Scan barcode
jrmarr's review
5.0
This book is beautifully and compellingly written. I'm almost not ready to distil my thoughts into a review. A chilling account of the pre-war and war years in Germany, it was almost relentless in its telling of both the atrocities and the insidious little changes made every day. An important book to read in our times.
marikombaba's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
indigoblue777's review against another edition
5.0
This book actually made me enjoy real history and politics. There is no higher praise I can give.
purplepierogi's review against another edition
4.0
the writing of this book is distinctive -- though I didn't know for about a third of the book if I loved it or found it grating. it speaks in present tense about the past, often dropping in details in short sentences or truncated micro-paragraphs for some sort of dramatic or literary effect. Along with biography on Mildred Harnack, the book chronicles a lot of general knowledge of WWII, which I didn't actually mind. I think more impactful for me was her own story; like, I never would want to belittle the holocaust by drawing hyperbolic comparisons of our current (US) political situation to the repression and genocide of the third reich, but it's just so striking how fast fascist regimes consolidate power, the hard decisions between passive and active resistance, the extreme personal cost she, her husband, and their German resistance friends paid. to be an expat as well when all this is swirling around you -- it's just a testament to immense power of will and strength of conviction. and it does make one think about one's own ability to speak or act out when necessary, beyond the virtue signaling of the instagram story. anyway. I'd recommend it, but on book over audio (I tried both).
cat_book_lady's review against another edition
4.0
Meticulous research on the true life of an American woman who joined the underground German resistance. While much of the story recounts the cautious gathering of spies, much of the story also recounts much history already known throughout the war. I fully appreciate that the author could only rely on sparse scraps of info about her great-great-aunt gathered from rare newspaper clippings, German logs, and Mildred's carefully worded letters, but because of all the extraordinary subterfuge, the letters were also expectedly bland, and that's the only way we get to know Mildred. So, I don't feel like I really knew her at all, but rather the events surrounding her, though I commend the author - Mildred's great-great-niece - for doing the best she could with what she had to work with. I was amazed that her husband Arvid was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's cousin, so this added a layer of interest since Bonhoeffer is one of my heroes. Great story with suspenseful writing and a truly unique story.
debandleo's review against another edition
5.0
Very much enjoy reading this book. I learned so much about the resistance of the ordinary Germans. And about espionage in general would definitely recommend.
websterworks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
joestewart's review against another edition
I wasn’t up for this level of reality. I was looking for something easy and this this isn’t