It has been a while since my last book review, indeed it has been a while since I read my last book. But I thought that I’d end this year’s November NaBloPoMo with a longer post.
I also decided that instead of buying a new book to read that I would read something that I already owned. As I perused my bookshelf I came upon a book that I bought several years ago: The Nazi Officer’s Wife. It is an autobiography by Edith Hahn Beer and how she survived WWII.
It is a poignant journey through the racial fear and prejudice that raged throughout Europe during the war. I was swept up into the story and read two whole sections of the book standing in front of my bookcase.
I go through these phases where I devour anything and everything about WWII, and I seem to be in one. It is not merely Nazis = Evil and Allies = Good. There is never just evil v. good in times of war. Things become murky, gray. Lines are blurred and crossed. Just as humanity is not simple neither are the atrocities that we commit.
Beer’s autobiography really accentuates this aspect of WWII. Fear and hate change people. Not only those who are closest, but also strangers. I highly recommend it, as it provides a voice that one does not often hear, and provides a richer understanding of how civilization can so easily dissolve.
I need a longer weekend to recover from Thanksgiving. Blarg. That is all.
The story behind the State Dinner crashers becomes murkier and murkier. When you seek the spot light as much as they seem to be doing, all the dirty laundry is eventually going to be aired.
Also here’s a little tip: don’t make the Secret Service a laughing stock…they don’t find if funny. At. All.
I just have to shake my head and groan. Not only did these people manage to weasle there way into a Presidential event, but they are also potentials for the forthcoming “The Real Housewives of Washington.” A show franchise that I despise with all of my being, and don’t even get me started on the fact that are doing one here in DC.
Clearly I am old. I have no clue who all these singers are…well that isn’t true…I recognize Cyndi Lauper and Carly Simon. But I don’t think that is helping my case.


