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The Memoirs #1
All Rivers Run to the Sea: Memoirs
The long-awaited memoirs of Wiesel, winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize, tell the story of his happy childhood in the Carpathian Mountains, his subsequent years of hell in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, and his post-war life in France, where he discovered his voice as a writer. Highly recommended.
Wiesel's immensely moving, unforgettable memoir has the searing intensity of his novels and autobiographical tales. Before his family was arrested by Nazis in their Romanian village and transported by cattle car to Auschwitz in 1944, the devout, studious future Nobel Peace laureate had plunged into Jewish mysticism, hoping that his Kabbalistic prayers and formulas might ward off impending tragedy. In the concentration camps, he came to know his formerly aloof and deeply loved father, Shlomo, a rabbi, whose death in Buchenwald in 1945 left Wiesel, then 16, numb. Living in a French orphanage, he learned of the deaths of his mother and younger sister, and was reunited with the two sisters who survived. Wiesel, who gradually recovered his religious fervor, wrestles with the problem of having faith in the post-Holocaust era. As a Paris-based journalist aiding the Jewish resistance movement in Palestine, he discovered his calling?to testify to Nazi genocide, to justify his own survival. Moving to New York in the mid-1950s as correspondent for an Israeli paper, he covered civil rights struggles, the Eichmann trial in Israel and the 1967 Six Day War, befriended Golda Meir and David Ben-Gurion and supported persecuted Soviet Jews. His ascetic bachelor existence ended when he fell in love with and married Marion in 1969. He writes also of his formative friendships with Yiddish poet/thinker Abraham Yeoshua Heschel, Talmudic scholars Gershom Scholem and Saul Leiberman and itinerant mystic rabbi Mordechai Rosenbaum ("Shushani"). This haunting, impassioned book will make you cry yet, somehow, leave you renewed, with a cautious hope for humanity's future. Photos. First serial to Parade.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
With 16 pages of photographs.
Wiesel's immensely moving, unforgettable memoir has the searing intensity of his novels and autobiographical tales. Before his family was arrested by Nazis in their Romanian village and transported by cattle car to Auschwitz in 1944, the devout, studious future Nobel Peace laureate had plunged into Jewish mysticism, hoping that his Kabbalistic prayers and formulas might ward off impending tragedy. In the concentration camps, he came to know his formerly aloof and deeply loved father, Shlomo, a rabbi, whose death in Buchenwald in 1945 left Wiesel, then 16, numb. Living in a French orphanage, he learned of the deaths of his mother and younger sister, and was reunited with the two sisters who survived. Wiesel, who gradually recovered his religious fervor, wrestles with the problem of having faith in the post-Holocaust era. As a Paris-based journalist aiding the Jewish resistance movement in Palestine, he discovered his calling?to testify to Nazi genocide, to justify his own survival. Moving to New York in the mid-1950s as correspondent for an Israeli paper, he covered civil rights struggles, the Eichmann trial in Israel and the 1967 Six Day War, befriended Golda Meir and David Ben-Gurion and supported persecuted Soviet Jews. His ascetic bachelor existence ended when he fell in love with and married Marion in 1969. He writes also of his formative friendships with Yiddish poet/thinker Abraham Yeoshua Heschel, Talmudic scholars Gershom Scholem and Saul Leiberman and itinerant mystic rabbi Mordechai Rosenbaum ("Shushani"). This haunting, impassioned book will make you cry yet, somehow, leave you renewed, with a cautious hope for humanity's future. Photos. First serial to Parade.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
With 16 pages of photographs.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
150 people are currently reading
3907 people want to read
About the author
Elie Wiesel
274 books4,540 followersEliezer "Elie" Wiesel was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.
In his political activities Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime. He also advocated for many other causes like the state of Israel and against Hamas and victims of oppression including Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the apartheid in South Africa, the Bosnian genocide, Sudan, the Kurds and the Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos or Nicaragua's Miskito people.
He was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Wiesel was awarded various prestigious awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life.
In his political activities Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime. He also advocated for many other causes like the state of Israel and against Hamas and victims of oppression including Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the apartheid in South Africa, the Bosnian genocide, Sudan, the Kurds and the Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos or Nicaragua's Miskito people.
He was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Wiesel was awarded various prestigious awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
August 29, 2010
I was fortunate enough to study under Professor Wiesel at Boston University. This memoir includes many of the great stories he told of his childhood and early adulthood as he was starting to become the man who one day won the Nobel Peace Prize. A great teacher and a better man.
December 12, 2025
"To write is to plumb the unfathomable depths of being." (321)
Dr. Wiesel was a really nice man who was good at listening. He was the kind of guy who thought Miss Israel's measurements was a phone number. His memoir explores a romanticized America, where he speaks of happiness as if it were a challenge.
"Love is no longer taboo, not a vague, murky sensation, but a very precise pain." (133)
"The important thing was being able to quote him." (187)
When he was living in France, he walked so much that it was more expensive to have the soles of his shoes fixed than to ride on the metro. He was not into communism and viewed translation as a game.
As his career in journalism progressed, his "reports became more balanced, more subtle and objective." (199)
"I was now writing a lot, mostly for the trash can. Joseph didn't want me to deal with politics anymore, and I too had had enough of issues that divided the Jewish people." (173)
Dr. Wiesel was fascinated by asceticism, "the lure of and quest for suffering," (150) but never told me about Shushani when he was my teacher. That would have been wicked cool.
"If he overturned certainties, so much the better, for they were beginning to weigh heavily upon me. Man is defined by what troubles him, not by what reassures him." (124)
"Was it necessary, even indispensable, to punish the body so as to allow the soul to soar to new heights?" (150)
"Ultimately, to write is an act of faith." (321)
The funniest thing he wrote was, "I indulged in some serious flirting, by which I meant that I talked to them of things too serious to achieve the desired result." (152)
My favorite story was when he wanted to go to India, so he tried to play the lottery.
"...and bought a lottery ticket for the first time in my life. Miracle of miracles, I won a modest amount, and at last I had a ticket in my hand, but not much more." (223)
I'm not Jewish and do not have an, "unconditional loyalty to Israel" (356), but I do know about suffering, perhaps more so now than ever before.
If I were to challenge my former professor's views, it would be regarding Charlie Chaplin.
"It was a packed house of laughing people, but I found Chaplin rather pathetic and sad. True, I had trouble concentrating, for a couple in the row in front of me was kissing." (114)
Chaplin had the ability to make people happy without even having to talk.
Dr. Wiesel was a really nice man who was good at listening. He was the kind of guy who thought Miss Israel's measurements was a phone number. His memoir explores a romanticized America, where he speaks of happiness as if it were a challenge.
"Love is no longer taboo, not a vague, murky sensation, but a very precise pain." (133)
"The important thing was being able to quote him." (187)
When he was living in France, he walked so much that it was more expensive to have the soles of his shoes fixed than to ride on the metro. He was not into communism and viewed translation as a game.
As his career in journalism progressed, his "reports became more balanced, more subtle and objective." (199)
"I was now writing a lot, mostly for the trash can. Joseph didn't want me to deal with politics anymore, and I too had had enough of issues that divided the Jewish people." (173)
Dr. Wiesel was fascinated by asceticism, "the lure of and quest for suffering," (150) but never told me about Shushani when he was my teacher. That would have been wicked cool.
"If he overturned certainties, so much the better, for they were beginning to weigh heavily upon me. Man is defined by what troubles him, not by what reassures him." (124)
"Was it necessary, even indispensable, to punish the body so as to allow the soul to soar to new heights?" (150)
"Ultimately, to write is an act of faith." (321)
The funniest thing he wrote was, "I indulged in some serious flirting, by which I meant that I talked to them of things too serious to achieve the desired result." (152)
My favorite story was when he wanted to go to India, so he tried to play the lottery.
"...and bought a lottery ticket for the first time in my life. Miracle of miracles, I won a modest amount, and at last I had a ticket in my hand, but not much more." (223)
I'm not Jewish and do not have an, "unconditional loyalty to Israel" (356), but I do know about suffering, perhaps more so now than ever before.
If I were to challenge my former professor's views, it would be regarding Charlie Chaplin.
"It was a packed house of laughing people, but I found Chaplin rather pathetic and sad. True, I had trouble concentrating, for a couple in the row in front of me was kissing." (114)
Chaplin had the ability to make people happy without even having to talk.
August 24, 2008
He is the most inspirational, wise, compassionate man alive today. I can't count the number of times over the years that I've been down, depressed, or lost faith, and his voice resonates in my head. He didn't lose faith after having experienced the worst life has to offer. His words and ideas are pure and he conveys with a directness that transcends what isn't spoken. The book and his genius cannot be conveyed in modern day bumper sticker soundbites. They are words that web themselves into the fabric of my consciousness. Read both volumes to understand the scope of his influence.
March 11, 2025
Mar 10, 630pm ~~ This will sound awful, but for years I only knew about Elie Wiesel from seeing his first name as the answer to crossword puzzle clues.
After learning about his Night trilogy, I still avoided reading his work, because the topic of the Holocaust was too heartbreaking for me to face.
But in 2023 I read his book Sages And Dreamers, and I wanted to know more about Wiesel. I ordered a few volumes, reading the Night trilogy first, then moving on to this memoir, which tells about his life up to age forty. There is a second volume which will continue where this one leaves off. I will be reading that book fairly soon, I just needed a bit of a break first.
Wiesel is a little hard to read: he thinks deeply about every topic, and asks hard uncomfortable questions. He mentions names that sometimes were familiar but more often were not. I did a lot of investigating as I went along. I also ordered a few books he commented on, titles that made a splash at the time of original publication and apparently became classics in later years.
It was good to meet the man outside the crossword puzzles. I am looking forward to And the Sea Is Never Full: Memoirs 1969 to learn What Happened Next.
Mar 5, 6pm ~~ Fascinating. I will soon be reading Wiesel's second memoir, but I need a story break first. I will do a proper review of this one asap. Have a few things to investigate.
After learning about his Night trilogy, I still avoided reading his work, because the topic of the Holocaust was too heartbreaking for me to face.
But in 2023 I read his book Sages And Dreamers, and I wanted to know more about Wiesel. I ordered a few volumes, reading the Night trilogy first, then moving on to this memoir, which tells about his life up to age forty. There is a second volume which will continue where this one leaves off. I will be reading that book fairly soon, I just needed a bit of a break first.
Wiesel is a little hard to read: he thinks deeply about every topic, and asks hard uncomfortable questions. He mentions names that sometimes were familiar but more often were not. I did a lot of investigating as I went along. I also ordered a few books he commented on, titles that made a splash at the time of original publication and apparently became classics in later years.
It was good to meet the man outside the crossword puzzles. I am looking forward to And the Sea Is Never Full: Memoirs 1969 to learn What Happened Next.
Mar 5, 6pm ~~ Fascinating. I will soon be reading Wiesel's second memoir, but I need a story break first. I will do a proper review of this one asap. Have a few things to investigate.
September 10, 2016
A quick perusal of reviews found either those who generally liked it and said nothing of substance to substantiate why or those who criticized it for its nonlinear narrative and depressive tone. I've found it (at the halfway point) delightful, fair-minded, informative, and while perhaps more philosophical than most readers might prefer, he was a philosopher, a Jewish mystic, and the telling reflects the mind so beautifully. I found the prose often lyrical, unwrapping the tender youth with clarity but a certain compassion for self that the wisest of us gain for our youthful selves. The tone was conversational, often confiding in such friendly manner, that we were drawn into his circle as much by our interest as his yearning. I found the structure entirely appropriate to the linear development of his mind, even if individual events were teased and broken into sections. As a historical primary source, it's absolutely priceless.
Well Wiesel says of the writing he considers in his youth: “Of course, I could write my memories of the camp, which I bore within me like a poison. Though I never spoke to anyone about this, it weighed upon me. I thought about it with apprehension day and night: the duty to testify, to offer depositions for history, to serve memory. What would man be without his capacity to remember? Memory is a passion no less powerful or persuasive than love. What does it mean to remember? It is to live in more than one world, to prevent the past from fading and to call upon the future to illuminate it. It is to revive fragments of existence, to rescue lost beings, to cast harsh light on faces and events, to drive back the sands that cover the surface of things, to combat oblivion and to reject death. All this I knew. And because I knew it, I told myself I should write.”
What writer could remain unmoved by that?
*
At completion I find myself truly sad that I'll not be picking it up again to hear the most utterly human voice I think I've ever conversed with. The book is in so many ways a conversation between one of the greatest thinkers of our time, someone who stood at the signposts of history and testified with humility and candor and courage, and the simple reader. I found it completely charming, reverentially committed to preserving people for history, equally poetic and incisive. How perfect that it began with his connection to his parents and siblings and ended with his connection to his wife and children - friends, experiences, careers, work, but always the aleph and beth - family.
I have a high tolerance for philosophy and mysticism so take my review for what it is. Having read the portrait of his soul by his own hand, however, I look forward to reading his fiction and rereading Night with much deeper understanding of his milieu at its writing. Truly, one of the greatest human beings I could imagine meeting and definitely one of the 5 people with whom I'd love to share an afternoon sitting outside at a cafe in Paris.
Well Wiesel says of the writing he considers in his youth: “Of course, I could write my memories of the camp, which I bore within me like a poison. Though I never spoke to anyone about this, it weighed upon me. I thought about it with apprehension day and night: the duty to testify, to offer depositions for history, to serve memory. What would man be without his capacity to remember? Memory is a passion no less powerful or persuasive than love. What does it mean to remember? It is to live in more than one world, to prevent the past from fading and to call upon the future to illuminate it. It is to revive fragments of existence, to rescue lost beings, to cast harsh light on faces and events, to drive back the sands that cover the surface of things, to combat oblivion and to reject death. All this I knew. And because I knew it, I told myself I should write.”
What writer could remain unmoved by that?
*
At completion I find myself truly sad that I'll not be picking it up again to hear the most utterly human voice I think I've ever conversed with. The book is in so many ways a conversation between one of the greatest thinkers of our time, someone who stood at the signposts of history and testified with humility and candor and courage, and the simple reader. I found it completely charming, reverentially committed to preserving people for history, equally poetic and incisive. How perfect that it began with his connection to his parents and siblings and ended with his connection to his wife and children - friends, experiences, careers, work, but always the aleph and beth - family.
I have a high tolerance for philosophy and mysticism so take my review for what it is. Having read the portrait of his soul by his own hand, however, I look forward to reading his fiction and rereading Night with much deeper understanding of his milieu at its writing. Truly, one of the greatest human beings I could imagine meeting and definitely one of the 5 people with whom I'd love to share an afternoon sitting outside at a cafe in Paris.
February 25, 2008
He has had a fascinating life...but how he goes on and on and on! It is sometimes difficult to follow him, because he is so wordy. His stories don't necessarily go in chronological order, either, so it is difficult to get a good idea of where in his life certain events fall.
However, this is the first time I have read an author who has written in such detail about his view of the Holocaust, particularly his questions about the rest of the world's silence for so long. I can relate to his anger towards God, as well. I was moved by his willingness to continue to celebrate the traditions of his faith, even while feeling very angry at God for allowing the extermination of his people. I was also impressed with his insistence that survivors tell their stories, so the world will not forget and cannot pretend with embarrassment that it never happened.
However, this is the first time I have read an author who has written in such detail about his view of the Holocaust, particularly his questions about the rest of the world's silence for so long. I can relate to his anger towards God, as well. I was moved by his willingness to continue to celebrate the traditions of his faith, even while feeling very angry at God for allowing the extermination of his people. I was also impressed with his insistence that survivors tell their stories, so the world will not forget and cannot pretend with embarrassment that it never happened.
January 2, 2017
I found this memoir less compelling than Night, but still a chilling picture of the buildup to transport and the difficulties facing the survivors beyond the immediate aftermath of liberation.
Audiobook, performed by the author, who reads with such emotion that I was at times moved to tears.
“Wherever my life took me, a part of me would remain in that street in front of my empty house, awaiting the order to depart. I see my little sister. I see her with her rucksack, so cumbersome, so heavy. I see her and an immense tenderness sweeps over me. Never will her innocent smile fade from my soul, never will her glance cease to sear me. I tried to help her. She protested. Never will the sound of her voice leave my heart. She was thirsty, My little sister was thirsty. Her lips were parched, pearls of sweat formed on her clear forehead. “I can wait,” she said, smiling. My little sister wanted to be brave, and I wanted to die in her place. I seldom speak of her in my writing, for I dare not. My little sister with her sunbathed golden head is my secret.”
For the Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season book challenge, Task the Sixth: The Hanukkah (Let the dreidel choose a book for you: create a list of four books, and assign a dreidel symbol to each one (Nun = miracle; Gimel = great; He = happened; Shin = there, i.e. Israel). Google "spin the dreidel," and a dreidel comes up for you to spin. Give it a spin and read the book that the dreidel chooses!)
Audiobook, performed by the author, who reads with such emotion that I was at times moved to tears.
“Wherever my life took me, a part of me would remain in that street in front of my empty house, awaiting the order to depart. I see my little sister. I see her with her rucksack, so cumbersome, so heavy. I see her and an immense tenderness sweeps over me. Never will her innocent smile fade from my soul, never will her glance cease to sear me. I tried to help her. She protested. Never will the sound of her voice leave my heart. She was thirsty, My little sister was thirsty. Her lips were parched, pearls of sweat formed on her clear forehead. “I can wait,” she said, smiling. My little sister wanted to be brave, and I wanted to die in her place. I seldom speak of her in my writing, for I dare not. My little sister with her sunbathed golden head is my secret.”
For the Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season book challenge, Task the Sixth: The Hanukkah (Let the dreidel choose a book for you: create a list of four books, and assign a dreidel symbol to each one (Nun = miracle; Gimel = great; He = happened; Shin = there, i.e. Israel). Google "spin the dreidel," and a dreidel comes up for you to spin. Give it a spin and read the book that the dreidel chooses!)
February 28, 2022
Mention was made in conversation of Eli Weisel's All Rivers Run to the Sea: Memoir so I went to my local library to see if it was still available- I had checked it out twenty-six years ago according to the library card. Definitely worth the second reading. Weisel's memories of his childhood, the Holocaust, and life following is a strong voice in speaking out against the (continued) atrocities found in our world.
January 29, 2016
Elie Wiesel is one of my heroes. This book and the sequel tell his story during the Holocaust. There is a famous picture of the liberation of Bergen-Belson that shows him at age 16 on one of the camp bunks. His memories of his little sister being taken to the gas chamber will tear your heart out. I treasure my autographed copy of Night. Truly deserved his Nobel Peace Prize.
October 7, 2018
Elie Wiesel tells his life story from the time he was a little boy fascinated by the mysteries of Jewish religion in his small village of Sighet in Ruthenia to becoming a young journalist rebuilding his life in postwar Europe and bearing witness to the horrors and losses of Auschwitz.
The first half of the book is beautifully written, with prose that is as haunting as the author's dreams of the dead. Wiesel was surprised by his survival, and struggled a little to find a vocation, but did he ever find it in exploring the travesty of the Holocaust through writing.
I found the second half of the book was sometimes more of a continuous list of names of friends and acquaintances I couldn't keep up with. Nevertheless, reading it is so worthwhile just because Wiesel is one of the prime survivors of the Holocaust who unceasingly makes us examine what happened, and dare I say why it happened, to the Jewish people in humanity's darkest days.
The first half of the book is beautifully written, with prose that is as haunting as the author's dreams of the dead. Wiesel was surprised by his survival, and struggled a little to find a vocation, but did he ever find it in exploring the travesty of the Holocaust through writing.
I found the second half of the book was sometimes more of a continuous list of names of friends and acquaintances I couldn't keep up with. Nevertheless, reading it is so worthwhile just because Wiesel is one of the prime survivors of the Holocaust who unceasingly makes us examine what happened, and dare I say why it happened, to the Jewish people in humanity's darkest days.
June 3, 2016
Nobel laureate. Thinker. Writer. Survivor. Teacher. Student.
This book is part memoir, part plea. He writes about his life and what he was feeling, in memoir fashion. He also pleas to humanity to be better to each other. Its also about his constant study and search to understand his faith. He doesn't search for answers, but rather for the questions themselves.
Early in the book, he talks about his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. One thing sticks in my mind. His emphasis that prisoners continued to practice their faith in the camp. They continued to study, pray, and maintain their faith no matter what adversity they faced.
Mr. Wiesel does not focus on his accomplishments or attainment of goals. If anything he focuses on his perceived moments of weakness, his perceived failures. I actually found this to be laborious at times. I admired him for his humility but I did want to know a little more about the positive impacts of his writings and his advocacy.
Interesting how his life flattened out as he got older, kind of like the rest of us. Like most people, he remembers with clarity the passions of his youth; his childhood, the love for his family and people and his pain at their loss. As he aged, his "work" became more complex, with more steps, and the time line starts to blur and blend. I don't mean to trivialize his work or his experiences. Nobody is immune from the passage of time. I'd think that Mr. Wiesel would agree.
This book is part memoir, part plea. He writes about his life and what he was feeling, in memoir fashion. He also pleas to humanity to be better to each other. Its also about his constant study and search to understand his faith. He doesn't search for answers, but rather for the questions themselves.
Early in the book, he talks about his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. One thing sticks in my mind. His emphasis that prisoners continued to practice their faith in the camp. They continued to study, pray, and maintain their faith no matter what adversity they faced.
Mr. Wiesel does not focus on his accomplishments or attainment of goals. If anything he focuses on his perceived moments of weakness, his perceived failures. I actually found this to be laborious at times. I admired him for his humility but I did want to know a little more about the positive impacts of his writings and his advocacy.
Interesting how his life flattened out as he got older, kind of like the rest of us. Like most people, he remembers with clarity the passions of his youth; his childhood, the love for his family and people and his pain at their loss. As he aged, his "work" became more complex, with more steps, and the time line starts to blur and blend. I don't mean to trivialize his work or his experiences. Nobody is immune from the passage of time. I'd think that Mr. Wiesel would agree.
April 22, 2014
The book All Rivers Run to the Sea is Elie Wiesel’s memoir of his life before and after the Holocaust as well as his rise as a self-sufficient and independent character who had to look after himself. The book begins with a quick look into his childhood in Sighet and ends with his marriage to his wife Marion in Jerusalem. In regards to the book, Elie Wiesel only focusses lightly on his experiences during childhood and in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Though the book does focus on his life after his experience in Nazi concentration Camps, he still provides his thoughts of his parents, friends, and family in Sighet. Elie also provides grasping stories of his life which whisk you away while reading his memoir. However, it is a long and lengthy book and by no means is a light read. Also, it can take a while to get into the story which may be a bit of a struggle for some people, especially because not all events in the book are explained chronologically. However, the reward for reading this memoir focused on Elie Wiesel’s life after liberation is truly spectacular. You will see his devotion to studying Judaism as well as his career as a journalist, his love of writing, and his travels to exotic places such as India and Brazil. The decision is up to you. If you are looking for a bit of a challenge to read or are interested in this topic then this is the book for you!
February 22, 2014
I disliked this book. There was too much self-absorbed, stream of consciousness, diary-quality prose...detailing apparently everything he ever read, everyone he ever spoke to, every trip he ever took, thought he thought and word he spoke. His telling shifts back and forth in time making it impossible to track events chronologically (or even his age at the time of events).
To me, this book lacked literary quality, although my opinion may be colored somewhat by the fact I read this after I read "My Promised Land," by Ari Shavit, which I thought was beautifully written.
If you are fascinated by Elie Wiesel already, you may like this book. Otherwise, it's doubtful.
To me, this book lacked literary quality, although my opinion may be colored somewhat by the fact I read this after I read "My Promised Land," by Ari Shavit, which I thought was beautifully written.
If you are fascinated by Elie Wiesel already, you may like this book. Otherwise, it's doubtful.
September 15, 2015
I love Elie Wiesel. From Night to All Rivers Run to the Sea, he is the greatest writer of the Holocaust writers. His depth of understanding humanity and his love for all people is amazing. He is a powerful example of what it means honor the human spirit.
February 12, 2023
This book is the somewhat disjointed memoir of Elie Wiesel, spanning his childhood before the Holocaust and ending with his wedding in 1969. It was remarkable to learn how long he lived as a “stateless person” without citizenship and how challenging and lonely his life was following the end of the war. He nevertheless found community and purpose in his work as a journalist and writer, covering stories about Israel, reporting from France and the United Nations. I especially appreciated the section on Soviet Jewry and his dangerous trip to the USSR to show solidarity with them. My first teaching job was with Jewish refugees from the breakup of the USSR and I wondered if any of their parents had met him. Inspiring and steadfast, he remained incredibly humble about his accomplishments and dedicated to human rights.
February 10, 2022
Elie Wiesel’s memoir is a very emotional book that carries you through his childhood in Sighet, Romania, to Auschwitz at age 15, to France for his education and his career as a journalist through his life in New York City. Covering events in Israel along with the plight of Soviet Jews.
A passage of from his meeting an old man at the wailing wall after the Six Day War will linger in my memory.
“An old man, who looked as if he were stepping out of a novel I was to write later, murmured as if to himself, “Do you know how we managed to defeat the enemy? Six million Jewish souls prayed for us.” I touched his arm. “Who are you?” I asked. He looked at me gently: “I am one who prays”
This a Memoir that will stay with me.
A passage of from his meeting an old man at the wailing wall after the Six Day War will linger in my memory.
“An old man, who looked as if he were stepping out of a novel I was to write later, murmured as if to himself, “Do you know how we managed to defeat the enemy? Six million Jewish souls prayed for us.” I touched his arm. “Who are you?” I asked. He looked at me gently: “I am one who prays”
This a Memoir that will stay with me.
December 8, 2019
Extremely powerful and honest memoir of a youth caught up in Shoah. He ends up in Auschwitz with his family and immediately loses his mom and young sister to gas chambers. He describes what happened to him and his dad. My own grandpa Wulf(William) Blumberg perished there in July 1943 upon arrival in Convoy 57 from Drancy, France. He was one among 1000 people including 126 children whose fault was only that at least one of their grandparents was Jewish. Elie Wiesel's writing made this place very real to me.
September 9, 2009
Wow. Incredible autobiography from his childhood through the 1960s of famous Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel. It was a bit confusing here and there due to his inclusions of Jewish words, phrasing, and traditions- I found myself googling all sorts of experiences familiar with the Jewish tradition. I appreciate his candor regarding his love life, survivor experiences, journalist experiences, and authorship. I would recommend for folks to read 'Night' first, then read this.
March 15, 2013
After reading this book, I want to read his other books. I've read "Night" which was very good. This book is amazing. What an interesting life full of trials and opportunities. Truly a great person who took what God gave him (the good and the bad) and lived his life.
December 18, 2007
An amazing poetic biography.
Read
December 16, 2012La storia e le storie
Quando un ebreo non ha una risposta da dare, ha sempre almeno una storia da raccontare.
Quando un ebreo non ha una risposta da dare, ha sempre almeno una storia da raccontare.
May 7, 2015
Is Wiesel serious? Read this review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
May 9, 2016
4.5 stars. An excellent biography!
April 21, 2020
An important memoir! A dedicated Wiesel fan would also read all of his works in conjunction to this and get such a unique look at his life, philosophy, and encounters. He uses a lot of his personal experiences as backdrop for all his works, not just the wel-known Night. I didn’t know much about wiesels life post holocaust and this didn’t know he was a starving journalist for a large portion of his career. Being as such, his memoir often reads like an article most of the time, especially in his seemingly endless catalogue of meetings with people, travels, and time spent finding “scoops.” Of course this was his life, so it’s fair to be detailed here. It does make parts of the book a bit of a drudgery to read through since writing from an editorial lens is a bit less engaging than more of a prose. Irregardless, it’s crucial to keep his memory alive and remember that when we all stand in silence against known evil we, in some way, are responsible for perpetuating that evil.
September 1, 2020
I read this with a book club. Three stars reflect my rating system of “liked it but wouldn’t read it again.” Weisel’s Memoirs was interesting in parts, but there were times I had trouble following the circular telling of life events. There were various things I enjoyed reading and made notes and comments in the margins. One of my favorite chapters was “Writing” in which he shared tidbits about how various novels were written and published. Before I would pick up his second memoir, I would read one of his novels.
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June 24, 2019What a life he lead. This tells the story from his childhood until he was about 40 years old. Life in a Nazi Concentration camp, as a man without a country and his journey to a life as a journalist and author. Elie Wiesel is an inspiration.
July 27, 2021
The man is a master writer. The first part exceptionally poignant. Second half interesting but complicated. It helps to have a good grasp of Israel's history since 1948.
October 18, 2025
This volume of memoirs from Elie Wiesel spans from his early life through his experiences during World War II. I appreciated the more in depth look at his life than I had gotten from Night. If you are interested in the Holocaust or World War II, this would be a good book for you to read.
May 18, 2022
Although Wiesel devotes some time to his Holocaust experiences and to his most famous work, most of this book is a meandering set of stories about Wiesel's life in the 1950s and 1960s, when Wiesel was a struggling journalist rather than a secular saint.
Here's one of the more entertaining stories: Wiesel and a few colleagues decide to see the American West, and go to an Indian reservation. He writes: "The man who greeted us in a tent decorated with feathers and other tribal insignia might have stepped out of a movie. Tall, erect, impassive and majestic, he had a slow, dignified walk and a weathered, angular face. We hung on his every word as he explained the Indian concept of life and death. He was respectful, and he inspired respect. At one point, he asked us to sign his visitor's book." After Wiesel signs in Hebrew, the man responds "Sholom Aleichem" (peace be upon you) in Yiddish. The man was in fact a Holocaust survivor who, after other adventures, "moved to Arizona and made his living as an Indian by day while remaining a Jew by night."
Here's one of the more entertaining stories: Wiesel and a few colleagues decide to see the American West, and go to an Indian reservation. He writes: "The man who greeted us in a tent decorated with feathers and other tribal insignia might have stepped out of a movie. Tall, erect, impassive and majestic, he had a slow, dignified walk and a weathered, angular face. We hung on his every word as he explained the Indian concept of life and death. He was respectful, and he inspired respect. At one point, he asked us to sign his visitor's book." After Wiesel signs in Hebrew, the man responds "Sholom Aleichem" (peace be upon you) in Yiddish. The man was in fact a Holocaust survivor who, after other adventures, "moved to Arizona and made his living as an Indian by day while remaining a Jew by night."
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