Dan Medalle Medalle itibaren Laketon, NB E1N, Canada itibaren Laketon, NB E1N, Canada

Pretty solid book. The author examines anti semitism in the USA and abroad and explains why it affected the Allies response to the Holocaust. The only problem with the book is most of the author's points keep using the same evidence, polling data on anti semitic trends in the USA at the time etc. After awhile it becomes redundant. I would also have liked to see an closer examination of many of the schemes that were put on the table at the time. For examople could the railway tracks to the extermination centers have been bombed. What would have been the cost. Could the Allies have just ignored the Arabs in the region and allowed unlimited immigration to Palestine etc.

"I had a delightful canter of several miles before the sun was above the tree-tops, the morning mists, rose-flushed, rolled grandly away, and just as I reached the beautiful pass of Bukit Berapit, the apes were hooting their morning hymn, and the forests rang with the joyous trills and songs of birds. 'All Thy works praise Thee, O Lord!'" Isabella ate with British functionaries--and with apes at the table, eating off of fine china. She rode in dug-outs through swampy lakes. She rode on frightening elephants, even across a river, where the elephant submerged itself, leaving only its trunk above water to breathe, and she got wet, sitting in a basket slung across its back. She befriended a little wau-wau ape, who later became ill and died. She visited prisons and market-places. She traveled in dirty little steamers and on foot. Mosquitoes bit her, leeches clung to her ankles, and tiger roars frightened her. I learned that the phrase "to run amok" had its origin in Malaysia. It referred to a man suddenly going crazy, grabbing a knife, running through the village, and slashing everyone in sight. People would cry "Amok! Amok!" to warn each other that this madman was on a tear. I also learned that a great problem in Malaysia in the late 1800s was debt-slavery. For owing a debt, a man could become a slave, along with his wife, children, and grandchildren. And if the debtor came up with the money to pay off his debt, his "master" could simply refuse to accept it. And "masters" were not required to take care of the slaves, so often the slaves had to come up with their own food, clothing, and other necessities. Yet they were considered property, like cattle, and could be killed for even small infractions or on the "master's" whim. Let us hope this system is no longer in place there. I would have rated this book higher, but she does get tedious at times, especially when she feels the need to recite export statistics and the like. But on the whole, this was great to read. I look forward to reading about her exploits in Japan.