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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
boggremlin's review against another edition
5.0
I was utterly blown away by Donner's surgical reconstruction of the life and resistance work of Mildred Harnack, a Milwaukee, Wis. native living in Berlin leading up to and during the second world war. Mildred Harnack was married to a cousin of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Arvid, whom she met when he was student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where Mildred received her B.A. After her marriage, she pursued a Ph.D at the University of Berlin. She and her husband were deeply embedded in resistance to Hitler and the Nazi regime; both were executed.
I mention the above (though I don't usually summarize plots/etc) because Donner (who is the granddaughter of Mildred's niece, Jane) has achieved an astonishing piece of nonfiction. The books is told on fragments that lead the reader through the bureaucratic events that made Hitler's rise to power possible. Additionally, Donner's writing brings many German resistance workers back to life. Their efforts are haunting and painful, as are the intersections these efforts had with American and Soviet intelligence. The book is written in the present tense and though I knew how it would end, I was on the edge of my seat reading it. I will be thinking about it for a long, long time. This is really powerful and moving and vividly told.
I mention the above (though I don't usually summarize plots/etc) because Donner (who is the granddaughter of Mildred's niece, Jane) has achieved an astonishing piece of nonfiction. The books is told on fragments that lead the reader through the bureaucratic events that made Hitler's rise to power possible. Additionally, Donner's writing brings many German resistance workers back to life. Their efforts are haunting and painful, as are the intersections these efforts had with American and Soviet intelligence. The book is written in the present tense and though I knew how it would end, I was on the edge of my seat reading it. I will be thinking about it for a long, long time. This is really powerful and moving and vividly told.
amandaretta's review against another edition
5.0
This is a wonderfully written book that documents the resistance to the Nazi regime led by Mildred Harnack.
The book is written by Mildred’s great-great-niece and it gives such an intimate view into the rise of Hilter’s control and the lengths that these resistance groups went to to undermine all of the evil that had taken over Germany.
This book is thrilling and heartbreaking. It gives you faith in humanity to know that even during one of the darkest moments in history, there was a large web of people fighting for what was right.
This book also goes into the harsh punishments that these resistance fighters went through when they got arrested and the horrible treatment of the prisoners at concentration camps. I cannot stress it enough that it’s important for everyone to read this book so that they can realize how swiftly a country can fall under the control of someone with ill intentions and important it is to remember what happened during the Holocaust.
The book is written by Mildred’s great-great-niece and it gives such an intimate view into the rise of Hilter’s control and the lengths that these resistance groups went to to undermine all of the evil that had taken over Germany.
This book is thrilling and heartbreaking. It gives you faith in humanity to know that even during one of the darkest moments in history, there was a large web of people fighting for what was right.
This book also goes into the harsh punishments that these resistance fighters went through when they got arrested and the horrible treatment of the prisoners at concentration camps. I cannot stress it enough that it’s important for everyone to read this book so that they can realize how swiftly a country can fall under the control of someone with ill intentions and important it is to remember what happened during the Holocaust.
richardwells's review against another edition
5.0
Born in 1946, I've been steeped in the history of the rise of Nazism, and the chronicles of WW2 all my life. I remember the big Life Magazine photo books, and when the concentration camp pictures were released. So many WW2 movies, covering every service, and all the Allies. Even attempts at white washing General Rommel, "The Desert Fox," starring James Mason. (Why did all the Nazis have English accents - up until the 60's, I'm sure.) Resistance movies, too. Television shows like Victory at Sea, and attempts at comedy like Hogan's Heroes. Novels to no end. Hell, I've even read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich three times. Most recently during the Trump years, just for a reality check. All this to say "All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days.." strikes me as the most heart wrenching of them all (with the motion picture exception of Schindler's List.)
The subtitle gives the center of the story away, but the book is also a history of resistance within Germany, an investigation of the circles of resistance, the hunt for resistors, their heroics, the treacheries, and finally the retribution exacted by the Nazis.
It's a page-turner, an eye-opener, and inspirational, especially in light of the turn toward authoritarianism so many countries are taking - including my own, the US of A.
If the subject interests you, I think you'll find this a worthwhile read.
The subtitle gives the center of the story away, but the book is also a history of resistance within Germany, an investigation of the circles of resistance, the hunt for resistors, their heroics, the treacheries, and finally the retribution exacted by the Nazis.
It's a page-turner, an eye-opener, and inspirational, especially in light of the turn toward authoritarianism so many countries are taking - including my own, the US of A.
If the subject interests you, I think you'll find this a worthwhile read.
reneesmith's review against another edition
5.0
Thoroughly-researched, compelling account of brave people who stood up to evil no matter the cost. Inspiring.
bkdrgn303's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely riveting. I had no knowledge at all of Mildred Fish Harnack before reading this. What a fascinating and tragic story.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Those who have followed my reviews for a while know that I’m no fan of Donald Trump. At the same time, one large online annoyance during his presidency was the constant intonation of “resistance” on social media. Resistance by posting hashtags and memes. Resistance by someone who worked in his office, proud of themselves for not carrying out his more convoluted orders but still doing enough to hurt the body politic.
I blame this fascination with Resistance! on our understand of World War II. Yes, there were resistance movements in Germany, France, the Netherlands and other places. Yes, those stories deserve to be told. But they’re often told in outsized proportion to what actually happened. The vast majority of people just wanted to get through their day in peace. They might not have liked Jews being arrested as the price of this but they were willing to go along to get along with the Nazis.
What I appreciated about this book is that it’s not a book that necessarily glorifies the resistance group led by Mildred Harnack. They distributed leaflets and got info to the Soviets and they had some connections to Bonhoeffer. But it ended terribly, with all of them dying at the hands of an evil regime. No social media likes. No memes. No one in the Hitler administration to save them.
Resistance is part of war and war is brutal. It’s not something that you playact. I’m not trying to gatekeep something I’ve never been a part of. But I don’t think these stories can be fully appreciated if we as a society have a cartoonish understanding as to how political resistance works.
Anyway, I’ve talked more about the resistance concept than the book. It’s written in a specific style that I appreciated more than enjoyed; short paragraphs and suppositions. But in its own way, it brings Harnack’s story and the stories of others to life. And these are stories we should read and internalize. Because these folks did not go along to get along. They put it out there and paid the price. We glorify them from afar.
I blame this fascination with Resistance! on our understand of World War II. Yes, there were resistance movements in Germany, France, the Netherlands and other places. Yes, those stories deserve to be told. But they’re often told in outsized proportion to what actually happened. The vast majority of people just wanted to get through their day in peace. They might not have liked Jews being arrested as the price of this but they were willing to go along to get along with the Nazis.
What I appreciated about this book is that it’s not a book that necessarily glorifies the resistance group led by Mildred Harnack. They distributed leaflets and got info to the Soviets and they had some connections to Bonhoeffer. But it ended terribly, with all of them dying at the hands of an evil regime. No social media likes. No memes. No one in the Hitler administration to save them.
Resistance is part of war and war is brutal. It’s not something that you playact. I’m not trying to gatekeep something I’ve never been a part of. But I don’t think these stories can be fully appreciated if we as a society have a cartoonish understanding as to how political resistance works.
Anyway, I’ve talked more about the resistance concept than the book. It’s written in a specific style that I appreciated more than enjoyed; short paragraphs and suppositions. But in its own way, it brings Harnack’s story and the stories of others to life. And these are stories we should read and internalize. Because these folks did not go along to get along. They put it out there and paid the price. We glorify them from afar.