Roses from the Earth: The Biography of Anne

From the day her mother gave birth to her in June 1929 to her tragic and untimely death at the age of 15, Carol Ann Lee has written an exquisitely detailed biography of one of the heroines of the Holocaust. In this warts and all portrayal of Anne, her family and the other members of the "Secret Annexe", Lee sticks a balloon into the myth of the cheerful teen who happened to be a Jew hiding from the Nazis. She describes Anne's good and bad points, as well as those who hid with her during those two years in the attic of her father's office. Just like me and others, you will find yourself cheering, full of hope, when the Allies land in Europe, only to be jolted back into reality when the Franks, Van Pels and Dr. Pfeffer are discovered and eventually meet their fates in the death camps. The last few months of Anne's life is not the stuff of fairy tales, and Lee pulls no punches in describing the inhuman living conditions and daily humiliations the concentration camp prisoners had to go through. There is, however, a muted sense of triumph as Miep Gies holds on to the diary. If she had not, we would never have known about Anne, her family and friends, and Lee would not have had the opportunity to write this devastatingly thorough biography. Perhaps the best bio of Anne Frank ever written.

this 's a good biography of Anne. it's very interesting book so i can't turn my eyes of it..

Agosto del 2001He leído el libro en dos días, me ha cautivado el estilo de la escritora, pero sobre todo los hechos de la vida de Ana. Esta biografia es la primero que leo sobre Ana, ignoraba que hubiera algo como esto ademas del diario. Pienso que la autora ha hecho un excelente trabajo de investigacion sobre los acontecimientos que sucedieron antes, durante y despues en la vida de la familia Frank, durante esos tragicos dias de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El libro ademas de presentar los hechos de una manera cronologica fundamentados con documentos historicos, tiene, diria yo, un "sabor" familiar, es como si la autora nos estuviera contando algo que le ha sucedido a algun ser querido muy cercano a nosotros (los lectores). Las excelentes fotografias que tiene el libro permite que se conozca a algunos de las personas con las que Ana convivio. Al final del libro se encuentra una parte dedicada a quien pudo haber traicionado a los que se escondian en la "casa de atras". Esta parte me gusto mucho porque es una pregunta que surge al estar leyendo el libro. Es un excelente libro sobre la vida de Ana Frank.

This book is wonderful, it was done with the complete cooperation of Anna's surviving relatives, who gave the author letters, photographs and Anna's more personal side. They finally show us Anna's mother and father, and you will find letters and parts of Otto Frank's diary and memoirs, where he sees a complicated relationship between mother and daughter, and the pain he felt that Anna and her mother could have more time together to get to know and understan each other better, he knew that the fights where due to her age. For the first time you get to know Anna Frank, not as a victim, but as a human being, who loved, laughed and cared, but who also fought, cried and felt alone. A must read, Enjoy!