Average customer rating:
- Biased didacticism, not history.
- Used in teaching about WWII
- who was hitler?
- The Children Loove Hitler
- Truth from the other point of view!!!
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Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Manufacturer: Scholastic Nonfiction
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Binding: Hardcover
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Book Description
"I begin with the young. We older ones are used up . . . But my magnificent youngsters! Look at these men and boys! What material! With them, I can create a new world." --Adolf Hitler, Nuremberg 1933 By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany's young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.
Customer Reviews:
Biased didacticism, not history. .......2007-04-16
Halfway through listening to this book on CD, I wondered why it seemed like the author was talking down to me. The writing was very simplistic and the extremely irritating narrator felt obligated to remind us that Nazism was bad by reading every race-related word with the utmost sarcasm possible, e.g. "Hitler wanted a 'puuuuure' (tee-hee) 'Aaaaaryan' (rotfl!) 'race' (hahahaha!)." This book also felt the need to explain even the most elemental German terms, the most hilarious being when the author told us that "Heil Hitler" means "Hail Hitler" in English. I was kind of offended at the condescension until I finally looked at the CD case and saw that the book was meant for grade-school kids. It contains some interesting accounts of time in the Hitler Youth, but nothing too revelatory. I guess the point of writing this book was to tell kids that racism is bad and not to be conformist. The author goes overboard though by declaring that "All scientists agree that race is only skin deep". (That quote may not be verbatim.) Even leaving aside questions of intelligence, that statement is a blatant lie, as widely varying racial susceptibility to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. will attest. Does Ms. Campbell Bartoletti really want children to be independent thinkers, or does she merely want to indoctrinate them in her own egalitarian ideology?
Used in teaching about WWII.......2007-03-07
When pairing this book with books about World War II from the Allied perspective and the Jewish perspective, it really provides a completely different point of view. It allows students to see the historical event from more than one view, and this will encourage them to be open-minded and willing to see the points of view of others in life.
who was hitler?.......2007-02-13
this is a good book that tells the story of adolf hitler's little army the hitler youth.this book tells the story of many people tha died when hitler was a leader i relly like this book because i had heard of his little army and some of the people that were in his army. this is a very good book if you want to learn of hitler's power
The Children Loove Hitler.......2007-02-09
What do you think it would feel like if you lived during the time of World War II? The book Hitler Youth tells stories of children during this time period. There are many main characters telling the story of their lives during World War II.
The layout of this book is an easy read, but there are a lot of words and pictures on a page. There might also be a word in German that might be hard to read, but there aren't that many.
If you are interested in reading this book, then I think you should be at least in sixth grade or up. It is not a complicated book, but I think that Middle schoolers have more of an interest in World War II. I also think that this book would interest people who want to know what happened to the children during this particular time.
Susan Campbell Bartoletti has written other great books besides the Hitler Youth. She wrote Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, and Dear America: A Coal Miner's Bride.
Hitler Youth is a great book for studying, or for a free read. I recommend this book to read to anyone interested in World War II. I think it is important for people to know what happened the late 1930's to the early 1940's, because it had such a big impact in the world.
PR7
Truth from the other point of view!!!.......2006-11-30
This book is really good! It tells the story of young people of Germany. Usually the books on WWII focus on the victims of the Holocaust and the Allies, but this book tells the point of view of the Hitler Youth. I think this shows how the young people of Germany were also targeted. Hitler manipulated his way to become the chancellor of Germany. This book has a lot of interviews with Hitler Youth boys and girls. They tell their story and how they felt about the war, school, and their life. I strongly recommend this book to adults and young people.
Book Description
In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s
Into Thin Air and Sebastian Junger’s
The Perfect Storm comes a true tale of riveting adventure in which two weekend scuba divers risk everything to solve a great historical mystery–and make history themselves.
For John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, deep wreck diving was more than a sport. Testing themselves against treacherous currents, braving depths that induced hallucinatory effects, navigating through wreckage as perilous as a minefield, they pushed themselves to their limits and beyond, brushing against death more than once in the rusting hulks of sunken ships.
But in the fall of 1991, not even these courageous divers were prepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in the frigid Atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey: a World War II German U-boat, its ruined interior a macabre wasteland of twisted metal, tangled wires, and human bones–all buried under decades of accumulated sediment.
No identifying marks were visible on the submarine or the few artifacts brought to the surface. No historian, expert, or government had a clue as to which U-boat the men had found. In fact, the official records all agreed that there simply could not be a sunken U-boat and crew at that location.
Over the next six years, an elite team of divers embarked on a quest to solve the mystery. Some of them would not live to see its end. Chatterton and Kohler, at first bitter rivals, would be drawn into a friendship that deepened to an almost mystical sense of brotherhood with each other and with the drowned U-boat sailors–former enemies of their country. As the men’s marriages frayed under the pressure of a shared obsession, their dives grew more daring, and each realized that he was hunting more than the identities of a lost U-boat and its nameless crew.
Author Robert Kurson’s account of this quest is at once thrilling and emotionally complex, and it is written with a vivid sense of what divers actually experience when they meet the dangers of the ocean’s underworld. The story of
Shadow Divers often seems too amazing to be true, but it all happened, two hundred thirty feet down, in the deep blue sea.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
CHAPTER ONE
THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
Brielle, New Jersey, September 1991
Bill Nagle's life changed the day a fisherman sat beside him in a ramshackle bar and told him about a mystery he had found lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Against his better judgment, that fisherman promised to tell Nagle how to find it. The men agreed to meet the next day on the rickety wooden pier that led to Nagle's boat, the Seeker, a vessel Nagle had built to chase possibility. But when the appointed time came, the fisherman was not there. Nagle paced back and forth, careful not to plunge through the pier where its wooden planks had rotted away. He had lived much of his life on the Atlantic, and he knew when worlds were about to shift. Usually, that happened before a storm or when a man's boat broke. Today, however, he knew it was going to happen when the fisherman handed him a scrap of paper, a hand-scrawled set of numbers that would lead to the sunken mystery. Nagle looked into the distance for the fisherman. He saw no one. The salt air blew against the small seashore town of Brielle, tilting the dockside boats and spraying the Atlantic into Nagle's eyes. When the mist died down he looked again. This time, he saw the fisherman approaching, a small square of paper crumpled in his hands. The fisherman looked worried. Like Nagle, he had lived on the ocean, and he also knew when a man's life was about to change.
In the whispers of approaching autumn, Brielle's rouge is blown away and what remains is the real Brielle, the locals' Brielle. This small seashore town on the central New Jersey coast is the place where the boat captains and fishermen live, where convenience store owners stay open to serve neighbors, where fifth graders can repair scallop dredges. This is where the hangers-on and wannabes and also-rans and once-greats keep believing in the sea. In Brielle, when the customers leave, the town's lines show, and they are the kind grooved by the thin dif
Customer Reviews:
You Feel Like You Are There.......2007-10-05
Others have gone into detail about this book, and it is true. This book combines a mystery worthy of a Sherlock Holmes novel with the details of technical diving and written in such a gripping manner that it could be a work of pop fiction (not in a negative way, just that it flows so well and put together so well that it could have been made up, if that makes sense.)
And the author does a great job of not leaving you "hanging" with an abrupt ending.
Highly recommended and has set the bar for other books in this genre.
J ohn Sutphen MD, ex navy diver /submarine medical officer .......2007-09-21
Tantallizing and heart pounding tale based on incredibly researched information about u boats and diving with an accurate, simple description of practical diving, diving medicine and physiology.
Compulsion to know the answer........2007-09-13
A fascinating saga about 2 deep sea divers and their 6 year odyssey to uncover the identity of a sunken German U boat. A captivating story, and you'll learn a lot about deep sea diving.
Deep Thrills.......2007-09-05
An absorbing account of the discovery and identification by veteran divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler of a sunken Nazi U-boat 100 miles off the coast of New Jersey. Kurson skillfully weaves together several threads into a very readable narrative, including the evolution of Chatterton and Kohler's rivalry-turned-friendship, the technical hazards of exploring a mangled wreck in 230 feet of water, and the duo's maddening, seven-year long ordeal to obtain positive evidence -- both on the wreck and in official but flawed US and German naval records -- of the boat's identity. As the tale draws to a close, Kurson also draws a moving portrait of the U-boat's crew, who went to sea in the final days of the war and knew that they likely would not return alive.
I started diving when the final pieces of this mystery were falling into place, and can remember following the story of New Jersey's mystery U-boat in the papers. However, none of those articles was anywhere as involving as Kurson's account, which I devoured in four days. Sure, there's some overheated prose here and there ("in a shipwreck, where every danger is first cousin to every other, a diver's desparation makes an open house of his bad situation."), but that's a minor strike against this otherwise excellent and comprehensive work.
Rare Intimate Journey To The Shadows.......2007-08-28
Sometimes the flaws make a thing so much more than perfection could ever achieve. The imperfections in this literary account of the exploration of a WWII submarine discovered in 1991 off the Coast of New Jersey are well documented. Those imperfections didn't bother me.
I was facinated by the detailed account of the personalities of the divers in "Shadow." Its easy to identify a future SCUBA diver - someone who is comfortable putting their face under water. Even better, because it will sometimes trump the 'face' test, is whether a person's curiosity is so intense that they are able to project their consciousness entirely onto something outside of themselves to the virtual exclusion of other thoughts. Divers want to investigate, explore, see something extraordinary, find out whats under that rock, go someplace very few people have been, find something unique, etc. The experience is so strong, you may forget to be worried about all the risks.
My enjoyment of "Shadow" was absolutely enhanced by my experience as a diver who is both Nitrox and advanced open water certified. I have never gone deeper than 110 ft - The U-boat 85, off of Nags Head, North Carolina, which is 20ft shallower than the recreational diving limit of 130 ft. So far, I've never wanted to see anything deeper, but I suspect I'll pass. Surface light begins to diminish rapidly. It usually gets alot colder.
At the depths routinely visitied by the divers in this book, 230 ft., nitrogen narcosis is an inevitability, and helium mixes carry their own risks. Water pressure increases to seven times what it is at the surface. Just when you need all your mental faculties and judgement, you can be assured they will be impared to an extent that cannot be anticipated from dive to dive. Even more frightening is that getting to the surface to resolve any problems that may arise (my mask came off once at 80 ft), must now include a life-saving decompression stop. When you head for the surface with less than 30 minutes of air for your stop, you're in trouble.
Diving can put you face to face with three realities that I don't sense as readily on land: 1.) the incredible spiritual beauty of the natural world, 2.) how alone we really are (I've never felt more alone than those very few times I've dived without a buddy), 3.) Death is always hiding within convenient reach.
The insatiable curiosity of the two lead characters, Chatterton and Kohler, also drives them above the water, as they travel to Europe to learn as much as they can about the submarine and its crew. There was no 'gold' involved, just an incredible mystery to solve.
"Shadow" was one of those books I read in one sitting (I missed dinner). I would compare it to Krakauer's works in power and drama, if not as well written. But again, in a way the rough nature of the text enhanced the story, as if I was sitting across the table from the author.
NOTE TO FELLOW DIVERS: After reading this book I have found my goal for my diving trips next summer - get my "Rescue Diver" certification.
NOTE TO THOSE PEOPLE trying to get young men (ages 9-15) into reading - I know of two young men who hated to read until they picked up this book. Not that they love reading now, but the 'no trespassing' sign is now down in front of the library.
Book Description
A renowned German novelist's memoir of his brother, who joined the SS and was killed at the Russian front.
Uwe Timm was only two years old when in 1942 his older brother, Karl Heinz, announced to his family he had volunteered for service with an elite squadron of the German army, the SS Totenkopf Division, also known as Death's Heads. Little more than a year later Karl Heinz was injured in battle at the Russian front, his legs amputated, and a few weeks after that he died in a military hospital. To their father, Karl Heinz's death only served to immortalize him as the courageous one, the obedient one, the one who upheld the family honor. His childhood was marked by the mythology of his brother's lost life; his absence-the hole he left in the family-just as palpable as if he were still alive. His mother's sadness and his father's rage over the loss of Karl Heinz ultimately defined Uwe's relationship with his parents. But while they eulogized the boy, Uwe wondered: who really had his brother been?
The life and death of his older brother has haunted Uwe Timm for more than sixty years. His parents' silence was one of the most painful aspects of his family history. Not even after the war ended, and details of unspeakable horrors emerged, did his parents ever acknowledge Germany's guilt and Karl Heinz's role in it. They simply said: We didn't know. After the deaths of his parents and older sister Timm set out in search of answers. Using military reports, letters, family photos and cryptic entries from a diary his brother kept during the war, he began to piece together the picture, discovering his brother's story is not just that of one man, but the tragedy of an entire generation. In the Shadow of My Brother is a meditation on German history and guilt, one that is both nuanced and measured.
Customer Reviews:
Don't let the title fool you.......2006-08-13
This book is by far not about, as the title suggests life in his brothers shadow,as much as it is about life in his fathers shadow, or the shadow of a defeated Germany!
Herr Timm seems to be searching for his personal share of Germanys collective guilt. The writings of his brother might at most contribute 1 full page to this book! Herr Timm seems to be full of self-pity calling himself over and over again "the afterthought" where I would think his father instead planned him to be his brothers replacement. My father grew up in this same Germany and I have good insight into his thinking. I would suggest because of Herr Timms fathers position he knew a war would happen, and most likely consume his oldest son, that is what brought Uwe into being, not some accident or afterthought.Also his insistance that the 3rd. SS was an elite unit that the camp guards were drawn from is also a factual error. The 3rd SS began as the "Totenkopfverbande" they were the camp guards before the war! After the Polish and French campaigns they were re-organised into the Totenkopf division. The original members and leaders of the organisation Todt were all involved in the German camp system, not as Herr Timm suggests "elite soldiers from which guards were drawn" but rather camp guards that were formed into a front-line fighting unit!Herr Timm also wants to take small obscure entries in his brothers diaries and contort them into some evil or sinister act! A louse hunt is a louse hunt plain and simple, fodder for my MG is just an expression of the daily exposure to the horrors of front-line service. Herr Timm is searching so hard, it seems also hoping to find some act of brutality or inhumanity that he might link to his brother as to justify the feeling he has inside of himself! This book is a waste of time if you are seeking 1st hand accounts of the war, but if you want to read of the guilt placed on the German people and the effects of defeat on a family and country, it might be of some helpful insight.
history, memory, guilt.......2006-01-09
This is less an account of Uwe Timm's brother's life and death in the SS -- though it is that -- than it is a reflection on memory and history, specifically on what they mean in postwar Germany. Timm's brother's diary, kept against regulations ("it ought not to exist," Timm writes), is brief and ambiguous. And in those ambiguities lie the greatest turmoil and conflict, with no real answers. What did the brother mean when he referred to a "big louse hunt"? Clearly, he was involved in criminal activities ("plenty of loot!"), and clearly, he was coarsened by the war ("fodder for my MG"). But was he involved in atrocities? Did he murder civilians? Those are the questions that Timm can't answer with any certainty. They point to the doubt and guilt of an entire people, a people who still struggle to come to terms with the war. Sixty years: still no answers, still no resolution.
great book.......2005-10-27
I was born and raised in Germany. Even though my parents were born after the war and both my grandfathers were dead by the time I started asking questions I can still relate very well to the unease when it comes to talking about WWII.
Where I grew up we had a neighbour whom I only knew as a mild mannered older guy, who loved us kids, would give us sweets and let us play in the big old trees in his garden. At one point I discovered that he was a member of the SS in WWII and had fought somewhere in Russia. He had no family. When he was in his eighties, he started opening up to a few people in the neighbourhood, among them my family. He would talk about the war, his comrades and generally the hard life they lived. He would always start crying. He would never mention fighting, killing civilians and all the other things he most likely saw and did. We all knew about those things, but we also felt sorry for the old guy and nobody pressed questions. He was a neighbour, not close family after all.
Timm's book perfectly captures the conflict of the - very normal - desire to love and admire a brother (father, uncle, grandfather, neighbour) while at the same time knowing that that person must have consciously participated in something unspeakably atrocious.
Obviously there is no easy solution and that conflict is one that generations of Germans had to deal with after the war. It is impossible to excuse what happened, but it is equally impossible to condemn all these people around you who all might have participated to various degrees, and be it just by keeping silent.
Book Description
Married to Benito Mussolini's favorite daughter Edda, Galeazzo Ciano was a brilliant, ambitious and ruthless young Italian. Throughout his period in office Ciano kept a diary so detailed and revealing that both Mussolini and Hitler sought to impound and destroy it. The diary was smuggled out of Italy by Edda, who sought unsuccessfully to trade it for Ciano's life. The diary was later acquired by the American spy, Allen W. Dulles (later head of the CIA) and published in full in the Chicago Daily News. It remains one of the classic insider accounts of the workings of the Fascist and Nazi governments. Ciano's glamorous, violent, and promiscuous life was acted out at the highest levels of European politics and society. There has never been a biography of him in English: this is one gripping read.
Customer Reviews:
Great book on a sorry personality.......2007-05-29
I had some respect for Ciano before I read this, thinking he was the conscience of the Italian people. In getting to know Ciano by reading this book I realized that he was a mirrow image of IL Duce, including the womanizing part. His wife, Duce's daughter, was just as vain and an equally sorry figure. The author does a splendid job of researching old documents, talking to some of the older survivors and friends for first hand info.
WOW. this is one of the most fascinating stories of World War 2.......2007-02-06
This is truly one of the most disturbing stories in World War 2. Ciano would become the epitome of everything hated in Italy. He would claim responsibility for the invasion of Albania and Greece and blamed for some of the worst defeats in Italy's history. Much of this is undeserved as Mussolini was calling many of the shots and the fall out between the two became apparent. Had Ciano been stronger and not captured under the personality cult of Mussolini the break would have been bigger and he would have opposed the war shattering the Duce ideas of a strong Italian army. The diaries that Ciano wrote would be key aspects of Nuremberg and both the allies and axis sought to acquire them. The story of the acquisition is heart wrenching and Edda Ciano's bravery is truly remarkable. What she went through from the execution of her husband to the estrangement of her father Mussolini was simply amazing. This is a must read for those who want to understand how World War 2 unfolded and the war that Italy played. It is a well written biography and truly a great addition to the historiography.
Good background for Ciano's diary.......2003-12-06
Moseley has written a readable and well researched book on the life of the enigmatic Count Ciano. It is certainly the first comprehensive study of Ciano to appear in English. Ciano is worthy of the attention of anyone interested in Twentieth Century Europe, diplomacy, or World War II. Moseley does a good job of revealing Ciano's evolution from a blind follower of Mussolini to active and effective foil. There can be little doubt that in anything less than an unrestricted dictatorship, Ciano's efforts to keep Italy out of WWII would have succeeded. In the end Ciano's undisguished contempt of the Nazi Heirarchy cost him his life. I recommend this book as a precursor to reading Ciano's diary.
Couldn't put it down.......2003-11-24
This is a superb read and Mr Mosely coveres an intensely complex period with majesty and skill. Here and there it is a bit difficult who the subject is of a sentence, as the relative pronoun sometimes doesn't come after the immediately preceding subject of a sentence, but that happens rarely. Mr Moseley's reads like a thriller, but at the same time is a thoroughly researched, critical reading of a tragic, through fascinating period of history. I cannot recommend this book more highly for anyone interested obviously in history, but also for those interested in human behviour and our ability to deceive and contradict ourselves. Do read!
Very good, could have been better.......2000-08-04
This is a good book and Mr. Moseley is to be congratulated on a decent job. He has done his research and provided a vivid account of Ciano and the people around him. I do not give this book five stars, however, because it needs editing. It seems in some places Mr. Moseley loses his strong narrative as he relates diary entry after diary entry - seemingly with little connection. Also, the book could have used a glossary containing the names of the principal players in the Italian fascist government. These faults lie not with Mr. Moseley as much as with his editor/publisher. Nevertheless, I rcommend this book as one that provides a fascinating slice of WWII history.
Customer Reviews:
A delightfully nutty perspective.......1998-11-20
I am reading this book, so I thought I'd check to see what others have said about it. As I expected, the reviews online come from cheerleaders of the revisionist camp. Personally, I find the book to be useful information from the leftist perspective. I keep thinking: yes, yes, all that is true enough, but from the information available to Truman in July 1945, did he have any alternative but to authorize the use of the bomb?
I'll post further thoughts on my website.
-- Dan Ford
Hiroshima's Shadows presents voices from all sides.......1998-08-24
Here is an extract from my review of 'Hiroshima's Shadows', that appeared in 'New Politics', no. 25 (Summer 1998):
'Hiroshima's Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History and the Smithsonian Controversy' is an enormous, and aesthetically handsome work, bringing together nearly 50 essays between between 1945 and 1997 by scholars, military, political and religious leaders, independent intellectuals, and survivors of the atomic bombings. The book is unusual in that, though it has a strong editorial point of view, the editors unflinchingly present voices from all sides of the argument.
The contribors include Albert Camus, Dwight Macdonald, Lewis Mumford, Mary McCarthy, A.J. Muste, among others. Defenders of the bomb include Charles Krauthammer who says that we should "let the Japanese commemorate the catastrophe they brought on themselves" (rather than mourn the use of the bomb), and Paul Fussel, an English professor and ex-front line combatant, who raises the slogan, "thank god for the atomic bomb." An even wider range of ideological positions is represented on the side of the critics: Lifschultz and Bird have recovered an anti-bomb editorial from the paleo-right-wing 'Human Events' and placed it alongside the observations of Mahatma Gandhi and Norman Thomas. As the editors put it, "the usual distinctions of left and right on economic and social issues were not reliable guides which could accurately predict what people thought about Hiroshima."
A substantial section of the book contains memoirs of a few survivors. These memoirs underscore the enduring reality that it was civilians, not military objectives, who were then, and remain, the prime target of nuclear weapons.
Hiroshima's Shadows presents voices from all sides.......1998-08-24
Here is an extract from my review of 'Hiroshima's Shadows', that appeared in 'New Politics', no. 25 (Summer 1998):
'Hiroshima's Shadow: Writings on the Denial of History and the Smithsonian Controversy' is an enormous, and aesthetically handsome work, bringing together nearly 50 essays between between 1945 and 1997 by scholars, military, political and religious leaders, independent intellectuals, and survivors of the atomic bombings. The book is unusual in that, though it has a strong editorial point of view, the editors unflinchingly present voices from all sides of the argument.
The contribors include Albert Camus, Dwight Macdonald, Lewis Mumford, Mary McCarthy, A.J. Muste, among others. Defenders of the bomb include Charles Krauthammer who says that we should "let the Japanese commemorate the catastrophe they brought on themselves" (rather than mourn the use of the bomb), and Paul Fussel, an English professor and ex-front line combatant, who raises the slogan, "thank god for the atomic bomb." An even wider range of ideological positions is represented on the side of the critics: Lifschultz and Bird have recovered an anti-bomb editorial from the paleo-right-wing 'Human Events' and placed it alongside the observations of Mahatma Gandhi and Norman Thomas. As the editors put it, "the usual distinctions of left and right on economic and social issues were not reliable guides which could accurately predt what people thought about Hiroshima."
A substantial section of the book contains memoirs of a few survivors. These memoirs underscore the enduring reality that it was civilians, not military objectives, who were then, and remain, the prime target of nuclear weapons.
The most comprehensive and balanced account to date........1998-07-31
Hiroshima's Shadow is perhaps the most comprehensive and balanced collection of essays to date on the decision to use atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
While some insist on a single interpretation of these events and label any reinterpretation as unpatriotic or unAmerican, the New York Times put it best: "The real betrayal of American tradition would be to insist on a single version of history or to make it the property of the state or any group. History in America is based on freedom of inquiry and discussion, which is one reason why Americans have given their lives to defend it."
Book Description
The U-869 was one of more than 1,200 U-boats that were constructed for the Nazi war machine. It was sunk off the American eastern seaboard by a combination hedgehog and depth-charge attack. There were no survivors to tell the tragic tale. Now, for the first time, the real saga of the U-869 can be told in full. Archival documents have established that the U-boat was sunk by two American destroyer escorts. Seven crewmembers of those aggressive warships have supplemented the official record with their personal recollections. Shadow Divers Exposed works on a multitude of levels. It presents the actual circumstances that surrounded the loss of the U-869. It puts the discovery of the U-869 into perspective with other U-boats that have been found in American waters. It provides an overview of the U-boat war through accounts of other U-boat losses. And it corrects some of the gross errors, wild exaggerations, and deliberate distortions that filled the pages of Shadow Divers. The author interviewed a number of witnesses whose testimony contradicted the theatrical plot and boastful embellishments that formed the essential ingredients of Shadow Divers. Some of these witnesses actually performed the deeds for which the chosen protagonists of Shadow Divers were given credit. These witnesses disputed many of the fictitious elements that ran rampant through the pages of Shadow Divers. By means of forensic analyses of shipwreck collapse, torpedo mechanics, and U-boat survivors' accounts, the present volume explains why the U-869 could not have been sunk by a circular run of its own torpedo - as Shadow Divers had its uninformed readers believe.
Customer Reviews:
Worth a read, for the detail - and the "devil is in the detail".......2007-09-03
I've read all three of the books about the U-869 and the efforts to identify the wreck. They are The Last Dive, Shadow Divers, and this book, Shadow Divers Exposed. As a first comment, the divers in these books were diving in the early 1990s and some of their techniques seem dated looking back from 2007. Diving to 70 meters in cold water on air would not be the method of choice today. In fact, it could be argued that diving to that depth on air was a contributing factor in the deaths of Chris Rouse and Chris Rouse, Jr on the wreck.
Gary seems intent on "setting the record straight" and righting a lot of old wrongs. In addition to being a bit on the edge technically, the divers in the Northeast US seem to be passionate about not just their diving, but also about who said and did what to whom. In places this book, Shadow Divers Exposed, seems to degenerate into an argument that would be more at home in a primary schoolyard. That having been said, There are a number of interesting points raised.
A clear difference between diving in the Northeast US and diving here in Melbourne is the differences in diving style. The US divers typically anchor their boats to the wrecks using a grappling hook that is lashed to a point of contact on the wreck. Free-floating decompression is not a method that is in common use there. Everyone ascends along the anchor line. (This certainly explains why Jon-lines are part of their kit.) Another difference is the emphasis on "souvenirs" or artifacts. The people I'm used to diving with generally have a "leave only bubbles - take only photos" approach to wrecks. These guys seem to have a "if it isn't nailed down - take it" approach. Actually, it's more of "if it can be detached in any way at all - take it" approach. Some of the descriptions of the use of hacksaws and cutting torches at depth make the marine archaeologist in me cringe, to say the least.
In a large project that extends over several years, it is important to make sure that the contributors get proper recognition. When attempting to identify a wreck, the people behind the scenes doing research in archives and libraries contribute as much to the effort as the people out diving the wreck. Yes, the diving is the exciting part, at least for those of us who are divers. But the research is essential to the overall effort and seldom receives the credit that it deserves.
The really interesting points raised by this book are the theory for the cause of the sinking of the U-869 and some of the diving methods used. Gary points out that there were two points of hull damage, one near the conning tower and one hear the stern, in the vicinity of the after torpedo room. The authors of Shadow Divers claim that the U-869 was sunk by one of her own torpedoes. Unless there were two torpedoes that simultaneously malfunctioned, an unlikely scenario, there must be an alternate explanation. Gary has tracked down destroyer crew who were in the right place at the right time and paints a much more reasonable explanation involving a depth charge attack.
The diving method in question was the method used to enter the electric motor room. This area was relatively easily accessible from the hole at the stern of the vessel. Instead, John Chatterton chose to use a risky maneuver involving pushing a single cylinder through a narrow opening crowded with cables and other hazards. There is a real question in my mind why this should have been the method of choice in the situation. There is limited margin for error at 70 meters. Maybe I'm lacking in "intestinal fortitude" but as far as I'm concerned, the most conservative method is the best method.
I'd have been happier if Gary had not spent the multiple paragraphs criticizing the language used by Robert Kurson in Shadow Divers. While I am not an English professor, I would have to say that Gary's choice of words and sentence structure also left a bit to be desired, in places. So I believe we could have done without the "pot calling the kettle black" criticisms.
All criticism of the book aside, it does add yet another dimension to the story of an interesting wreck and an interesting era in diving in the US. All three of the books are worth reading for the comparisons that they invite. And, as in any case where we can read about dives that have gone wrong, it is worth reading about the fatalities and near misses to try to learn to avoid similar situations.
THAT will teach me to buy on impulse!.......2007-06-11
I thoroughly enjoyed Shadow Divers. When I saw this book on the shelf in a dive shop, I immediatley grabbed it. I should have read the reviews first. Even if Shadow Divers is as inaccurate as the author says, it was a GREAT read. This book is not. It strikes me more as 360 pages of rambling, backtracking, and name calling by a bitter man. I have no reason to question the authenticity of the facts he presents, but after pages of his verbal assaults on and disparging references to various people, I really didn't care WHAT the facts were. I skipped the last 2/3rds of the expose but did read about the U-boat sinkings in the appendices. As a naturalized American of German descent, I find his references to German sailors, and Germany in general; insulting, ill-educated, and generally false. Most professional German military had no use for Hitler or the Nazis. If you MUST open this book, find it at a library. Don't waste your money. I gave it one star because there was nothing lower.
Not worth the money!.......2007-02-17
I guess basically, someone is lying! This book was written to correct the events that happened in the book Shadow Divers, by Robert Kurson. After reading both, and making the disclaimer that I have no loyalty or affiliation to either author, I will make the statement that I believe the original to be true with the caveat; things get lost in translation.
After reading much of this book, I realized quickly that the author may have a personal issue with the two main divers in Shadow Divers, Richie Kohler, and John Chatterton, because he apparently has an agenda to disprove each and every move they make claiming that certain people who were present for much of the story (as well as him) had a different outlook on each and every situation.
First and foremost, he constantly re-states his opinion of what actually happened to the U-boat , versus what Shadow Divers claimed happened to the U-boat. Since none of the parties involved were present for the actual sinking, I don't doubt either theory could be true, why dwell on something that can't obviously be determined? I am not one to discredit Gary Gentile's wreck diving and historical credentials, but his opinion on how the U-boat sank is just as good as the opinion offered in Shadow Divers. I also don't recall Shadow Divers saying that the U-869 definitely beyond a shadow of a doubt was sunk by a circle running torpedo. That is their `theory', I wasn't the entire basis for the story, and it wasn't dwelled upon.
One chapter devotes time and effort to several incidents unrelated to the U-869 case that apparently are only there to provide behavioral patterns or show cause for discrediting the divers in question. My mother always told me that if I didn't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say it at all...my advice to the author is the same. Dragging out skeletons from someone's closet is petty.
The book probably would have been more enjoyable if were another diver's take on the story, as opposed to a "he said-she said" expose`. I think most of the differences of opinion and events are just that, differences in who was looking at the story at the moment. There doesn't seem to be a "smoking gun" item proving that something was so wrong with the original story. It almost seemed like the author stayed to the side while everything happened, and commented to everyone except those that were attempting to find the answers, then came in at the end, and tried to cash in on someone else's good fortune.
In summation, there is really no new information worth mentioning from the original book, possibly a minor correction of an event, or a difference of opinion on a certain item from another standpoint, but nothing compelling enough to garner a new novel. The author should stick to writing historical accounts, and leave the exposes` to The Enquirer. I would have enjoyed this more if it were just a pure account of the events through different eyes.
Support from a Friend.......2007-02-06
Dear Reader,
Here is the review I posted on Amazon's Shadow Divers site when Kurson's book was first published. Believe me, folks, Gary isn't the only one who's upset about Kurson's many distortions of fact.
Sincerely,
Robert Louis Stevenson III
I was one of the divers who searched for Steve Feldman on the recovery mission Steve Bielenda organized in 1991. In Robert Kurson's Shadow Divers you will see this recovery mission portrayed as a thinly veiled attempt to "claim jump" the U-869. This assertion is only one of Kurson's many errors of fact.
In the several hours it took to reach the U-869 aboard the Eagle's Nest that astringently cool morning, nobody talked about going inside the wreck to recover china. What we talked about, mainly, were the conditions we might encounter on the wreck and the various ways of pulling off an effective search. A month had passed since Feldman's death, and the currents over the wreck were reportedly strong. We all knew that our chances of recovering Feldman were slim. Yet, the night before, I had received a call from a friend, a former Special Forces Combat Swimmer who now specializes in search and recovery. "A drowning victim's lungs will often fill with water and weigh the body down," he had told me. "If that happened to Feldman, he'll still be near the U-boat, despite the current."
Aboard the Eagle's Nest, Bielenda assigned each dive team a quadrant to search. These quadrants lay outside the wreck. Hank Garvin and I made the first dive and set the hook, lifting it off the sand at 230 feet and shackling it to the pressure hull forward of the hole where the conning tower had stood. In the grey light we swam thirty feet beyond the starboard hull and began our partial circumnavigation of the wreck. We moved forward, not examining the U-Boat, as we were tempted to do, but keeping our vision focused on the outlying sand. We rounded the bow and searched a short section along the port hull. Then, low on air and having found no trace of Feldman, we headed up the anchor line. Back on board the Eagle's Nest, we were debriefed to insure that the next dive team covered new territory. This debriefing was captured on videotape. In successive debriefings not a single diver said anything about venturing inside the U-869. What they said was that all ambient light around the wreck had disappeared, making a dangerous search even more difficult in dark water.
After the dive, I wanted nothing more to do with the U-869, well aware, as we all were, of the frightful desecration taking place inside another German submarine, the U-853. No bone left unturned there. I felt at the time, as I feel today, that the Seeker's claim to the U-869 was morally indefensible. As with the Titanic, Lusitania, Empress of Ireland, U-853, and other shipwrecks where loss of life has been vast and catastrophic and where the wrecks themselves serve as tombs that should not be disturbed for any reason, the U-869 belongs only to the dead.
The motivation behind this recovery mission was to provide solace to Feldman's family, who dearly wanted his body back. What kind of person would quarrel with that? That this humane effort aroused such ire among the Seeker's crew proves only how easy it is, for even brave and honorable men, to succumb to the twin seductions of glory and loot--a complex truth Kurson misses.
Shadow Divers Exposed: the Real Saga of the U-869.......2007-01-12
My opinion is this is a well thought out, no nonsense approach to the subject. It was written by a diver for divers. Don't get me wrong the book Shadow Divers was a good book but it was lacking in a lot areas. To me Shadow Divers was a lot of ego stroking. With very little hard straight to the point diving. Shadow Divers Exposed is just that and more. If you really want to know about the U-869 this is the book. As Gary Gentile points out in the book. The Shadows Diver writer only other literture contributions have been about the Three Stooges. So who you going to believe an ego stroking, Three stooges worshipping writing or an author who was there and as been on the cutting edge of Technical diving from the begining
Average customer rating:
- Unconventional Women
- Examines the lives of Victorian women
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Across an Untried Sea: Discovering Lives Hidden in the Shadow of Convention and Time
Julia Markus
Manufacturer: Knopf
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0679445994
Release Date: 2000-10-17 |
Book Description
From the much acclaimed author of Dared and Done: The Marriage of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, a new book that retrieves the lives of Victorian women--writers, actresses, poets, journalists, sculptors, and social reformers--celebrated in their day but forgotten in ours.
Julia Markus focuses in particular on the American Charlotte Cushman, the most famous English-speaking actress of her day, and on the Scottish Jane Welsh Carlyle, a brilliant London hostess who gave up private ambition to become the wife of her friend Thomas Carlyle.
Charlotte Cushman became an international star on the New York and London stage, and her Romeo and Hamlet were sensations. An independent woman with shrewd business sense who made her own fortune and supported her entire family, she dressed like a man from the waist up and had a succession of female lovers, each one of whom she planned to live with for life, each of whom she 'married.'
Jane Welsh Carlyle, literary hostess, unparalleled letter writer and chronicler of her times--who, after a passionate youthful love affair, resolved to marry genius or not at all--became the wife of the revered and lionized philosopher Thomas Carlyle, a difficult, demanding man with whom she had a sexless marriage.
Interweaving the worlds of Charlotte Cushman and Jane Carlyle--the worlds of expatriate Rome, literary London, New York, and St. Louis--Markus gathers together a number of interrelated and renowned women who were relegated in the public eye to the position of Virgin Queen (no matter how much married) or Old Maid, but who were, in fact, privately leading vibrant, independent, sexual lives. Among them: Matilda Hays, translator of George Sand; Harriet Hosmer, who resolved to become the world's first professional woman sculptor; and Emma Stebbins, whom Cushman 'married' and who created the Bethesda Fountain in New York's Central Park. Here, too, are the people who sought the friendship of Cushman and Carlyle, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Horace Mann, Elizabeth Peabody, President Lincoln's Secretary of State William H. Seward, Geraldine Jewsbury, and Rosa Bonheur.
Making use of letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and journals of the day, many of them overlooked and unpublished, Julia Markus rediscovers lives forgotten in the shadows of convention and shows how these remarkable women--seemingly separated by nationality, class, and sexual inclination--met, formed alliances, and influenced one another, forging changes in themselves and in their time.
Customer Reviews:
Unconventional Women.......2004-06-07
`Across an Untried Sea' is an interesting, if scattered narrative of several women - both European and American -- who are revealed to have defied 19th C conventions both sexually and artistically. The main focus is on American actress Charlotte Cushman, a woman who found success in both female character roles and in playing male roles such as Romeo. A lesbian in an age where the Cult of Domesticity reigned (and dictated that all women should marry and bear children), Cushman pledges `eternal friendship' to several women in succession, although always returning to `spouse' Emma Stebbins (a sculptress best known for the Bethedsa Fountain in Central Park, New York). Included in Cushman's `possessions' were Hattie Hosmer, another female sculptress; Jane Carlyle, troubled wife of historian Thomas; Emma Crow, infatuated with Cushman and marries her nephew Ned; and the Brownings, whose love story fascinates Cushman and her circle. Markus' narrative becomes more cohesive as the book expands, but in the beginning, it's unclear what her message in these women's experiences is; at times, Markus seems to dismiss Cushman's `infidelities' to Stebbins as nothing, which begs the question: what if Cushman was a man? Would Markus have treated the clandestine relationship with Emma Crow any differently (and the `serial monogamy' of both Cushman and Crow before and after their individual affair)? I cannot imagine a man with the same habits being literarily forgiven as Markus does Cushman. In addition, Markus' prose seems almost from the era in which her narrative is set, making her words seem quaint - they lose their impact. The inclusion of Jane Carlyle and her troubled life could have been a book on its own; Markus implies much about the potential feelings between Jane and Cushman, as well as between Jane and good friend Geraldine Jewsbury (one photo describes their physical positions as akin to a wedding photo - is this a stretch?). Regardless of the sometimes scattered storylines, this remains a very interesting examination of women who did indeed cross an `untried sea' (the title is explained only at the end of the book), and as performers, writers, biographers, and artists, expanded the choices of women in their own time and for the future.
Examines the lives of Victorian women.......2001-03-12
This new title examines the lives of Victorian women, from writers and poets to sculptors and social reformers - all of whom were celebrated in their day, but forgotten in modern times. From Charlotte Cushman to literary Jane Welsh Carlyle, Across an Untried Sea provides a fine survey of women.
Book Description
The definitive history of a controversial city whose culture has influence the world over T his is the first general history of the city of Naples written in English. The city, which inspires love and hate alike, has long attracted visitors and foreign rulers, enticed not only by its commercial possibilities but also by the stunning beauty of its natural setting and its many cultural delights. From the ruins of Pompeii to glittering performances at the San Carlo opera house, Naples has much to offer visitors, but it also has high crime and a controversial history. From the time of the Grand Tour, the city has attracted travelers, from Goethe to Mark Twain, all eager to experience its legendary and seductive charms. Jordan Lancaster's sparkling guide will serve as an ideal companion for visitors and as a valuable cultural resource for all those who seek to expand their knowledge of the city or proudly trace their roots to Naples.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant.......2007-06-26
This is not a travel guide or a book for light reading; it is a wonderfully in-depth historical view of Naples, Italy, from its inception as a Greek colony to modern times. There is no other book like it. The author has done a masterful job of bringing insight and understanding to a potentially dense topic, mixing humor and wit with explanations of each of the many dynasties and powers that controlled Naples and made it a royal center comparable to Paris and London. If one is interested in knowing more about the history of Southern Italy, this book makes an excellent companion to a book by Tommaso Astarita: Between Salt Water And Holy Water: A History Of Southern Italy
A fascinating and enjoyable book.......2006-05-16
This is a beautifully written biography of Naples. I found myself drawn into this book and could hardly put it down. Not only is it an enjoyable read, this book is well-suited for a wide audience -- from armchair travelers to academics. Despite its rich and fascinating story, Naples has long been overlooked as a subject in the English-speaking world. Having read numerous histories of Florence, Rome and Venice, I was excited to finally find a history of Naples. Kudos to Dr. Lancaster for so wonderfully bringing the story of Naples to life!
Turgid Writing.......2006-04-28
While the subject is fascinating, the writing puts me to sleep. Phrases like "self taught enthusiast" make me want to stop reading, and the prose just doesn't flow. Finishing this book, if I do, will be a chore. I'd rather have my twenty bucks back; save yours. If I get to like this book better as I read, I'll revise my review.
A wonderful little book..........2005-09-13
Dr. Lancaster has written a wonderful overview of the complex history of Naples. This book is particularly useful for anyone traveling to that incredible city as I did for the first time last year. It is neither a heavy historical work nor a too-light travel guide. Instead the book gives the reader both a historical background and an understanding of how Naples got to be the way it is today. Dr. Lancaster takes the reader from the days of the ancient Romans to the present time and keeps her narrative consistently interesting with quotes, asides and witty observations. She makes history vibrant and makes clear to the reader that the spell of Naples has fallen upon her as well. Again, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Italy's history. Reading it, one begins to understand both the splenor of Naples and its many problems and sorrows. I particularly recommend the book to anyone planning a trip there -- your experience will be greatly enriched by reading In the Shadow of Vesuvius.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......1999-05-11
Andrea Liss is a professor of mine and I have to say that this book is excellent!!!! She has an amazing way of making the reader really think about this subject in a whole new way. It is VERY moving to go through the pages, reading true stories. I HIGHLY recommend this title to anyone interested in the Holocaust.
Book Description
On June 11, 1485, in the pilgrimage town of Guadalupe, the Holy Office of the Inquisition executed Alonso de Paredes--a converted Jew who posed an economic and political threat to the town's powerful friars--as a heretic. Wedding engrossing narratives of Paredes and other figures with astute historical analysis, this finely wrought study reconsiders the relationship between religious identity and political authority in late-Medieval and early-modern Spain.
Gretchen Starr-LeBeau concentrates on the Inquisition's handling of conversos (converted Jews and their descendants) in Guadalupe, taking religious identity to be a complex phenomenon that was constantly re-imagined and reconstructed in light of changing personal circumstances and larger events. She demonstrates that the Inquisition reified the ambiguous religious identities of conversos by defining them as devout or (more often) heretical. And she argues that political figures used this definitional power of the Inquisition to control local populations and to increase their own authority.
In the Shadow of the Virgin is unique in pointing out that the power of the Inquisition came from the collective participation of witnesses, accusers, and even sometimes its victims. For the first time, it draws the connection between the malleability of religious identity and the increase in early modern political authority. It shows that, from the earliest days of the modern Spanish Inquisition, the Inquisition reflected the political struggles and collective religious and cultural anxieties of those who were drawn into participating in it.
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