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Goodbye Berlin: The Biography of Gerald Wiener
The 24th of March, 1939, was a poignant day for twelve-year-old Gerald Wiener. He was on a train pulling out of Berlin and he was on his way to the UK to escape persecution in Nazi Germany. He was one of the thousands of unaccompanied children saved by the Kindertransport. Looked after by two sisters in Oxford, his abilities as a scholar became apparent and from an early age he was set on the road to academic achievement.
There followed a distinguished career as a research scientist in Edinburgh, where he made a genetic discovery that received international recognition. His research department was a centre of excellence and after he retired members of his department went on to make an astonishing breakthrough in genetics, the cloning of Dolly the sheep. During his career Gerald was also in demand to assist agricultural development in China, India, the secretive North Korea and many other countries, and his trips during these years are full of incident and fascinating human and social insights.
It was while he was on a postdoctoral fellowship in the USA that he discovered he had a large family in California. He had known nothing of them as his mother and father had parted when he was only two years old. His aunt and stepmother gave him compelling accounts of their escapes from Hitler, via Shanghai, and life under the Japanese during the War.
Their stories, and that of Gerald himself, are amazing tales of resilience and triumph over adversity. This book shows how one man's life and achievements mirror the great events of the second half of the twentieth century and the opening years of the new millennium.
There followed a distinguished career as a research scientist in Edinburgh, where he made a genetic discovery that received international recognition. His research department was a centre of excellence and after he retired members of his department went on to make an astonishing breakthrough in genetics, the cloning of Dolly the sheep. During his career Gerald was also in demand to assist agricultural development in China, India, the secretive North Korea and many other countries, and his trips during these years are full of incident and fascinating human and social insights.
It was while he was on a postdoctoral fellowship in the USA that he discovered he had a large family in California. He had known nothing of them as his mother and father had parted when he was only two years old. His aunt and stepmother gave him compelling accounts of their escapes from Hitler, via Shanghai, and life under the Japanese during the War.
Their stories, and that of Gerald himself, are amazing tales of resilience and triumph over adversity. This book shows how one man's life and achievements mirror the great events of the second half of the twentieth century and the opening years of the new millennium.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published September 19, 2016
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December 21, 2016
I give this review the title: SAVED WAR CHILD BECOMES GLOBAL CONTRIBUTOR
Margaret M. Dunlop has placed her 'writer's stamp' - MUST READ- ( I say facetiously) on this, her third book. I have read her first two works of fiction and enjoyed them immensely: 'Blind Date in Gibraltar' and 'Marching in Scotland, Dancing in New York.' Now, this non-fiction, a biography of a highly-celebrated scientist and a contributor to global concerns, is just as interesting a read as the other two books. And the bonus, here, is that Dunlop understands her 'subject' well, for she is his wife.
This uplifting biography talks about a shy, sweet Jewish boy in Berlin whose mother agrees to send her only child out of the country, Germany, for his protection, as Jews were beginning to be persecuted by the Nazis. Fortunately, the lad makes his escape just before the outbreak of war. A 'Save the Children' organization, know as 'Kindertransport' evacuated the children in jeopardy, without their parents, and moved them to Great Britain.
What a story! Young Horst, later known by his middle name of Gerald, shows an intellectual curiosity and ability, and with his good manners becomes a favourite of different people of means and generosity who support him and help him to thrive, until his mother is able to join him, and even then after. Gerald's patrons help him with living costs and education, in which he excels, to everyone's delight and amazement.
Dunlop tells Gerald's story with personal touches, humour, and visual expression - the story of a boy who becomes a professor, and Department head of science, with many degrees, - a global traveller, invited to offer his expertise to various nations on five continents on the subject of Agricultural Development and Animal Breeding. Along the way, Gerald makes personal discoveries about his father, and another family to which he is related. Already respected, Gerald gains new friends world-wide in the shared interest of the 'great sheep-breeding project' and the 'age-old questions about nature versus nurture.'
As readers, we read for pleasure, and I believe, also, to gain new information in a subject that may be foreign to one. There is plenty to learn here, and Dunlop makes it highly enjoyable with her writing style, even for a 'non-scientific' lay-person such as me. I loved it! And here's a hint: 'HELLO DOLLY!' A lifetime dedicated to research and GENETICS.
A book of international proportions, spanning an exciting lifetime, Dunlop has written a winner once again!
Margaret M. Dunlop has placed her 'writer's stamp' - MUST READ- ( I say facetiously) on this, her third book. I have read her first two works of fiction and enjoyed them immensely: 'Blind Date in Gibraltar' and 'Marching in Scotland, Dancing in New York.' Now, this non-fiction, a biography of a highly-celebrated scientist and a contributor to global concerns, is just as interesting a read as the other two books. And the bonus, here, is that Dunlop understands her 'subject' well, for she is his wife.
This uplifting biography talks about a shy, sweet Jewish boy in Berlin whose mother agrees to send her only child out of the country, Germany, for his protection, as Jews were beginning to be persecuted by the Nazis. Fortunately, the lad makes his escape just before the outbreak of war. A 'Save the Children' organization, know as 'Kindertransport' evacuated the children in jeopardy, without their parents, and moved them to Great Britain.
What a story! Young Horst, later known by his middle name of Gerald, shows an intellectual curiosity and ability, and with his good manners becomes a favourite of different people of means and generosity who support him and help him to thrive, until his mother is able to join him, and even then after. Gerald's patrons help him with living costs and education, in which he excels, to everyone's delight and amazement.
Dunlop tells Gerald's story with personal touches, humour, and visual expression - the story of a boy who becomes a professor, and Department head of science, with many degrees, - a global traveller, invited to offer his expertise to various nations on five continents on the subject of Agricultural Development and Animal Breeding. Along the way, Gerald makes personal discoveries about his father, and another family to which he is related. Already respected, Gerald gains new friends world-wide in the shared interest of the 'great sheep-breeding project' and the 'age-old questions about nature versus nurture.'
As readers, we read for pleasure, and I believe, also, to gain new information in a subject that may be foreign to one. There is plenty to learn here, and Dunlop makes it highly enjoyable with her writing style, even for a 'non-scientific' lay-person such as me. I loved it! And here's a hint: 'HELLO DOLLY!' A lifetime dedicated to research and GENETICS.
A book of international proportions, spanning an exciting lifetime, Dunlop has written a winner once again!
Displaying 1 of 1 review