Rate this book

Alice's Piano: The Life Of Alice Herz-Sommer (2012)

by Melissa Müller(Favorite Author)

4.04 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1250007410 (ISBN13: 9781250007414)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: Three books in one. At the most obvious level, it's the biography of the pianist Alice Herz-Sommer and how she survived Theresienstdat the Nazi concentration camp. However, it is also a portrait of Jewish life in Prague before the war and the story of countless other Jews who crossed the path of Herz-Sommer (so you get a sense of the scale of the tragedy that befell Eastern Europe). Finally, it's meditation on the importance of music, knowing what is truly important to you for leading the good life and how to life to be 100 years old.
review 2: At 108, Alice Herz-Sommer is the oldest living Holocaust survivior. Alice had made a name for herself as a concert pianist throughout Europe when she was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp with her husband an... mored her son. The piano was her salvation. Theresienstadt was used as a propaganda ploy to convince the world that the Jews were being treated humanely. Consequently, Alice gave hundreds of concerts that gave hope to her fellow prisoners. Alice says in the introduction that "it was music that strengthened my innate optimism and saved my life and that of my son. It was our food; and it protected us from hate and literally nourished our souls".I had not given much thought to what happened to the Jewish survivors when released from the concentration camps. Alice's story goes into great detail about her return to Prague and eventual move to Israel. less

Download links for: Alice's Piano: The Life of Alice Herz-Sommer

Advertising