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ELIE WIESEL: Voice From the Holocaust by Michael A. Schuman

ELIE WIESEL: Voice From the Holocaust

By

Pub Date: Feb. 1st, 1994
Publisher: Enslow

In the People to Know series, an awkward account of the life of a thoughtful and eminent Holocaust survivor whose life has been dedicated to keeping memory of the Holocaust alive lest it be repeated. Though Schuman interviewed Wiesel and several of his associates, he relies most on secondary sources for a narrative of the main events of the author/professor's life -- including some grim Holocaust detail, Wiesel's active stance in behalf of Cambodians and Bosnians as well as Jews, and a sampling of recent criticisms of his role. Unfortunately, the author summarizes Wiesel's books without conveying their flavor and evokes neither his compelling persona nor the drama of his life (which could easily have spoken for itself had details been more effectively selected), while his text is riddled with gaucheries (e.g., Wiesel's students at Boston University ""come not only to learn about the topic at hand, but to drink in Wiesel's sentiments, hoping some of his humanitarian views will rub off""). This eloquent Nobel Peace prize winner deserves far better; meanwhile, for some collections, this may fill a gap. B&w photos; chronology; notes; further reading plus nine videos; index.