This novel from “a suspense pro” is part World War II thriller and part modern-day mystery (Chicago Tribune). A vintage suitcase is pulled from the trash by a young New York advertising executive brainstorming a campaign on her way to work. The account is Steinbach Luggage, the German answer to Louis Vuitton and Hermes. There is only one problem with the vintage bag—like Steinbach’s CEO, it is a Holocaust survivor, as evidenced by the name and other personal data painted on it. The suitcase is hallowed memorabilia, and no one dares open it until it is determined if the owner is still alive. The Holocaust survivor turns out to be an eighty-nine-year-old member of New York’s Jewish aristocracy, a prominent philanthropist and surgeon. When he gives his consent, the documents inside the suitcase pique the interest of a New York Times reporter—whose investigation begins to unravel a devastating secret that has been locked away since the day Dachau was liberated. From an author whose work has been praised by the New York Times for “sharp insight into character,” The German Suitcase is a unique thriller focusing on the Nazi doctors who were conscripted by the Secret Service and given the task of carrying out Hitler’s Final Solution, delving deeply into questions that have been asked ever since the war ended. What is a war crime? What is guilt? How is justice best served? It is a novel that questions the very nature of identity, and ultimately asks if a lifetime of good deeds can make up for past acts of evil.
New edition with foreword by Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu: “How extraordinary that this humble suitcase has enabled children all over the world to learn through Hana’s story the terrible history of what happened and that it continues to urge them to heed the warnings of history.” In the spring of 2000, Fumiko Ishioka, the curator of a small Holocaust education centre for children in Tokyo, received a very special shipment for an exhibit she was planning. She had asked the curators at the Auschwitz museum if she could borrow some artifacts connected to the experience of children at the camp. Among the items she received was an empty suitcase. From the moment she saw it, Fumiko was captivated by the writing on the outside that identified its owner – Hana Brady, May 16, 1931, Waisenkind (the German word for orphan). Children visiting the centre were full of questions. Who was Hana Brady? Where did she come from? What was she like? How did Hana become an orphan? What happened to her? Fueled by the children’s curiosity and her own need to know, Fumiko began a year of detective work, scouring the world for clues to the story of Hana Brady. Writer Karen Levine follows Fumiko in her search through history, from present-day Japan, Europe and North America back to 1938 Czechoslovakia and the young Hana Brady, a fun-loving child with a passion for ice skating. Together with Fumiko, we learn of Hana’s loving parents and older brother, George, and discover how the family’s happy life in a small town was turned upside down by the invasion of the Nazis. Based on an award-winning CBC documentary, Hana’s Suitcase takes the reader on an incredible journey full of mystery and memories, which come to life through the perspectives of Fumiko, Hana and later Hana’s brother, who now lives in Canada. Photographs and original wartime documents enhance this extraordinary story that bridges cultures, generations and time. Ideal for young readers aged 9 and up. Hana’s Suitcase is part of the award-winning Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers.
A philosopher finds himself at risk when his country begins punishing people for being different, a circumstance that forces him to escape over hills and valleys while carrying a mysterious, heavy suitcase.
Now in its third edition, The Suitcase Entrepreneur teaches readers how to package and sell their skills to earn enough money to be able to work and live anywhere, build a profitable online business, and live life on their own terms. After eight years of working in the soul-crushing bureaucracy of the corporate world, Natalie Sisson quit her high-paying job and moved to Canada, started a blog, and cofounded a technology company. In just eighteen months she learned how to build an online platform from scratch, and then left to start her own business—which involved visiting Argentina to eat empanadas, play Ultimate Frisbee, and launch her first digital product. After five years, she now runs a six-figure business from her laptop, while living out of a suitcase and teaching entrepreneurs worldwide how to build a business and lifestyle they love. In The Suitcase Entrepreneur you’ll learn how to establish your business online, reach a global audience, and build a virtual team to give you more free time, money, and independence. With a new introduction, as well as updated resources and information, this practical guide uncovers the three key stages of creating a self-sufficient business and how to become a successful digital nomad and live life on your own terms.
From the bestselling author of The Girl from Munich, a sweeping, dramatic tale of love and identity, inspired by a true story. After enduring the horror of Nazi Germany and the chaos of postwar occupation, Lotte Drescher and her family arrive in Australia in 1956 full of hope for a new life. It’s a land of opportunity, where Lotte and her husband Erich dream of giving their children the future they have always wanted. After years of struggling to find their feet as New Australians, Erich turns his skill as a wood carver into a successful business and Lotte makes a career out of her lifelong passion, photography. The sacrifices they have made finally seem worth it until Erich’s role in the trade union movement threatens to have him branded a communist and endanger their family. Then darker shadows of the past reach out to them from Germany, a world and a lifetime away. As the Vietnam War looms, an unexpected visitor forces Lotte to a turning point. Her decision will change her life forever . . . and will finally show her the true meaning of home. PRAISE FOR TANIA BLANCHARD ‘Captures the intensity of a brutal and unforgiving war, successfully weaving love, loss, desperation and, finally, hope into a gripping journey of self-discovery.’ Courier Mail ‘An epic tale, grand in scope … Packs an emotional punch that will reverberate far and wide.’ Weekly Times ‘A tumultuous journey from order to bedlam, and from naive acceptance of the status quo to the gradual getting of political wisdom.’ Sunday Age ‘An original and innovative take on the World War II genre that captures the hauntingly desperate essence of the war. Tania Blanchard has written yet another spectacular novel. Don’t miss this.’ Better Reading ‘A sweeping, dramatic tale of love and identity.’ Fraser Coast Chronicle
"When a weary stranger arrives one day with nothing but a suitcase, his new neighbors ask nervous questions about who he is and where he comes from before they are challenged to decide between trusting the newcomer or taking the risk of not believing him"--
The main character in the book wrote to his friend: "Josey, I'm embarking on the biggest steamship in the world, but I don't feel any pride, because at this moment I wish the `Titanic' were submerged at the bottom of the sea..." In his "A Case from the Titanic" author Enrique Dick takes us into a whirlwind of family history, Samuel and Annie Andrew arrive from Whitby, Yorkshire, England, to the vast pampas of Argentina, near the end of the nineteenth century.There Samuel is hired to administer one of the huge ranches of Ambrosio Olmos, a wealthy farmer in Córdoba. There in those fields without end, the Andrew family grows. Silvano Alfredo, Isabel, Wilfred, Ethel, Hilda, William and Edgar are born and raised. Eventually all of them will have their share of love, adventure and tragedy. Told by Enrique Dick, this book is based entirely on his family's real life events; in the pages about Argentina we learn about life at the “estancia”, the pride and joy of Ambrosio Olmos, a colourful figure of Argentina. As the years pass, the Andrew and Olmos families share more than just the relationship between owner and manager.Upon the untimely deaths of both Ambrosio Olmos and Samuel Andrew in 1906, Samuel's son Wilfred, a mere lad of twenty is hired by Olmos' widow, Mrs. Adelia María Harilaos to take over his father's administration of the ranch.Four of the seven brothers travel to England to study and meet their British relatives. Sooner or later most of them will return to their beloved land across the sea.Meantime, Wilfred confronts the maladies of running a huge ranch. Drought, hungry locusts, unruly gauchos and discontented tenants make his life difficult.Silvano, already a sailor navy officer, travels the seven seas aboard legendary Argentine navy ships.In 1911, as part of the Argentine naval legation, Silvano is involved in the construction of two famous battleships, the "Rivadavia" and the "Moreno," built in US Naval yards. While in the US, Silvano meets and falls in love with a winsome millionaire widow, Harriet Fisher.Silvano and Harriet set a date to be married. Jubilant, Silvano invites his brother Edgar, who is studying in Bournemouth, England, to attend the wedding.While in England, Edgar misses Josey, his friend in Argentina. When his brother's request arrives, Edgar has mixed feelings, Josey was about to arrive in England to take up her studies, and he was looking forward to meeting her there and to woe her. He consoles himself with the thought that he will be able to share a few days of joy with Josey before he sails for America. But fate intervened.The White Star Lines ship, the "Olympic", that Edgar is booked on, is stalled by lack of coal due to a strike. His ticket is transferred and made good for earlier sailing on the "Titanic". Lugging his small suitcase full of books, papers, postcards and family letters, Edgar posts his last letter to Josey explaining that his forced earlier departure on the Titanic will keep them apart.Time passes slowly as the Andrew family learns and accepts Edgar's fate. Eventually Edgar's sister, Ethel also visits their ancestral land and there studies in a young ladies school in Whitby learning to paint, embroider and sew will eventually becoming a confidant of her remaining brothers and a lady on her own right. Throughout the book an omniscient character is the coal of Cardiff, which changes destiny not only when becoming steam to propel the Rivadavia and the Moreno battleships when they travel to Argentina with Silvano aboard the Moreno, but also since the lack of coal for Edgar's intended ship places him aboard the doomed Titanic. For decades Edgar's death haunts the Andrew family until one day Edgar's small suitcase is retrieved from the bottom of the ocean. That day, the mementos of a life and the truth they generate as they are plucked from the submerged Titanic once again shake the feelings and origins of a family.Armed with this extraordinary occurrence and the contents of a suitcase from the Titanic, Enrique Dick embarked on a journey of discovery into his maternal family history.The result is a book that not only uncovers family secrets and historical facts but also opens a window into lives that impacted history as it was being created
The Boy in the Suitcase: Holocaust Family Stories of Survival is a uniquely different Holocaust book. It reads like an intriguing novel, such as the title chapter which tells the story of an infant smuggled out of Germany in a suitcase and raised in the Dominican Republic. Each chapter tells a different story of families throughout the world who have been affected by the Holocaust. This book also covers the trauma of second generation children of Holocaust survivors and the bravery of Christian families who hid Jewish children in Quaregnon, Belgium. The Boy in the Suitcase includes inspirational stories from nations such as Russia, Poland, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, and the Dominican Republic. Intelligence, courage, and the will to survive permeate each remarkable chapter.
