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babs5005 's review for:
The Happiest Man on Earth
by Eddie Jaku
“The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor,” is a fast and easy read that is both gripping and horrible at the same time.
For me, I can only liken these types of books as being similar to my watching first aid videos during CPR class. When I tell you I can’t look at blood, I’m not exaggerating. I can only watch those first aid videos out of the corner of my eyes, my face all squinted up, hands blocking my view in a defensive pose, and peeping out through the space between my fingers.
It’s the same thing with “The Happiest Man on Earth.” While reading the book I could feel my gut wrench. I’d feel disgusted with what I was reading--horrified by the shadow side of humanity.
I'd find myself reading with my eyes made into small slits, my head turned away from the book—reading it at an angle, knowing that I was watching horror unfold on the page.
Everything that happened to Eddie Jaku during the war was traumatic and horrendous. The evil the Nazi’s brought to this world is something so terrible it’s hard to believe regular humans can be guilty of such atrocities.
The direction the United States is taking politically makes me worry that we could see a resurgence of the same type of evil the Nazis wrought. I am fearful for the future of Florida and Texas, in particular.
The idea of evil running amuck is so disturbing that I find it paralyzing to even contemplate the concept.
Eddie Jaku writes in his book an account that is terrifying, but at the same time he insists that a person ought to look on the bright side of things. The man had to have been suffering from PTSD brought on by the torture of his person and the trauma of witnessing mass murder. Though he was no doubt profoundly traumatized, he was still cheerful about his situation and seemed optimistic in his thinking.
Jaku went through some serious trauma and he writes things like, “I know that for every cruel person in the world, there is a kind one. I would survive another day with the help of good friends.”
And, “I promised when I came out of the darkest hours of my life that I would be happy for the rest of my life and smile, because if you smile, the world smiles with you.”
The advice in this book is pretty simplistic and straight forward, but it’s solid enough. It’s about choosing love over hate, forgiveness over anger, and happiness over misery. Hate is a weakness, so Jaku is a strong man who is filled with love.
Jaku writes with a simple style. English is not his first language, and the reading level of this book is probably even lower than eight grade. I read this book in a day and I’m a very slow reader, so someone more sophisticated that I am could probably rocket through the account in a couple of hours.
The message is pleasant enough, and of course Jaku is correct: it is far better to triumph over your enemies by going on to have a wonderful life than it would ever be to drown in hatred.
Jaku is a resilient man who is a kind person who bounced back. But that doesn’t stop me from worrying about my own country and the fact that we could be headed toward fascism.
For me, I can only liken these types of books as being similar to my watching first aid videos during CPR class. When I tell you I can’t look at blood, I’m not exaggerating. I can only watch those first aid videos out of the corner of my eyes, my face all squinted up, hands blocking my view in a defensive pose, and peeping out through the space between my fingers.
It’s the same thing with “The Happiest Man on Earth.” While reading the book I could feel my gut wrench. I’d feel disgusted with what I was reading--horrified by the shadow side of humanity.
I'd find myself reading with my eyes made into small slits, my head turned away from the book—reading it at an angle, knowing that I was watching horror unfold on the page.
Everything that happened to Eddie Jaku during the war was traumatic and horrendous. The evil the Nazi’s brought to this world is something so terrible it’s hard to believe regular humans can be guilty of such atrocities.
The direction the United States is taking politically makes me worry that we could see a resurgence of the same type of evil the Nazis wrought. I am fearful for the future of Florida and Texas, in particular.
The idea of evil running amuck is so disturbing that I find it paralyzing to even contemplate the concept.
Eddie Jaku writes in his book an account that is terrifying, but at the same time he insists that a person ought to look on the bright side of things. The man had to have been suffering from PTSD brought on by the torture of his person and the trauma of witnessing mass murder. Though he was no doubt profoundly traumatized, he was still cheerful about his situation and seemed optimistic in his thinking.
Jaku went through some serious trauma and he writes things like, “I know that for every cruel person in the world, there is a kind one. I would survive another day with the help of good friends.”
And, “I promised when I came out of the darkest hours of my life that I would be happy for the rest of my life and smile, because if you smile, the world smiles with you.”
The advice in this book is pretty simplistic and straight forward, but it’s solid enough. It’s about choosing love over hate, forgiveness over anger, and happiness over misery. Hate is a weakness, so Jaku is a strong man who is filled with love.
Jaku writes with a simple style. English is not his first language, and the reading level of this book is probably even lower than eight grade. I read this book in a day and I’m a very slow reader, so someone more sophisticated that I am could probably rocket through the account in a couple of hours.
The message is pleasant enough, and of course Jaku is correct: it is far better to triumph over your enemies by going on to have a wonderful life than it would ever be to drown in hatred.
Jaku is a resilient man who is a kind person who bounced back. But that doesn’t stop me from worrying about my own country and the fact that we could be headed toward fascism.