Nicholas, Lynn H. Cruel world; the children of Europe in the Nazi web.

NICHOLAS, Lynn H. Cruel world; the children of Europe in the Nazi web. Random House, Anchor. 632p. illus. notes. bibliog. index. c2005.0-679-77663-x. $17.95. SA

Lynn Nicholas's first book on a Holocaust-related subject, Rape of Europa, won awards and helped change history: it intensified the search for art looted by the Nazis. Her second volume on the subject may not move events, but it is a wonderful and remarkable book. By focusing on the Nazis' impact on children, she's found a way to take familiar topics and make them fresh, illuminating and newly horrifying. While the topic might seem limited at first glance, its scope really is huge. Nicholas covers eugenics, euthanasia and German education, occupations all across Europe and, of course, the politics and mechanics of extermination. But there's more: liberation, repatriation and, finally, the defeated German families and their children.

The book's breadth is impressive, but beyond her prodigious research, it's Nicholas's eye for detail, her insight and sense of balance and proportion, that make the book a treasure. Also, it is well organized (easy to follow for student researchers), thoughtfully indexed, and has a few well-selected small photographs. While this is a lengthy, dense scholarly work with small print, it is clearly written and provides a wonderfully telescopic view of the lived impact of the Nazi era. A must for any Holocaust collection. Daniel Levinson, Teacher, Thayer Acad., Braintree, MA

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.