Speak You Also: A Survivor's Reckoning

by Paul Steinberg and Paul Steinberg

Book Overview

A concentration camp survivor confronts one of the most heated and vexed questions of the Holocaust: what price survival? In 1943, sixteen-year-old Paul Steinberg was arrested in Paris and deported to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312420455
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Picador
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.4" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Good

Product was needed early in the shipping date period and arrived on the first day available; also in good condition

Outstanding!

extraordinary recounting of months in a concentration camp; this book can easily rival Elie Wiesel's 'Night' for its look into this era, and the author's extraordinary gift with a pen is impressive...

Must Read Holocaust Memoir

Speak You Also tells an empowering story of struggle and determination without showing the slightest trace of self-pity. Steinberg's novel was so moving, because he did not feel bad for everything he endured, but instead focused on the theme of what made him survive in contrast to the concept of death. From the point of view of someone who never witnessed the Holocaust, the memoir perfectly illustrates the life lessons that have come from those who endured it. One example would be the constant question of morality, which Steinberg comments "You do good when you can and when you happen to feel like it. In all other cases, you do evil, if you have even the slightest scrap of power". The author captures the emotions of himself and those around him. He is able to bring back all these horrifying memories to share with the reader so his story is never forgotten. This novel is by far a must read for people of all ages and backgrounds. Speak You Also is Steinberg's time to speak out about the horrors he witnessed during his days in Auschwitz as well as to reflect back on many unanswered questions in this extremely heart-filled and brutally honest account of the Holocaust.

Astonishing

To my mind, this is one of the great books of the latter half of the twentieth century. Page after page of flawless writing filled with shattering observations and insight, all tuned to a visionary pitch whose serenity belies its hellish setting and themes. The final sections in particular are stunning. I'm confident that once you've tuned the final page, you'll be recommending Speak You Also to everyone you care about for years to come.

A Great Example of Holocaust Literarture

I just finished reading this great first-hand account of living through the Holocaust in Nazi death camps, by Paul Steinberg. What separates this text is that it seems less caught up with providing the reader with every single detail of daily life and more focused with the author's personal struggle, the friendships gained and forgotten, the death camp's social hieracrchies, and of course, his incredible task of survival. Paul Steinberg admits that he was an atypical Jew, uninvolved with Jewish ways and traditions, and he wonders why he survived and others perished; Jews that were more religious, possessed more wisdom, strength, etc. Truly, Steinberg's ordeal is almost unbelievable. He was able to do what he had to in order to survive. This book is great if you want to gain a good understanding of these historical events, a different time period in life, and the human struggle, all through the eyes of this remarkable man. He is honest and sincere, and holds nothing back.