Moments of Truth
by Jan Carlzon
from Collins
The president and CEO of Scandinavia Airlines (SAS) shows how to adapt to the new customer–driven economy.
No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War
by Anita Lobel
from HarperTrophy
Nominated for a 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War is Anita Lobel's gripping memoir of surviving the Holocaust. A Caldecott-winning illustrator of such delightful picture books as On Market Street, it is difficult to believe Lobel endured the horrific childhood she did. From age 5 to age 10, Lobel spent what are supposed to be carefree years hiding from the Nazis, protecting her younger brother, being captured and marched from camp to camp, and surviving completely dehumanizing conditions. A terrifying story by any measure, Lobel's memoir is all the more haunting as told from the first-person, child's-eye view. Her girlhood voice tells it like it is, without irony or even complete understanding, but with matter-of-fact honesty and astonishing attention to detail. She carves vivid, enduring images into readers' minds. On hiding in the attic of the ghetto: "We were always told to be very quiet. The whispers of the trapped grown-ups sounded like the noise of insects rubbing their legs together." On being discovered while hiding in a convent: "They lined us up facing the wall. I looked at the dark red bricks in front of me and waited for the shots. When the shouting continued and the shots didn't come, I noticed my breath hanging in thin puffs in the air." On trying not to draw the attention of the Nazis: "I wanted to shrink away. To fold into a small invisible thing that had no detectable smell. No breath. No flesh. No sound."
It is a miracle that Lobel and her brother survived on their own in this world that any adult would find unbearable. Indeed, and appropriately, there are no pretty pictures here, and adults choosing to share this story with younger readers should make themselves readily available for explanations and comforting words. (The camps are full of excrement and death, all faithfully recorded in direct, unsparing language.) But this is a story that must be told, from the shocking beginning when a young girl watches the Nazis march into Krakow, to the final words of Lobel's epilogue: "My life has been good. I want more." (Ages 10 to 16) --Brangien Davis
The beloved Caldecott Honor artist now recounts a tale of vastly different kind -- her own achingly potent memoir of a childhood of flight, imprisonment, and uncommon bravery in Nazi-occupied Poland. Anita Lobel was barely five when the war began and sixteen by the time she came to America from Sweden, where she had been sent to recover at the end of the war. This haunting book, illustrated with the author's archival photographs, is the remarkable account of her life during those years. Poised, forthright, and always ready to embrace life, Anita Lobel is the main character in the most personal story she will ever tell.Anita Lobel was barely five years old when World War II began and the Nazis burst into her home in Krakow, Poland, changing her life forever. She spent the days of her childhood in hiding with her brother--who was disguised as a girl--and their Catholic nanny in the countryside, the ghetto, and finally in a convent where the Nazis caught up with her. She was imprisoned in a succession of concentration camps until the end of the war. Sent by the Red Cross to recuperate in Sweden, she slowly blossomed as she discovered books and language and art. Since coming to the United States as a teenager, Anita Lobel has spent her life making pictures. She has never gone back. She has never looked back. Until now.
00-01 Tayshas High School Reading List
Anita Lobel was barely five years old when World War II began and the Nazis burst into her home in Krakow, Poland, changing her life forever. She spent the days of her childhood in hiding with her brother--who was disguised as a girl--and their Catholic nanny in the countryside, the ghetto, and finally in a convent where the Nazis caught up with her. She was imprisoned in a succession of concentration camps until the end of the war. Sent by the Red Cross to recuperate in Sweden, she slowly blossomed as she discovered books and language and art. Since coming to the United States as a teenager, Anita Lobel has spent her life making pictures. She has never gone back. She has never looked back. Until now.Absolut Book.: The Absolut Vodka Advertising Story
by Richard W. Lewis
from Journey Editions
Twilight of the Gods: A Swedish Waffen-SS Volunteer's Experiences with the 11th SS-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, Eastern Front 1944-45
by Thorolf Hillblad
from Helion and Company Ltd.
Few new personal accounts by Waffen-SS soldiers appear in English; even fewer originate from the multitude of non-German European volunteers who formed such an important proportion of this service's manpower. Twilight of the Gods was originally written in Swedish, and published in Buenos Aires shortly after the end of WWII. Erik Wallin, a Swedish soldier who volunteered for service with the Waffen-SS, and participated in the climactic battles on the Eastern Front during late 1944 and 1945, later telling his story to this book's editor, Thorolf Hillblad.
Wallin served with the Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, 11th SS-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, a unit composed mainly of non-German volunteers, including Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes. The division enjoyed a high reputation for its combat capability, and was always at the focal points of the fighting on the Eastern Front in the last year of the war. During this period it saw combat in the Baltic, in Pomerania, on the Oder, and finally in defence of Berlin, where it was destroyed.
Erik Wallin served with his unit in all of these locations, and provides the reader with a fascinating glimpse into these final battles. The book is written with a 'no holds barred' approach which will captivate, excite and maybe even shock the reader - his recollections do not evade the brutality of fighting against the advancing Red Army. Twilight of the Gods is destined to become a classic memoir of the Second World War.
Modern-Day Vikings: A Practical Guide to Interacting with the Swedes (The Interact Series)
by Christina, Johansson Robinowitz
from Intercultural Press
Modern-Day Vikings is a window into contemporary Sweden. True to its title, the book traces many of Sweden's cultural traits back to its Viking heritage: self-sufficiency, fairness, egalitarianism, and democracy. But this just scratches the surface; the authors also examine the famous "cradle-to-grave" social democracy and the social and economic challenges brought on by immigration and other twenty-first century changes. Robinowitz and Carr explore the values underlying modern Swedish culture, such as lagom (moderation), the law of Jante (personal modesty), communication styles, and business practices. A most enjoyable chapter is "The Seasons and their Power," where readers get a glimpse of the "complete Swede" as characterized by the four seasons especially the Summer Swede.
A History of the Swedish People: Volume II: From Renaissance to Revolution
by Vilhelm Moberg
from Univ Of Minnesota Press
Sweden, Enlalrged Edition: The Nation's History
by Franklin D. Scott
from Southern Illinois University
Using a chronological-topical structure, Scott shows how and why Sweden progressed from times of backwardness to an age of military greatness, through two centuries of cultural development and relapse into poverty followed by a sudden outburst of productive energy and the creation of an exceptionally prosperous welfare state where the ideal is consensus rather than confrontation.
Ingmar Bergman: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers Series) (Conversations With Filmmakers Series)
from Univ Pr of Mississippi (Trd)
Although Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) holds an undisputed place in the pantheon of major filmmakers, mention of his name unjustly evokes images of monolithic gloom and despair. All of his pictures, including his comedies, deal seriously with faith, morality, and mortality, but audiences and critics too often neglect the extraordinary wit and vitality that can be found in Wild Strawberries, Scenes from a Marriage, Fanny and Alexander, and many others.
In Ingmar Bergman: Interviews, the director discusses various stages of his career and the many facets of his work. The man and his films are revealed to be funny, full of life, and surprising as well as thoughtful, complex, and profound. In interviews with important writers, critics, and filmmakers, including James Baldwin, Michiko Kakutani, John Simon, and Vilgot Sjoman, Bergman describes a grand vision that justifies his affinity with Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Dostoyevsky. The volume begins with a 1957 piece, conducted just as he completed his early masterpiece The Seventh Seal, and ends in 2002, as he was preparing to direct Saraband, his latest film.
On My Swedish Island: Discovering the Secrets of Scandinavian Well-being
by Julie Catterson Lindahl
from Tarcher
An exploration of the integral relationship between nature and personal development and how this manifests itself in the Scandinavian lifestyle-from outdoor life and relaxation to design, cuisine, gardening, and herbalism.
On my Swedish Island is a rich collection of ideas about how we can improve our quality of life with a fresh philosophy that is Nordic-inspired, but can be used in any climate.
Part memoir and part self-help book, On My Swedish Island combines the story of the author's transformation from urban jetsetter to wife and mother living on a small Swedish island with practical suggestions for living a simpler, more fulfilling existence.
A History of the Swedish People: Volume 1: From Prehistory to the Renaissance
by Vilhelm Moberg
from Univ Of Minnesota Press
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