunders.Mr Mullers over use of adjectives and repetition of statements at times resulted in the book bordering on being boring.It read more like a students written essay who wasnt fully informed ,rather than an actual Holocaust survivors memoirs.Ive read many more imformative Holocaust testimonies and even Mr Muller must have been disappointed with the finished article.I tend to believe that the foreword said it all.

ochmister, 06 Jun 2008
Simple, one of the best books I have ever read. Very sad, sometimes un believable. But believe, this really happened and should not be forgotton. My respect goes to the author.

An account by somebody who witnessed everything first hand., 16 May 2008
There have been countless books written about Hitlers Final solution mostly by historians and occasionally by eyewitness survivors.

You can read account after account of conditions in the final months leading to the Russians eventual entry into the camp but few books will be as informative as this one written by camp Sonderkommando Filip Muller whose actual job was to operate the crematoria and dispose of the thousands of corpses.

During the latter half of 1944 an incredible 10,000+ were liquidated on a daily basis.This may appear too far fetched to comprehend at first but when you realise that those in command from Hitler right down to Himmlers eventual realisation that the war was turning against them a dramatic escelation in gassing took place until mass shootings were the norm and corpses were burnt round the clock in open pits.

At the height of the liquidation Berkenhau had over ten ovens working night and day resulting in a massive escalation of gassings.In early 1944,10,000 prisoners were murdered every day and there were sufficient ovens to cope with the huge number of bodies.

Filip was there as all this was going on and later as the mass of bodies became too overwhelming to cope with it was the Sonderkommandos duty to remove the rotting corpses for disposal in the ovens.

There are certain passages that will really make one think momentarily on the question of mans inhumanity towards his fellow man.

The arrival and first trial of mass gassings where under extream brutality men women and children were forced to undress knowingly they were facing certain death.

Possibly the most heart rending extracts are to be found on page 48 where Filip having discovered the arrival of his father at the camp has to cremate his body after his death from tythus.Fellow workmen working alongside him at the blazing ovens recite a prayer.

The book really brings the true barbarity of camp life to the reader.

The inhumanity of certain Kapos or team leaders given trusted duties by the SS who were extreamly sadistic beating fellow prisoners to death due to anger against what the SS were doing to their fellow countrymen.

Whilst reading the first two chapters one clearly realises these are the genuine testimony of somebody who lived on a daily basis where systematic murder was common place.Unless you witnessed at first hand you couldnot make up such testimony such as these.

As i have already said you can write about this highly documented period in history but unless you were physically there in person to witness these events no amount of research will reveal the actual truth.

This is why Filip Mullers book is so important,as less than a handfull of Sonderkommandos at Auschwitz actually lived to bear witness to their testimony.Every few months new Sonderkommandos were appointed whilst those working at the cremetoria were gassed with other prisoners so that the truth of Genocide was never allowed to escape.Filips survival is the more amazing in that he survived and bared witness to the atrocities.

Unless you were actually there in person you cannot envisage the horrors and brutality of camp guards and SS officers.Muller recounts day to day life within the confines of Auschwitz-Berkenhau like only a fellow prisoner could relate.

His matter of fact account of unimaginable horrors makes compelling reading if not unpleasant reading.He has not withheld any of the material that will disgust or distress us,everything has been accounted for right up to his amazing survival.

As a Sonderkommando he was to some extent safe as his services were of great importance to the camps efficient running.Without him and other workers the mass murder couldnot have taken place at such a large scale.

A book that is extreamly well written by somebody who actually knows what went on within the camp.Few books can bring home the true meaning of genocide as can this one.

If you are looking for great detail on events and life within Hitlers largest death camp then this book will not disappoint.

Brings the Reality of what went on home !, 11 May 2008
I visited Auschwitz earlier this year. I wish I had read this book before I had gone as it really brought home the terrible crimes that went on in this place. If you are interested in Auschwitz then this is a must read !

Excellent... but more pictures could be added, 09 Nov 2008
I visited auschwitz 6 months ago and decided that after my visit I would read a book on the subject to learn more about the camp. First of all, I would recommend anyone to go and visit the place because it is not the kind of place you would expect. On first glance it looks like a Butlins camp with the red brick blocks. It is not until you walk round a little more and go into each block that you really get to understand what awful things happen. I felt I was really able to appreciate the book because when the author was talking about the various blocks, gas chambers and the 'shooting wall' I had a clear image of what he was talking about having been to the place myself. For anyone who hadn't been there I felt images of the camp were lacking to give you a true idea of what the set up of the camp was like.

The interviews with survivors of prisoners and also SS guards were fantastic because it gave you a view from both perspectives. I did at times feel a little (and only a little) sympathy for the SS guards because they had grown up on propaganda and had been brainwashed that it was the Jews that had caused Germany to fall into such decline and the Jews had caused World War 1 but this should still not make the suffering and torture considered in anyway acceptable.

I would have also liked the author to include a little bit of information about the camp today and what each of the blocks now contain regarding the museum just as a little extra for continued research that people could continue to learn about.

I would advise anyone to read this book, it is shocking that all these things happened in my grandparents life times and the knowledge should be passed on and remembered.

I would also advise anyone to visit the Camp in Poland to really experience and understand the book more, it only costs about £25 quid from Krakow and it is an experience you will never forget.

Terribly good, 07 Aug 2008
I bought the book in one of the small bookshops at Auschwitz I, the main camp. I had just walked through the camp looking at the 2 tons of hair on display and all the other belongings of people that has suffered in the camp. The sight is sickening, but it wasn't the big shock that I had expected. I thought: "Maybe I know too much about the place before coming here".

The horror came with this book. All the personal stories combined with the hard facts of the book makes an interesting and disturbing read.

I have always thought that the people working in the Nazi camps were some kind of monsters or people that have been terrorized physically or mentally to become some kind of inhuman zombies. It turns out that most of them were quite ordinary people. This was the biggest eye-opener for me. For me it's just another reminder that we should never forget what happened here, and what human beings are capable of doing to each other.

Apart from my personal gain from this book, it is an excellent book for people to learn about the mass killings of the Nazis and the complex history of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is weel written and, as other reviewers have mentioned, you can't put it down once you have started to read it.

Being a Dane it is nice to read Mr. Rees' praise of what happened in Denmark during the war. It is however with mixed emotions that I read it. I am not sure that the Danes would be so generous to Muslim people in case of an armed conflict with the middle east as some Danish people were to the Danish Jews during the second world war.


very interesting , 06 Aug 2008
found this book very intersting, it leaves you in disbelief on how cruel mankind can be, very well written with great detail.

A story simply told, 13 Jul 2008
There are few places in the world that can tell their own story simply from the mention of their name. Hiroshima perhaps, Shangri La maybe (if it were a real place). Just the title of this book immediately evokes a response in the reader. We know what we are going to be told before we scan the first page.

So how to approach a subject that carries with it such emotional baggage and preconceptions? One often used method is the "Hobsbawm" approach - the laying on of thick layers of detail, facts and figures, as if reciting the precise quantities of cruelty can somehow blunt the emotional reality of what happened. Another is the "reality TV" approach - the eye witness account, the loving reconstruction of just what it was really like to be an inmate, this time aiming for the opposite effect, the kind of simplistic overidentification that had a modern expression in the aftermath of Diana's death. Heaven forbid they should start heaping bouquets at the end of this particular rail track...

But to return to the subject, Laurence Rees, a writer and producer of distinction and intelligence, has found a third way, a blend of hard facts and testimony that not only conveys the searing reality of the Final Solution (a term he points out was never actually used by the Nazis in the way it is now) but also distances itself enough to allow important conclusions to be drawn about how this abomination was allowed to happen and how (God help us) we might be able to avoid doing it again. It's not an easy task and some people might feel that it's too light a read for so heavy a subject, but don't be fooled: Rees has an eye for the devastating detail that carries more weight than a thousand numbers can. We all know about the heaps of glasses, the mountains of shoes. Rees find a more telling example: the silent funereal procession of baby carriages that were removed during a warehouse clearout. According to one prisoner, it took an hour to wheel them all by.

From this, Rees draws the lessons that begin to emerge from the testimonies of the most talented of the Holocaust witnesses - people like Bruno Bettelheim and Primo Levi - that we all have it in us to commit atrocities, that self interest packaged as ideology is an intoxicating blend and that conformity can very often be the enemy of virtue.


SIMPLY BRILLIANT..., 19 Jun 2008
When one thinks of the labor and death camps instituted by the Nazis during World War II, the notorious concentration camp at Auschwitz comes immediately to mind. One cannot help but wonder what kind of mindset would devise such an infamy. How could Germany, a nation that was noted for its richness of culture, have devised a plan of genocide that was so far reaching and so inherently evil?

The author attempts to answer that question and succeeds in doing so brilliantly. This is a very well-written book that will appeal to those who are interested in the general human condition, as well as those interested in the holocaust itself. It is scholarly, yet, at the same time, immensely readable. This is because the author has put a very human face on the dreaded death camp of Auschwitz. The stories and experiences of more than a hundred people are integrated throughout the narrative, which delves into the historical backdrop of the Nazi political machinery and its leadership. Survivors of Auschwitz, as well as Nazi perpetrators, tell of their experiences in the hell that was known as Auschwitz, and they tell it from their own unique perspectives. The symbiosis that often existed between prisoner and prison guard is quite unsettling, as are the attendant moral and ethical issues.

The author attempts to help the reader understand how it was that the "final solution" came about. It is an unsentimental, intellectually objective, critical analysis of one of the most infamous episodes in modern history and warfare. The author carefully delineates how the Nazis developed their reprehensible strategy for global genocide, and how it came about being implemented. The creation of Auschwitz was crucial to the Nazis' desire to rid itself of Europe's Jewish population but, however, that desire may not have been entirely ideologically driven. From his extensive research, the author postulates that there may have been a practical, more pragmatic component that dictated the actions of the Nazis in the final, waning days of World War II that was no less immoral than the ideological one.

This is simply a stunning and authoritative book by an author whose expertise in this area is undeniable. It is a comprehensive and insightful look at one of the most notorious death camps in the history of Nazi Germany. The author carefully explains the rise and fall of Auschwitz within the context of the Nazi mentality and ideology, as well as within the broader context of historical and military pragmatism. It is a devastating portrait, indeed, and with its sixteen pages of vintage black and white photographs, it is a book that will keep the reader riveted to its pages until the very last one is turned. Bravo!

Leopold II: King Of The Congo, King Of Hell, 22 Sep 2008
This is a stunning account of Belgium's King Leopold II's rape and plunder of the Congo. His agents and officials dealt misery and death to millions of Congolese and subjugated the unfortunate natives with ferocious brutality. Meanwhile the King of the Congo (and Belgium) got fat off the staggering profits of ivory and rubber. This greedy consuming devil was master of planting friendly stories in the western press, cajoling, bribing, threatening and shouting to the world how much good he was doing in the Congo. Fortunately you can't fool all the people all the time. A group of very brave men (some who paid with their lives) soon expose the truth and hellish conditions of the the Congolese. Under severe pressure Leopold gifts (sells) the Congo to Belgium for a considerable sum. Half a century later after Belgium is forced to grant independence, the CIA assassinate the prime minister. A gruesome start for the young country.

The story is as upsetting as it is distasteful. Sad, sad, sad. The civilized shown up for their raw animism and the "uncivilized" pay the price for being behind the curve. I visited the Central Africa museum in Brussels shortly after finishing this book. It is truly frightening how the Belgians place virtually all blame on a few colluding chiefs and the competing Arab slave traders. It is said that history is written by the victors and state versions are the worst - nothing but brazen propaganda. With luck some day the Congolese will tell their own story. In the meantime, Hochschild does a wonderful job.

An emotional introduction to the history of Colonialism, 01 Sep 2008
I bought this book in a small dusty bookstore in an out of the way town, after reading Barbara Kingsolver's 'The Poisonwood Bible', set in the Congo and following the lives of an American Missionary and his family. I didn't imagine that I would be as moved as I have been having finished Adam Hochschild's book, and now understand so much more about the legacy of colonialism, not just in the Congo, but across the world. Sure, it's written in an easy to understand and follow format which undoubtedly skims certain events, and it's moralising tone does detract a little from other European and American atrocities elsewhere - but this leaves me with a strong desire to now seek out literature which helps me to understand the bigger picture.

I live in a British Overseas Protectorate where the roots of colonialism are still strong, and will be recommending this book to everyone here.

excellent, 25 May 2008
Not sure where some of the other reviewers are coming from on this book. It is first rate: entertaining, informative, well written. A real page turner. I live in Belgium and am familiar with some of the issues the book is concerned with, particularly the absence of any collective guilt about where so much of the money that built so many monuments actually came from. Strongly recommended if you enjoy reading and want to be educated at the same time....

Cursed with Wealth, 21 Apr 2008
The coldly-executed, bloody-minded exploitation of the Congo by King Leopold and his business partners is a story well-worth repeating. At times his conduct is so disgraceful as to force one to a variety of admiration. The ruthless self-interest has surely been a model for later exploiters of Africa (of whatever hue) but few can have stolen as much (once adjusted for current prices) as the King. Such a great evil summoned forth worthy opponents though at all stages they seem to have had to break through disbelief before they could get on the King's wavelength. The King's ability to understand and exploit European sentiment required his arch-opponent E.D.Morel to raise his game. This is a sorry tale, well-told by its author. However, it is really not quite as unknown as the puffery claims. Hochschild has not discovered a forgotten Holocaust, but he has kept its disgraceful memory "bright".

This should be read , 04 Nov 2006
This is an important book that really should be on School curriculums everywhere. If you're thinking of visiting or going to work in Africa you should read this book. It is written in an accessible and non academic way that will appeal to students and casual readers alike. A genocide almost still in living memory and but largely forgotten by the mainstream. Reading this book it helped me understand the Africa of today and how it is possible to see a direct relation between the action of the colonizers of yesterday and the mass apathy and western collusion in more recent and contemporary African genocides. However there is also a story of hope here as this book is also a exploration of how ordinary people (both black and white) came together to bring about social change.

interesting for people of that era, 26 May 2000
a true story,poignant to the point of tears for any young reader who might have experienced similar separations from their parents,and this is still being repeated now all over the world....russian jews,cubans,vietnamese....etc..Would like to be put in touch with author ,Vera Gissing...as the part about ceiling falling down in dining room did have one additional casualty,and that was kind of hushed up by the nurse( Dr. Frieds friend!)

A novel approach, 04 Jan 2009
Somewhat of a cliché to say but this book truly was what made me thing of a comic a something other than a mode of communicating with pre-pubescent children. Though the illustrations may not be spectacular the story certainly is and perhaps less simple illustrations would have taken away from this. The book tells the story of the narrator's father in World War 2, as a Jew in the concentration camps and his life afterwards. Interestingly also we get the story of the authors guilt about the lack of meaning in his life after looking at that of his father. A wonderful story, most originally told.

An extraordinary achievement !, 31 Dec 2008
A lot of people are put off by a comic book. It's not art, it's not literature, it's just kids entertainment, isn't it? Think again. Maus deservingly won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the most moving and chilling books I have ever read.

The true story of a holocaust survivor and the permanent effects it had on him and his family.

I actually had tears in my eyes at more than one point. At a comic book??? That's how good this is. Don't be put off by the comic book style; it takes a little while to get used to it but once you have done so, you won't be disappointed.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!!, 23 Oct 2008
Once you open this book it is nearly impossible to stop. Even people who normally do not like books will love this one. It's a comic but not comical.. (unless your sense of humour is very very dark). It let's you experience the horrors of the holocaust more realistically than any other book or film I have seen about it.

I love this book and could not recommend it more highly. Enjoy.

Are you trying to avoid it?, 25 May 2008
I had known of this book for about a year when i finally decided to buy it. I was put off by the slightly dodgy artwork and the very serious nature of the plot which to me is not what comics are about. Anyway,I wanted to read it so i could come on hear and rant about how it is an over-rated waste of time but I cant. The art isnt perfect i agree but it has its charms and as you read the story you really do get into the simplistic nature of it,it works for this,it doesnt distract from the story which over stylised art would. The story is VERY well written and everything i read totally shocked and moved me.
The jist of my review is - if you are put off by the art but you liked schindlers list or have a fascination with hearing about the holocaust from a personal perspective then you have to read this book. It would get 5 stars from me if I genuinely felt that everyone would like the artwork but I know thats not gonna happen but everyone who isnt an anti-semite must read this story!

Masterpiece, 11 Apr 2008
Only graphic novel to date to win the Pulitzer Price.

That should be compelling enough to endear anyone to this masterwork.

The drawing isn't perhaps as expressive as that of Sacco, but the novelty in Maus not only comes from the controversial bestialization of the characters (Poles are pigs, Jews are mice, Germans are cats, etc) but also from the timeline jumps that mix the chilling tale of Vladek's survival of Auschwitz and the author's process of discovery and acceptance of his father's personality as he is retold the survivor's tale.

So while we are presented with the horror's faced by Vladek, the book also deals with the strained relationship between the author and his father, his father's second wife and the author's converted wife.

One can only praise Spiegelman's honesty at the less than perfect portray of the old age Vladek and his own insecurities.


Gripping yet fantasitc read., 17 Dec 2008
Well i have always been interested in the holocaust ever since i went to visit Anne Frank's house as a 12 year old girl. It really moved me yet didn't fully understand what the holocaust really meant or what had happened, yet I never forgot and since that day in Amsterdam I have followed documentaries intently and read around the subject.

Last year i decided i wanted, and needed to visit Auschwitz and I feel this is something everyone should do. I believe all school children should be taught about what happened there and we should never forget.

Visiting Auschwitz was a surreal experience and i felt as though i was walking round the set of a Hollywood movie. It is so surreal and hard to believe what happened there. It is beyond human comprehension the horrors suffered there, just over 60 years ago. I throughly enjoyed the visit and I mean that in a purely informative way. The visit brought me to tears and stays with you. There is so much to take in I would like to go back.

I will eventually get to my point!....

This book is a gripping read and a must for anyone who is interested in a first hand account of what actually happened there. I felt like i was living the experience with them and couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended and if you are thinking about visiting Auschwitz it is definatley worth the visit, there is lots of information on trip advisor about the best way to do it. Hope this helps xx

Disappointing, 15 Jul 2008
Truly the worst holocaust testimony ever written.So many mistakes throughout the whole text.Two examples of which were when Mr Muller mentions the camp orchestra in Birkenau,there was none, it was in Auschwitz 1.He also quotes that Kramer was in Birkenau and had came from Auschwitz 2.Both are one and the same place But important errors like these were repeated in every chapter and the worry for me is that Holocaust deniers may pick up on these simple blunders.Mr Mullers over use of adjectives and repetition of statements at times resulted in the book bordering on being boring.It read more like a students written essay who wasnt fully informed ,rather than an actual Holocaust survivors memoirs.Ive read many more imformative Holocaust testimonies and even Mr Muller must have been disappointed with the finished article.I tend to believe that the foreword said it all.

ochmister, 06 Jun 2008
Simple, one of the best books I have ever read. Very sad, sometimes un believable. But believe, this really happened and should not be forgotton. My respect goes to the author.

An account by somebody who witnessed everything first hand., 16 May 2008
There have been countless books written about Hitlers Final solution mostly by historians and occasionally by eyewitness survivors.

You can read account after account of conditions in the final months leading to the Russians eventual entry into the camp but few books will be as informative as this one written by camp Sonderkommando Filip Muller whose actual job was to operate the crematoria and dispose of the thousands of corpses.

During the latter half of 1944 an incredible 10,000+ were liquidated on a daily basis.This may appear too far fetched to comprehend at first but when you realise that those in command from Hitler right down to Himmlers eventual realisation that the war was turning against them a dramatic escelation in gassing took place until mass shootings were the norm and corpses were burnt round the clock in open pits.

At the height of the liquidation Berkenhau had over ten ovens working night and day resulting in a massive escalation of gassings.In early 1944,10,000 prisoners were murdered every day and there were sufficient ovens to cope with the huge number of bodies.

Filip was there as all this was going on and later as the mass of bodies became too overwhelming to cope with it was the Sonderkommandos duty to remove the rotting corpses for disposal in the ovens.

There are certain passages that will really make one think momentarily on the question of mans inhumanity towards his fellow man.

The arrival and first trial of mass gassings where under extream brutality men women and children were forced to undress knowingly they were facing certain death.

Possibly the most heart rending extracts are to be found on page 48 where Filip having discovered the arrival of his father at the camp has to cremate his body after his death from tythus.Fellow workmen working alongside him at the blazing ovens recite a prayer.

The book really brings the true barbarity of camp life to the reader.

The inhumanity of certain Kapos or team leaders given trusted duties by the SS who were extreamly sadistic beating fellow prisoners to death due to anger against what the SS were doing to their fellow countrymen.

Whilst reading the first two chapters one clearly realises these are the genuine testimony of somebody who lived on a daily basis where systematic murder was common place.Unless you witnessed at first hand you couldnot make up such testimony such as these.

As i have already said you can write about this highly documented period in history but unless you were physically there in person to witness these events no amount of research will reveal the actual truth.

This is why Filip Mullers book is so important,as less than a handfull of Sonderkommandos at Auschwitz actually lived to bear witness to their testimony.Every few months new Sonderkommandos were appointed whilst those working at the cremetoria were gassed with other prisoners so that the truth of Genocide was never allowed to escape.Filips survival is the more amazing in that he survived and bared witness to the atrocities.

Unless you were actually there in person you cannot envisage the horrors and brutality of camp guards and SS officers.Muller recounts day to day life within the confines of Auschwitz-Berkenhau like only a fellow prisoner could relate.

His matter of fact account of unimaginable horrors makes compelling reading if not unpleasant reading.He has not withheld any of the material that will disgust or distress us,everything has been accounted for right up to his amazing survival.

As a Sonderkommando he was to some extent safe as his services were of great importance to the camps efficient running.Without him and other workers the mass murder couldnot have taken place at such a large scale.

A book that is extreamly well written by somebody who actually knows what went on within the camp.Few books can bring home the true meaning of genocide as can this one.

If you are looking for great detail on events and life within Hitlers largest death camp then this book will not disappoint.

Brings the Reality of what went on home !, 11 May 2008
I visited Auschwitz earlier this year. I wish I had read this book before I had gone as it really brought home the terrible crimes that went on in this place. If you are interested in Auschwitz then this is a must read !

Excellent... but more pictures could be added, 09 Nov 2008
I visited auschwitz 6 months ago and decided that after my visit I would read a book on the subject to learn more about the camp. First of all, I would recommend anyone to go and visit the place because it is not the kind of place you would expect. On first glance it looks like a Butlins camp with the red brick blocks. It is not until you walk round a little more and go into each block that you really get to understand what awful things happen. I felt I was really able to appreciate the book because when the author was talking about the various blocks, gas chambers and the 'shooting wall' I had a clear image of what he was talking about having been to the place myself. For anyone who hadn't been there I felt images of the camp were lacking to give you a true idea of what the set up of the camp was like.

The interviews with survivors of prisoners and also SS guards were fantastic because it gave you a view from both perspectives. I did at times feel a little (and only a little) sympathy for the SS guards because they had grown up on propaganda and had been brainwashed that it was the Jews that had caused Germany to fall into such decline and the Jews had caused World War 1 but this should still not make the suffering and torture considered in anyway acceptable.

I would have also liked the author to include a little bit of information about the camp today and what each of the blocks now contain regarding the museum just as a little extra for continued research that people could continue to learn about.

I would advise anyone to read this book, it is shocking that all these things happened in my grandparents life times and the knowledge should be passed on and remembered.

I would also advise anyone to visit the Camp in Poland to really experience and understand the book more, it only costs about £25 quid from Krakow and it is an experience you will never forget.

Terribly good, 07 Aug 2008
I bought the book in one of the small bookshops at Auschwitz I, the main camp. I had just walked through the camp looking at the 2 tons of hair on display and all the other belongings of people that has suffered in the camp. The sight is sickening, but it wasn't the big shock that I had expected. I thought: "Maybe I know too much about the place before coming here".

The horror came with this book. All the personal stories combined with the hard facts of the book makes an interesting and disturbing read.

I have always thought that the people working in the Nazi camps were some kind of monsters or people that have been terrorized physically or mentally to become some kind of inhuman zombies. It turns out that most of them were quite ordinary people. This was the biggest eye-opener