Jerry Stahl

I had no idea tours through the concentration camps existed. I was curious as to just who would select to visit such a place. We get to find out. Jerry Stahl's humor gets us through one of history's worst chapters. Jerry and his bus mates visit the scenes of atrocities committed by the Nazis and now displayed with snack bars and souvenirs like a theme park. Jerry's dark humor is necessary to keep us from being overwhelmed as the tour guides point out details. But the author also honors the seriousness of the hell those residents of the camps were subjected to. Sometimes Jerry's references are a bit obscure, but always right on the mark. We also learn a lot about the author. His writing style is perfect for this book.… (más)

This was a deeply funny look at Holocaust memory and the commercialization of the Holocaust. The idea of a package tour of Holocaust sites is deeply weird to me, and I think Stahl as well, but at the same time totally understandable. His descriptions of the folks on the tour with him are very funny and ring true. His encounter with neo-Nazis in Poland is disturbing, as well as the guy in the camp who clearly doesn't believe any of it actually happened. Not a book to read if you are easily offended by humor amidst such a dark subject. People are weird, and Stahl knows it, even about himself. He also gets that the Holocaust was perpetuated by people and some of the same beliefs that motivated them remain in place today. Recommended.… (más)