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Tells the incredible story of this courageous young writer.

In this groundbreaking new series, DK brings together fresh voices and DK design values to give readers the most information-packed, visually exciting biographies on the market today. Full-color photographs of people, places, and artifacts, definitions of key words, and sidebars on related subjects add dimension and relevance to stories of famous lives that students will love to read. ... Read more

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In this engaging study of the much-loved statesman andpolymath,Robert Middlekauff uncovers a little-known aspect of Benjamin Franklin'spersonalityhis passionate anger. He reveals a fully human Franklin wholed aremarkable life but nonetheless had his share of hostile relationships politicaladversaries like the Penns, John Adams, and Arthur Leeand greatdisappointmentsthe most significant being his son, William, who sidedwith theBritish. Utilizing an abundance of archival sources, Middlekauff weavesepisodesin Franklin's emotional life into key moments in colonial andRevolutionaryhistory. The result is a highly readable narrative that illuminates howhistorical passions can torment even the most rational and benevolent ofmen. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Extraordinary!
This is an extraordinary literary work of history and biography. Middlekauff stikes the right balance here between erudition and urbanity. Seeing Benjamin Franklin through the eyes of his enemies reveals not just the complicated character of the man but also the complicated moment in history that he occupied. I highly recommend this book! ... Read more

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Reviews (2)

Why did Freud abandon his famous seduction theory?
Does anyone other then Sigmund Freud know why he abandoned his seduction theory so quickly, one that he thought would bring him fame and fortune as a revolutionary healer? I would have to say no. Masson and Newton both give compelling arguments to what they both believe to be the truth of why Freud did what he did; Masson claiming Freud abandoned his seduction theory because of political and social preasure, Newton claiming Freud did so because he was fighting a mid life crisis. It is impossible to form an opinion without reading them both carefully, so I think this book, along with Masson's, is worth the read. My synopsis is that Freud never really gave up on the seduction theory at all, but simply realized that he would get much farther going a different route, then bringing Victoria Austria to it's knees by claiming it was laden with child molesters.

Groundbreaking study on Freud
With so many biographies and books on Freud, the question is why read another? Newton's biographical study of Freud is unique in examining the great psychologist's life from an adult developmental viewpoint. The key achievement of this book is a finely detailed study of how Freud's adult development -- his dreams of accomplishment, his relationships, and career decisions -- interlock with Freud's creative achievement in creating the foundations of psychoanalysis in the midst of a mid-life crisis. Newton argues that the tasks of the mid-life crisis were peculiarly interrelated with Freud's creative achievement. Incidentally, this finely researched and written book demolishes Jeffrey Masson's notorious thesis that Freud abandoned his theory of infantile seduction due to cowardice, with Newton relying heavily upon Freud's written correspondence with his friend, Fliess. An exciting book that reads at times like a novel. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

An Abomination!
I have seen some wretched books on the market in my day, but nothing, absolutely nothing, is as offensive and as crass as this. First of all, psychoanalysis is not a science, which makes these authors' approach to Anne Frank and Etty Hillesum's respective ordeals cheap enough, but even with that, it's an abomination to put two women who were victims of the Holocaust under such horrific, over-analyzed scrutiny. As Richard Nixon once said, "I don't mind when people put me under a microscope, but when they use a proctoscope, that's going too far." Indeed! This book is so bad it's unbelievable.

A landmark!
Denise de Costa has written a valuable and extraordinarily
intelligent interpretation of Anne Frank the individual behind the writer, as she presented herself in her original diaries and then in the revised manuscript she prepared in hiding. Reading between these texts de Costa's insights are dazzling, critical and thought provoking: she examines Anne's motivation to write, her growing dependency on the diary, her unfolding maturity and her troubled relationship with her mother. This is a compelling book and a major contribution to our understanding of Anne Frank.

maganifcent book!
the book about anne frank is truely marvalous! A wondfull biography for a teenager or young adult! Defently mworth reading!

1 ... Read more

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Edited with an Introduction by Kenneth A. Silverman ... Read more

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In this shocking and definitive new biography, Carol Ann Lee provides the answer to one of the most heartbreaking questions of modern times: Who betrayed Anne Frank and her family to the Nazis? Probing this startling act of treachery, Lee brings to light never-before-documented information about Anne's father, Otto Frank, and the individual who would claim responsibility -- and their terrifying and complicated relationship that continued until the day Frank died.

With The Hidden Life of Otto Frank, Carol Ann Lee presents an astonishing and moving portrait of a man whose life, both charmed and cursed, was interwoven with one of the most momentous events of the last century as the father of Anne Frank. Based on impeccable research into rare archives and filled with excerpts from the secret journal that he kept from the day of his liberation from Auschwitz until his return to the secret annex in 1945, this landmark biography explores every facet of Frank's life. The publication of Anne Frank's diary turned this quietly heroic man into a legend, but until now, apart from a few basic facts, almost nothing has been written about Otto Frank's own extraordinary life.

The father of the most famous young girl of the twentieth century, Otto Frank was born a month before Adolf Hitler, and grew up in a wealthy German Jewish household. In World War I, he fought for Germany -- which he believed to be his homeland -- as an officer in the trenches of the Somme. Lee documents these privileged early years, when Frank and his family were models of wholly assembled European Jewry. She also reveals the full story behind Frank's first cruelly thwarted love affair, as well as the truth about his subsequent arranged marriage to Anne's mother.

After struggling to establish a business in Amsterdam, Frank and his family spent happy years together before the war. Then came their period in hiding, their eventual betrayal, and their internment in the death camps of Poland and Germany. For the first time, Frank's experiences during and after Auschwitz -- and during his return to Amsterdam, where, wholly destitute, he lost everything "except life" -- are told in full. The subsequent delivery of his daughter's diary, and the publishing phenomenon that ensued, helped him begin to recover.

Deeply moving and powerfully honest, The Hidden Life of Otto Frank authoritatively brings into focus a little-understood man whose story illuminates some of the most harrowing and memorable events of the last century.

Reviews (6)

Not what I expected
I loved the diary of Ann Frank, but this book pales in comparison. I found my mind wondering while reading it. I found it painful to even finish. In my opinion, the author should work on her writing style, keep the reader interested.

Why didn't I like this better?
I think I know why. The author was so adoring of Otto Frank, despite presenting information about his cold-heartedly arranged marriage to his wife, Edith, and his company's dealings with the Germans (for which he was blackmailed later). It became annoying to read. Sure, Otto deserves our deepest sympathy for all he suffered and lost. And he wasn't the scum that his blackmailer was. But he was not a saint & this author is not just in her presentation. She completely blurs over the fact that he married his first wife for her money & made her fairly miserable by never being able to love her (or even offer her a reasonable facsimile of love). This to me is a real failing in his character. And what about Otto's agreeing with the schmaltzing up and dumbing down of the Franks' experience in that rotten '50's play & film. Yes, I know he wanted to reach as many people as possible but for God's sake set some limits. I don't think the author has enough distance from her subject to do him justice-- she was too emotional about him, with too much sympathy for him, thus cannot give us a warts & all view of his life. It IS possible that there were people who suffered in concentration camps --while not deserving that experience-- who were not super-fine people!! I would have preferred more acceptance of Otto's faults from the author, instead of trying to brush them aside in her haste to make us understand what a "fine, sensitive, loving (words used over & over) man" he was.

New documented information about Anne's father Otto
The Hidden Life Of Otto Frank is a lively new biography provides important new clues to the question of who betrayed Anne Frank and her family to the Nazis. New documented information about Anne's father Otto and the individual who would claim responsibility makes for an involving study which is packed with excerpts from Frank's own secret journal and exhaustive research results. The Hidden Life Of Otto Frank is a 'must' for any library offering a definitive collection on the Frank experience in particular and Nazi survivors in general.

Engrossing and well-researched, but slightly dry at times
From the horror of the Holocaust there has arisen an incredible cannon of informative, evocative and always powerful literature. From THE TIN DRUM to SOPHIE'S CHOICE to NIGHT, the list is as long as it is impressive. But one author's name is mentioned most often and most indelibly in connection with Holocaust literature, a girl who didn't even survive through her concentration camp experience.

That girl, of course, is Anne Frank. Somehow her father did survive and, upon returning to Amsterdam, discovered the diary his youngest daughter kept during the Frank family's two years in hiding from the Nazis. Thusly, Anne's words were published and soon became the world's most widely read account of the Holocaust. The experience of a young person's climb to maturity, told in the extreme context of quietly battling for her life, universalized the situation in a way nothing else has before or since.

There have been several Anne Frank biographies published, as well as books about the Frank family's Dutch "helpers," who hid them in the secret annex. But little has been written, at least in book form, about Anne's beloved father, Otto, the man who published the diary. Carol Ann Lee's THE HIDDEN LIFE OF OTTO FRANK tackles this topic, four years after her literary debut ROSES FROM THE EARTH: The Biography of Anne Frank.

Don't let the somewhat salacious title fool you. There's no Mr. Frank mistress hidden amongst the Jews in the attic, or any particularly outrageous diary passages that have never been seen before. In her extremely knowledgeable and competent, if never particularly florid, writing style, Lee presents a straightforward portrait of a man who tried to harness his pain for the greater good. Otto is a sympathetic character. He's not saint material, but he appears to have been the good and just man that Anne portrays him to be in her adoring writings. Lee traces his life, from his German roots to his family's immigration to Holland to his second, more loving marriage. Her many sources include excerpts from Otto's pre-, post- and wartime letters; the ones dating from just after his Auschwitz internment become particularly interesting and heartbreaking. Readers already know that his daughters will not return. But it takes Otto a painfully long time to discover this.

The book's only truly new revelation is the accusation of a new Frank family betrayer. Past theories have abounded, including the new warehouseman, burglars looking for extra money, or suspicious neighbors. According to Lee's theory (and this is not giving anything away, as she voices it in the introduction), ne'er do well Tonny Ahlers did it. Ahlers, an early Nazi informant, actually saved the Franks from the Germans once. He turned over an incriminating letter that accused Otto of anti-German sentiments in 1941. Otto paid off Ahlers twice for giving Otto the letter instead of sending it along to his superiors. Lee believes there was a larger blackmail scheme ongoing and that Ahlers eventually turned in the Franks (and the four others living with them) because he needed the money.

This theory certainly tracks as well as any others that have been introduced with regard to the Frank betrayer. But it is also the only part of this book that seems forced. Lee tries very hard to link Otto and Ahlers together, when there is minimal evidence that they crossed paths beyond once or twice. Though two of Ahlers' immediate relations confirm that their brother/father turned the Franks in, this is not conclusive. Lee struggles to make Ahlers a focal point when he seems more like an interesting sidelight. Since this is the only truly new revelation, it seems understandable. But the sections still read a bit stilted.

Our international interest in Anne Frank shows no signs of ebbing. When this book was published in the Netherlands last year, it drew national attention. And it is an engrossing, well-researched, if at times slightly dry, read. As always, it seems an impossible shame that Anne is not here to see the many legacies she left.

--- Reviewed by Toni Fitzgerald

An interesting thesis
I'm sure that there are many other readers who have a great deal more expetise on the subject of Anne Frank than I do. As a result, I'm sure that there are persons who will question aspects of Carol Ann Lee's thesis about Otto Frank, his relations with the Germans her theory on who turned the Franks in.

Many years ago in high school I read the diary and have read the recent biography of Anne. So I certainly don't claim to be an expert. But the story has always intigued me and when I heard The Hidden Life of Otto Frank on public radio I ordered the book.

Lee makes an interesting argument and gives a facinating view of Otto. She makes him come to life and you see him outside of the attic and feel the pain that he suffered. Those interested in Anne's story, Otto's life and the way Otto marketed the diary will enjoy the book. It's also interesting to see the conflicts that arose as to what the emphasis of Anne's story should be.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has read the diary. It's a quick read and very interesting. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Anne's message enhanced
"The Diary of Anne Frank: The Critical Edition" is a wonderful chronicle on the life and writings of that perky Dutch teenager. Now in my late thirties, I first read her diary at thirteen. I was just a frisky Australian schoolboy trying to learn more about the mysterious world of girls. That first read, though, put me in tears. The diary enchanted me and I wanted to know more about Anne, her family, and those fatal frosted footsteps beyond the Secret Annex.

In time, I would learn more, much more. As the "The Critical Edition" shows there is in fact not one diary but several as Anne rethought and revised her own work. "The Critical Edition" places the various revisions side by side so readers can gain an insight into how Anne constructed her work. There is genius in Anne's work but it didn't always come in the first draft. As inspiration to us mortals, she too, had to work at it.

"The Critical Edition" has an especially fascinating account of the publishing history of the diary. Anne's father was the key to publication and it would be some time before he could come to terms with Anne's incredibly honest account of her developing sexuality and those raw comments on her mother, Edith. Publication also came at a time when people's minds were barely coping with understanding World War II and its legacy. For the first time, "The Critical Edition" highlights the difficulties with translating Anne's diary into German and how, for some, it had come too soon and too fast after the great conflict. Yet, for others, the diary was too good to be the work of - in Anne's words - an "incurable chatterbox". Again, this scholarly (and lengthy) work reveals the outcome of analysis that proves the diary's authenticity.

For the reader there is the danger that the light shed on Anne's life and work by this book will lower her from the enormous pedestal she has arisen. In fact, Anne's spirit emerges even stronger. "The Diary of Anne Frank: the Critical Edition" enhances Anne's irrevocable message that freedom and good can reign over a corrupt and evil world.

Anne's diary is wonderful.Reading it is unforgettable.
This book is something that is absolutely wonderful, and life changing. It is so because of its author- a teen-age Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis from 1942 to 1945. Reading this allows you to feel what she was feeling, expeirience what she experienced. And all of it is true. It all happened, and the diary allows you to know Anne Frank, in a sence. Her thoughts and ideas were real, and they remain to be because of the diary. Anne goes on, and reading what she went through will change your life.

Diary of Anne Frank
I am going to tell you about the best book I have ever read. The best book I have read is
The Diary of Anne Frank. It is about a little girl that is Jewish. It takes place in 1945 during
World War II. It talks about them being scared of hearing a knock at the door. It talks about them getting sent to concentration camps and how the people get tortured there like in gas chambers that is were they stick you in a room air tight and fill the room with deadly gas fumes. They wood also cut all your hair off and tattoo a number on you. Most of the people would die because they would freeze to death because it was so cold. They were fed very little food and their beds had flies all around them and they would make you have a job like cleaning the bathrooms. So you can see people there were treated very badly. And all this happened because one man named Hitler wanted to do this all because the people where Jewish. These are just a few things why this is my favorite book. And I think that you should read this book too.

Anne Frank: An INTERESTING Person
I really didnt know much about Anne Frank and the Holocaust until my seventh grade year. But once i learned about it i developed an interest in it. It was a sad SAD thing to study but it is life which i want to learn more about and it is history which i love to study. Anne Frank was the most interesting person that i studied about in the Holocaust. Read the book and find out just how interesting she was!!!!

The Diary of Anne Frank: The Critical Edition is the best!
I love this book, because it make me understand that all three versions of the diary that know Anne wrote her original diaries,two notebooks and 324 loose sheet while she was hiding.

Anne did write alot about her friends, sexual feeelings, and fighting between her and her mother. The second one is missing,so she did finish the rewrite on loose sheet which is version B that the dated from December 7, 1942 to December 22, 1943. The last page of the rewrite on loose sheet on March 29,1994 about listening the radio broadcasting the Duth Exile from london that collected the daries and letters that people want to read then after the war. Anne did all the rewrite, but she never finished sadly, on August 4, 1944 the day of the arrest the nazi interupted her. She is a great writer of all times. I'm very obessed Anne Frank, because she is so smart!.

Anyone want to know about Anne's life was Melissa Muller's Biography "Anne Frank" This is a great book!

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Benjamin Franklin was born the youngest of seventeen children.Born a native of Boston on January 6th 1706.Franklin grew up and found work as a printer in 1723 and eventually started his own printing house where he began printing "The Pennsylvania Gazette" among this he partially wrote and published "Poor Richard Almanac" and later founded the "American Philosophical Society".In 1777 in while living in Philadelphia Franklin was chosen as a member of the Continental Congress. Also known for his inventions Franklin died on April 17th of 1770. Please Note:This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher.The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. ... Read more

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Routledge is now re-issuing this prestigious series of 204 volumes originally published between 1910 and 1965. The titles include works by key figures such asC.G. Jung, Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Otto Rank, James Hillman, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney and Susan Isaacs. Each volume is available on its own, as part of a themed mini-set, or as part of a specially-priced 204-volume set. A brochure listing each title in the International Library of Psychology series is available upon request. ... Read more

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rather ridiculous
I respect leonardo deeply.Though there is not a lot of information about this mysterious person,freud should not jump to conclusions that leo is a person with homosexual instincts.Just simply having a few pieces of information ,freud still dare to voice it out.He himself also admitted he does not have much information,yet he still manage to write so many things about leo.However,freuds insight into other areas like pscho-analysis is wonderful. ... Read more

Book Description

Hear the fascinating tale of America¹s first jack-of-all-trades. Printer, inventor, scientist, and statesman, Ben Franklin did it all during our nation¹s infancy. Franklin¹s story is told using his own newspaper articles and personal recollections. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Benjamin Franklin
What would you call Benjamin Franklin? Was he a scientist, an inventor, a printer, a postmaster, a diplomat, or a founding father? Well, to find out, read
" Benjamin Franklin," written by Peter and Connie Roop. Ben Franklin`s life began by being a poor soap maker`s son in Boston. By the time he was 17, he had already run off to Philadelphia to be a printer`s apprentice. During his life he had helped discover and create many different things like bifocals, the Franklin stove, lightning rods, electrical circuits, and the United States Constitution.
In this biograpy, Peter and Connie Roop have shown the readers not their opinions, but Franklin`s instead. This book uses mostly primary sources like Ben Franklin`s autobiography and letters. I liked this book because it was not just a story, but partly a mystery and because it was half story, half fact by fact.
I recommend this book to 8-9 year old readers who enjoy reading about U.S. history. So what is a scientist, an inventor, a printer, a postmaster, a diplomat and a founding father? Benjamin Franklin, of course!

Not too many of his own words but a solid biography
The "In Their Own Words" series tells the story of famous Americans using various primary documents. For the life of Benjamin Franklin, authors Peter and Connie Roop use not only Franklin's autobiography, but his letters, pamphlets, scientific papers, essays, and, of course, his epigrammatic sayings from "Poor Richard's Almanac." However, Franklin's words are not used as much as you would think. So while this is a solid juvenile biography of Franklin, it really does not use his own words much more than an "ordinary" biography. This book has various illustrations, including paintings representing Franklin's life, photographs of a printing press and some of his inventions from his life, and reproductions of some of the things he printed. A photograph of his grave in Philadelphia is accompanied by a reproduction of his handwritten instructions for his epitaph. In the final analysis, despite the irony of the book not living up to its own title, "In Their Own Words: Benjamin Franklin" will give young readers a solid introduction to the life of the greatest American president never to be president.

This is a very good book
This book is a very good book because we can follow the good characters Benjamin Franklin did in his life. ... Read more

Book Description

An engrossing biography of Benjamin Franklin's illegitimate son, showing how the America Revolution tore Ben and William apart. This accoutn follows William Frnklin's career from fighting in the French and Indian War to leading royal loyalists in New York, Capturing the bitterness of a family split between father and son, patriot and loyalist. ... Read more

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For older kids
My son requested this book for a book report that he's doing on a famous American. Although the book is listed for ages 9-12, it's really more appropriate for 12 and above. My son found it difficult to stay interested in this book as it's not written in a format that keeps a 9-year-old intrigued. My son is an excellent reader, so being unable to read wasn't the problem. The book gives almost too much detail about incidents and experiences in Henry Ford's life. Short and sweet might have worked better if this book is being marketed for the 9-12 age group.

henry ford; building cars for everyone
It was a great book for car enthosiests.But as a general motors fan fords arent my first choice in cars. ... Read more

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The story of Benjamin Franklin, the self-made American
Benjamin Franklin lived such a long and productive life that it is really hard to do justice to him in a short biography, which is saying something because this volume in the Colonial Leaders series is not exactly short. I remember Franklin being described as the greatest President never to be President, and this juvenile biography by Bruce and Becky Durost Fish will certainly give young readers an indication of why this is the case. The book describes Franklin as American Statesman, Scientist, and Writer, which is essentially the reverse order of the major stages of his life.

We learn about how Franklin was a prime example of the self-made American, whose aptitude for printing and witty writing made him rich. This biography makes it clear that Franklin wanted not only a better life for himself, but for other people as well. He invented the Franklin stove and gave away the patent because it was a better way of heating homes, which was a public benefit. Students will learn a little about several of his inventions, as well as some of the things he wrote and the many diplomatic endeavors Franklin undertook for his country. The book is illustrated with historic paintings and etching of Franklin, as well as some of the key events of colonial times, and photographs of some of his inventions. Ultimately, this book can really only sketch out Franklin's life. But it does serve as a more than adequate introduction to his life for young readers.

Chronologically Franklin, along with Benjamin Banneker, is one of the last figure in the Colonial Leaders series, which starts with John Smith and William Bradford. There is a companion series of sorts which focuses on Revolutionary War Leaders from Benedict Arnold to George Washington (but without including John Adams as its most glaring omission). ... Read more