After a weekend of camping, I’m exhausted, but we had a lot of fun (except for “the attack of the daddy long legs”). Now it’s the start of a new work week (sigh) and time for another Mailbox Monday, hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page where book lovers share the titles they purchased, received for review, or otherwise obtained over the past week. (Beginning in August, Mailbox Monday is going on tour. Click here to see the schedule of hosts through 2011.)
If you know me and my desire to read as many WWII books as possible, you’ll think I had a great week!
The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt: War Through a Woman’s Eyes 1939-1940 by Rulka Langer, from Aquila Polonica
Most wartime accounts are written by soldiers and statesmen. The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt is a rare eyewitness account of the early, chaotic days of World War II — the Nazi invasion of Poland, the Siege of Warsaw and the first few months of the Nazi occupation — written by a young working mother.
Rulka Langer — Warsaw career woman, wife and mother of two small children, Polish born and bred, and a graduate of prestigious Vassar College in the United States, was like a million other Varsovians caught amidst the turmoil of Hitler’s “Total War.”
With a brilliant eye for detail and her fresh and lively storytelling, Rulka Langer vividly brings to life, from her unique vantage point, the opening chapter of the titanic struggle between good and evil that ultimately engulfed the entire globe. (publisher’s summary)
The Ice Road: An Epic Journey From the Stalinist Labor Camps to Freedom by Stefan Waydenfeld, from Aquila Polonica
“He who does not work, does not eat.” These grim words greeted 14-year-old Stefan Waydenfeld and his parents at the end of their forced journey by cattle car from their home in Poland to a Stalinist labor camp in the desolate Siberian forests.
The Ice Road is Stefan Waydenfeld’s spellbinding tale of survival in the frozen arctic forests and his long journey to freedom. This enthralling story of great scope and humanity sheds light on a little known aspect of World War II, in which 1.5 million Polish civilians were arbitrarily arrested by Stalin as “enemies of the people” following the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939. (publisher’s summary)
Siege: 1940 Academy Award-Nominated Newsreel by Julien Bryan, a DVD surprise from Aquila Polonica
Arriving in Warsaw a week after the Nazi German invasion of Poland, American photojournalist Julien Bryan was the only neutral reporter who remained in the city. He survived two weeks of devastating bombardment — risking his life over and over again to record this unprecedented new form of warfare — Blitzkrieg, Adolph Hitler’s “Lightning war” — and the agony and bravery of the city’s civilian population under the merciless German attack.
Mr. Bryan’s film and still photos were the first, and among the most memorable, to come out of World War II. These images of the Nazis’ tragic destruction of Warsaw shocked the American public into awareness of the devastation of modern warfare, and the looming danger as the Nazis’ conquered country after country.
Nominated for an Academy Award in 1940, and inducted into the U.S. National Film Registry in 2006 for preservation as one of the nation’s most “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films,” this rarely seen historical newsreel Siege has been lovingly restored and is now available on DVD for the first time. (publisher’s summary)
What books did you add to your shelves recently?
Disclosure: I am an Amazon associate.
© 2010 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Wow, looks like you’ll have more WWII reading to do
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I have WWII books coming out of my ears, but that’s fine by me. Something about that era just fascinates me.
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The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt would be my cup of tea. Great books. I hate daddy long legs..ick.
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It does sound like a great book.
I don’t mind daddy long legs when they’re not in the tent and not trying to crawl on my face. I still get the chills just thinking about it. LOL
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OMG Anna, I can’t stand it. I want to read (and see) all of these! Poor Warsaw, when you visit there, almost everything is new. Nearly everything was destroyed in the war, and that makes me so sad. It also really takes all the fun out of visiting. One thing that is an amazling thing to see though are the memorials to the uprisings that occurred there. One of them made me break down in tears. I think we need at least another year of WWII reading challenge!
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I knew you’d be interested in these. I’d love to do another WWII challenge!
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I’ll be watching for your review of the first book especially!
The spiders are only one of the reasons why I don’t camp, LOL. I did go along on my daughters’ girl scout camping overnights. I don’t think I slept a wink in those platform tents.
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I’m looking forward to reading that one myself.
I don’t mind camping. It’s just this time around there was a crazy number of daddy long legs. And you’d sort of brush them away, and they’d come right back, like they were terrorizing you on purpose. LOL
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I will like to see what you think of the first book.
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Hopefully I’ll get to it soon!
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The Ice Road sounds fantastic to me! Hope you like it.
Here’s my MM/IMM
Have a prolific reading day!
Sassy
Alternative-Read.com
The “Inside Story” as told by Sassy Brit and her Gang!
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I can’t wait to read it!
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Great haul! I hope you enjoy your new books!
My mailbox is HERE.
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Thanks, Amy!
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The mermaid book, well it does have one intersting title
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It certainly made me curious about the book. And the cover is very interesting, too.
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The Mermaid and the Messerschmidt sounds wonderful. I like that it is from a woman’s perspective. I bet the Ice Road is going to be gripping. Just from the few things I have read about Stalinist Russia, it was the most brutal time. I’ll be interested in your take on both these books. Have a great week, happy reading and enjoy all your new books!
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Thanks! They both sound like they’ll be heavy books, and I hope to learn a lot from them.
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Love that title: The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt! Here’s my Mailbox. Happy reading!
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Thanks! It is very attention-grabbing.
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Wow, those are some intense books! Hope you enjoy them. My mailbox is at The Crowded Leaf.
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I’m sure they will be, but I can’t get enough of books set during and about WWII.
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That first book sounds particularly interesting! Happy reading!
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Thanks, avisannschild!
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All look like very good reads!
Mondays: Whereabouts/Musings/Mailbox
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They do, don’t they? I can’t wait to get started.
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Not really my thing, but they should be informative and interesting. Happy reading!
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I sure hope they are!
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The first book looks very interesting. The title sure catches one’s attention. I hope the camping trip was fun. Daddy Long Legs just seem to come with camping don’t they?
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They are a part of camping, but I still don’t like them. 🙂
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OK, I know I’m shallow since THIS is my comment, but OH MY GOD. I don’t think I would’ve made it through the attack of the daddy long legs. I admire you and it makes me hurt thinking about it.
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They were on my towel when I tried drying off in the shower, one was trying to crawl on my face. Ew!
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You did have a great week! All of those books look right up your alley.
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Totally! It was the perfect book week for me.
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What good-looking books you have there! 🙂 Happy reading!
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Thanks, Marie!
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Anna, I hope you enjoy your latest additions/editions!
Here’s my mailbox: http://suko95.blogspot.com/2010/07/mailbox-monday-im-back.html
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Thanks, Suko! Me, too.
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Looks like some interesting non-fiction came your way. Spiders are scary no matter where you are!!
Enjoy your week!
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So true! I’ll admit I am terrified of spiders, though daddy long legs aren’t as bad as the hairy, Halloween-like spiders.
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Your books sound interesting. I’m looking forward to your reviews. Two books for me this week. Pussreboots.
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I hope to read these soon!
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You received some extremely interesting books. I’ll definitely be waiting for your reviews. Happy reading!
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Thanks, Cathy!
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Oh, daddy long legs are harmless. My kid shines a flashlight on them and watches them dance. (They are all over the tents we use at Cub Scout camp, since they don’t zip. Or, often, tie shut. Fun!)
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I know, but they’re still creepy. 😉
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These sound like some intense reads, Anna! I hope you enjoy your books and I know I’ll be looking forward to your reviews. By the way, we need some pics from your camping adventure 🙂
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I’ll have to get Serena to post some, since she was the one with the camera. 🙂
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Welcome back!
You received lots of great books! I especially like the looks of the Mermaid memoir.
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Thanks, Kim!
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You got some very interesting ones. Happy reading!
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Thanks, Shelly!
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Wow! Any of those book and even the DVD would probably have my crying tears of empathy! The Ice Road sounds particularly fascinating! Great Mailbox for you!
Julie
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I do shed quite a few tears when I read stuff like this, but they usually are worthwhile books.
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Wow. Ice Road sounds like it might make an interesting choice for my book club that revisits WWII several times a year.
Enjoy your reading!
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That sounds like an awesome book club! 😉
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Looks like some heavy reading ahead of you which is ok since you like reading it!
Daddy long legs!!!—Yikes. I don’t even remotely like spiders. Yuck.
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I am fascinated with WWII books for some reason.
The Girl says there was a woman in the bathroom who was holding a daddy long legs and pulling off its legs. Ew!
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Interesting books you have there! Enjoy! 🙂
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Thanks, Alice!
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