In the shadow of Auschwitz, a flamboyant German industrialist grew into a living legend to the Jews of Cracow. He was a womaniser, a heavy drinker and a bon viveur, but to them he became a saviour. This is the extraordinary story of Oskar Schindler, who risked his life to protect Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland and who was transformed by the war into a man with a mission, a compassionate angel of mercy.
| ISBN | 0340936290 | | Weight (grammes) | 270 | | ISBN13 | 9780340936290
(What's this?) | | Published in | London | | Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton General Division | | Previous ISBN | 9780340606513 | | Imprint | Sceptre | | Height (mm) | 199 | | Format | Paperback | | Width (mm) | 137 | | Publication date | 28 Dec 2006 | | Spine width (mm) | 28 | | Pages | 432 | | Academic level | General |
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'An extraordinary achievement' -- Graham Greene 'Brilliantly detailed, moving, powerful and gripping' -- The Times 'Thomas Keneally has done marvellous justice to a marvellous story' -- Sunday Times 'Keneally is a superb storyteller. With SCHINDLER'S ARK he has given us his best book yet, a magnificent novel which held me from the first page to the last' -- Alan Sillitoe 'This remarkable book has the immediacy and the almost unbearable detail of a thousand eye witnesses who forgot nothing' -- New York Times Book Review
When war breaks out in 1939 Oscar Schindler is a successful German industrialist living in Poland. His life is a whirl of money-making, good-living and womanising - not a likely saviour. Through the testaments of dozens of survivors ('Schindler's children') Keneally walks us through the horrors of being Jewish in wartime Kracow, the cruelty perpetrated by many of the Nazi soldiers (in particular the local concentration camp's head), and the gradual transformation of Oscar from a self-centred hedonist to a man who ended the war running an armaments factory which never produced a single working shell or bullet and bankrupted himself to buy the lives of as many Jews as he could.
Never a hagiography - Oscar had many flaws - it shows the terror that exists in the world, the strength of character one man displayed for no personal gain and the love all those he saved carried in their hearts.
I first read Schindler's Ark when it was released, and re-read it regularly. It never fails to inspire and remind us that - even if only for a moment - each of us has an opportunity to do some good in the world. -
Liz North
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