Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

After I visited the building in Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family had to hide during WWII, I finally decided to read her famous diary for myself. And I have to say: I was impressed. The book works very well on a variety of levels:

As History
This is an important historical witness of how the daily life of a teenager was restricted and finally squashed by the Nazi regime in Amsterdam. The humanity of Anne's daily thoughts - free-flowing and turbulent - make for a stark contrast to Hitler's cold machinery of might and control. Anne does not embody a perfect human but a real human. She becomes the face for all the faceless who were sucked into a totalitarian system.

As Literature
Considering that the diary is written by a thirteen to fifteen year-old, it is incredibly well written. The Nazis have deprived the world of a witty, pensive and creative writer.

As Psychology
Anne's diary is filled with insights into human nature. Her reflections on herself and her fellow humans are detailed and instructive, sometimes consciously so and sometimes unconsciously by eloquently voicing the feelings of someone her age.

As Child Education
This is an important book both for teenagers and parents. Anne's honesty about her feelings, development (physical and otherwise), problems and joys might help teenagers to deal better with their own development - and parents might be moved by Anne to more sympathy for that age group.

In short, this is essential reading, and ideal when discussing the Holocaust and the Second World War with a young teenager.

This is truly one of the greatest books ever written. As a reader reads this book, he will see a young girl blossoming into a phenomenal young woman. All in the confines of her family's "Secret Annexe", while in hiding from the Gestapo, and to keep from being captured, and sent to a concentration camp.

As I read this book, I felt Anne Frank was speaking to me. I felt her anger, her rebellion, and laughed when she would tell a joke, or say something harsh about another member of the "Secret Annexe". Her words, so eloquently written, will touch anybody who reads them, and this book will become one that they will never forget, as it has with me. As I read her diary, and connected with Anne, I felt a depressing feeling, because I knew that at one point her diary entries would suddenly stop, and there would be no fitting ending for this masterpiece.

With that said, what Anne Frank has left for us is a memorable diary, which encompasses what she went through. The hunger, and horrible conditions that she, and many Jews were put through is a testament to how cruel, intolerant, and unjustifiably evil humanity can be.

I recommend this book to anybody who likes to read, and even to those who don't.

Shipping took longer than expected but the book was in new condition as was stated

As a young adult I had read articles on the book. I knew the story. I saw the movie made from the book. However, I had never read the book itself.
The experience of reading the words of Anne as she lived for two year in hiding with her family, and others in hiding, was entirely different than just knowing the story. Reading another persons personal words as they were living the life that inspired them to write is a most intimate experience.
In my adult life I am glad to have had the experience of actually reading Anne Frank's words. I recommend the reading of this book to young and mature persons who wish to understand what transpired in our world history on an intimate level.

I've read this book ten times and it never gets old. Every young adult should read this!