A much-lauded book when first published in 1988, Smoke & Ashes is a powerful examination of Nazi German’s attack on the Jews of Europe in World War II. In this expanded and revised edition, the intensity of the book’s original narrative remains. As does its clarity. Rogasky places the Holocaust in historical context, and carries her discussion through to current events, including the events of September 11, 2001, and continuing anti-Semitism today. Other additions to this edition include mention of gays and lesbians as being among those persecuted by the Nazi’s in World War II, information that was absent in the first edition. Some readers may find Smoke & Ashes emotionally and psychologically painful to navigate. The difficulty of the material is something Rogasky acknowledges in her introduction to both editions: “This book was not written to give you nightmares…To say the truth straight out, this is a book about murder…it is about a time that a nightmare came true.” Archival photographs, maps, and a timeline round out this important work. (Age 13 and older)

Gr. 6-12. First published in 1988, this authoritative history has now been expanded to include newly available facts and crucial issues for discussion. The core of the book remains the same, with a writing style both passionate and controlled, combining eyewitness accounts, statistics, and commentary in a spacious format that includes documentary photos (many of them taken by the Nazis) on almost every page. Rogasky has added material about the roles of Nazi "helpers," including German police and bystanders. There's a new section on the Nazi persecution of gay men, and there's more about the rescuers. The chapter on whether the Holocaust is unique covers horrifying recent events, such as the genocide in Rwanda, and a new chapter gives details about contemporary hate groups and answers those who deny that the Holocaust happened. The bibliography now includes Web sites and chapter source notes. This is an outstanding resource for the Holocaust curriculum