And Then There Was One... is a historical memoir covering the era from 1910 t o 1945. Author Michael Stone was born in Latvia in 1910, grew up in Moscow, relocated to Berlin with his family to escape the Communist Revolution, and emigrated to the United States when the Nazis emerged to take control. And Then There Was One... is a riveting personal saga that spans nations, and offers a very personal view of cataclysmic events that reshaped human history and the world. Enhanced with an appendix, bibliography, and index, And Then There Was One... is highly recommended reading.

(...)Twentieth century lives are often studies in chaos, disruption, and just one damned thing after another. For Michael Stone, born in 1910, it's a century of the murder of Jews and of coming to America and having the freedom to build a successful life. But a successful and culture life was Stone's in Latvia, born into a family of prosperous entrepreneurs. Memories, experiences, fascinating bits of information—The Cotton Club, speeches in Columbus Circle, in the Latvian army, upbringing, siblings and parents, and meeting European men and women who, through their experiences, would define the times. But also there is the malady of the century: the Nazi murder of Jews. A horrifying depiction of the roundup of the Jews of Riga: "Those actions were representative of a number of carefully planned acts of extermination of Jews, not only in various cities in Latvia, but also in other parts of Nazi-occupied regions in Europe." And the terrible personal experiences of Stone. "My initial reaction to being transferred from the hands of the Gestapo to the regular, green-uniformed police calmed me a bit." In an important sense, this is a modern American life: coming from war-torn Europe, a man prospers but remembers, for future generations, the terrible things done in Europe. And it is a history of all of Europe as that history affected poor, helpless people. Stone remembers in a thoughtful, scrupulously detailed way: And Then There Was One is a clearheaded and instructive memoir, related with passion, and with enormous sorrow(...)

Unlike traditional history books, which are written many years after events have actually occurred, this unusual book tells of the cataclysmic world events of the the first half of the last century from the perspective of one who was there. The reader will get a graphic description of the different cultures, customs and events as they then existed.

There are not many people today who can say that they were acctually present in Moscow when the Bolshevic revolution was unfolding. Michael Stone was there. In this meticulously researched volume, Mr. Stone vividly describes how he survived the bloody two-year civil war when his mother was brutally killed. He goes on to describe his family's flight from Russia to the Weimar Republic. He provides a first-hand account of the World War II from the German perspective. Mr. Stone writes with passion about his experience of being arrested by the Gestapo on charges of high treason, which carried a mandatory sentence of decapitation (He was ultimately pardoned by Hermann Goering, personally!) We are fortunate that Mr. Stone, who was thrust into the middle of the century's greatest historic events, survived to preserve the truth from his unique perspective.

This is a must read for all history buffs.

A moving and informational account of a young Latvian girl during WWII. Her memories of the Holocaust are alive with detail, and her courage and spirit are inspiring. Highly reccommend.

A beautifully written account.
A story of courage and determination and a legacy for all mankind. Read it.

I absolutely recommend this book. i read it in one day and could not put it down. Maja writes so honestly, elegantly and so beautifully. she's keeps it simple and straight forward. i recommend this book to anyone of any age. i am so proud that she had the courage and strength to write about her experiences because it is imperative that we do not forget about the atrocities of the Holocaust. it took a lot of will-power and she has surely made her family and friends proud.
we are so proud of you granny.
love your grandchildren.

For anyone who is interest in the history of Latvia, this book is a MUST. The book does not go in great depth. But presents the reader with highlights of Latvian history, culture, and chronology. Most of the book consists of a historical dictionary. The historical dictionary, portion of the book, is interesting. After the dictionary, I would rate the bibliography as interesting and useful. It is 25-1/2 pages long.

This book is a MUST, for the Latvian historian.

Plakans' dictionary is well thought out and reads extremely well with supporting background material. A must for scholars and historians as well as the casual Baltic observer or student!

Found out about the book - People to People, Poland - by accident. Before we left England on a tramp steamer I phoned a fellow mentioned in the book from Gdansk who offered such hospitality to my self and my friend. We were accepted as guests by his family for two days. Without the book we wouldn't have met some splendid people and wouldn't have had our eyes opened to their warmth and generosity. This experience has been repeated time and again.

I knew I would be going to Lithuania for a dance festival that occurs every 4 years. This was the first time (in 1994) since the country was returned to freedom from behind the Iron Curtain. It was also the first time my mother returned after 50 years! I picked a few people from different cities based on a few characteristics listed in the book: age, what they like to do, and how much Enlish they knew (my Lithuania is quite basic). My longest pen-pal, now friend, have been corresponding for years. She invited me to stay in her empty flat for all three weeks! She even met us at the airport when we arrived with an armload of flowers - a big tradition in the eastern bloc countries. She showed us many places, we met with her family, we went to her beach house on the opposite side of the country. I visited other people I met in the book in other towns. One person gave me ideas of places to go, another I met in the town where my mother grew up. My mother and I met up with some relatives of ours in other towns, went driving to many smaller places and really learned a lot about how life has changed since the forties, and since the Soviets were driven out. I picked people who from their 20s to their 40s. One was an artist, one a translator, a student, a newspaper writer, a homemaker, and a teacher. Two did not write back, but I made many friends a learned a lot about the people of Lithuania and how they lived. To me, that is more important than sitting in a hotel room, or taking a bus tour; it is the people who make up a country. This book provides a way for People to meet People. I highly recommend it, or others in this series. Poland is next for me.

Max Michelson's chronicle of his life in the ghetto in Riga, Latvia during the Nazi occupation is an incredible tale that can't be told by anybody else, because most people died. The story is told so simply that the miracle of his survival lives outside the pages in what we know of history and what we realize from the few statistics he gives. Everyone should read this book. It is the actual, human story that those of us who haven't faced death at the hands of an evil power have tried to create in our own heads to understand. Considering world events today the kind of education that Max Michelson provides is just the kind we need.

This book is a wealth of fascinating information, past and preasent facts mixed in an informative and useful manner. It makes great reading for anyone planning a trip to Latvia as well as anyone with any curiosity about a small unique country.

Ezergailis' account of holocaust in Latvia is based on his analysis of German, Latvian, and Soviet sources, the latter just made available when he wrote his book. He describes the position of the Jews in pre War Latvia, the attitude of the government toward the Jews, and the rise of antisemitism in certain segments of what was then "a Jewish friendly state." Ezegailis also details the fate of the Jews in sobering passages in which he names those responsible for their deaths. He analyzes how the Nazis used their propaganda to enlist Latvian participation and where this worked. He also discusses how the Soviets used a similar line to discredit Latvian nationalists and ironically, how many American Latvians bought those arguments. To paraphrase the author, the Jews and the Latvians were stuck between two devils. The Latvians chose one; the Jews chose another.

I have traveled through the country several times to meet Latvians and Latvian Jews who survived the War. In a few cases, I have spoken to actual witnesses both in Riga, the capital, and in the rural areas of the country. I think I am in a position to comment on Ezegailis' book. It is a thorough work of scholarship for anyone interested in that sad time and the complex world it left.

This is a good book for teenager and alult to learn the truth. This book is relly sad. I hope this will never happen again it is so sad. No one should forget the holocaust. I was suppressed how they treated in the holocaust. It's important yo learn about the holocaust. During World War II the jewish Community was destroyed.

Four segments of this book detail Jack Ratz's experiences. The first three segments detail Lenta, Salspils, and Stutthof concentration camps. Another segment details the death march from Stutthof and is one of the most harrowing personal accounts of a death march that I have ever read. Jack Ratz welcomes the reader into his life with open arms and an engaging writing style.

I think this is one best book because it talk about the holocaust. Some people try to forget what happen and teach their kids that it never happen. I think this is one best book. I wish that this won't happen agin but happen agin in Kosovo.

The best thing about this edition is its stunningly beautiful cover. It goes downhill from there.

The previous edition (was it around 1995?) was really, really very good; ahead of everyone in the business. I wrote a glowing review at that time. Since then, the countries have moved on at an amazin pace, but LP did not manage to catch up.

Cultural information is still good (and that is the area where fewest changes were needed). It is not as good with practicalities: the book is full of small inaccuracies - money, costs, payment options, transport information all suffer from lazy, complacent research.

Another sad fact is that the authors seem to draw upon their one-off impressions: waiters tipping themselves by not giving you the change, what's that about? Credit cards accepted in "main cities and towns" - well, hello, when did you last go to any of the countries? These things go on and on.

As for "Getting There" information, one wonders which planet are Lonely Planet researchers living on. Has anyone told them about the Internet? About cheap offers from the airlines? How long can continue with their ridiculously irrelevant drivel about bucket shops and courier flights?

A good thing that can be said about this Lonely Plant is that it is not of trademark "bleeding-heart" variety and that anti-American propaganda still has not found its way into it. You will have to get the Iceland guidebook if you want some of the most bitter, biased and unwelcome LP campaigning.

Overall, it seems like Lonely Planet is cutting costs, and the most recent thing that they have chopped off is proper research and verification. This is unfortunate, for the start was really good.

I've used this guide to travel from Estonia to Lithuania via Latvia, and I can assure that the coverage of those countries is absolutely great. The stories included in the book are simply juicy drops of culture, and surely they capture your interest and push you to get more deeply in the history of those sites you are visiting. No matters where you go, you will find the essential information and much more than that. This guide worth the money.

As with all of Lonely Planet in Eastern Europe, this book is excellent. The historical background is particularly good, it makes some sense of an extremely complicated, and at times, surprising history. This are in many ways countries, almost of myth and old stamp collections, that have come back to the real world -a fairy tale in more ways than one. This book keeps that spirit alive, and I highly commend it.

Unlike most significant histories of Latvia to date (with Bilmanis' seminal work of 1951 being arguably the most important in English), this one is written by a professional historian - and it shows. In addition, the end of the Cold War has facilitated a dispassionate yet well informed account of Latvia's history, so far totally unavailable to my knowledge. Prof. Plakans' insights have helped me to clarify, in my mind, things which did not quite make sense up until now.

I am the son of emigre Latvians, and for me the period 1918-1940 has always been of paramount importance. Latvia's history outside that period seemed somehow irrelevant. But times have changed. Plakans restores the balance and by the end we focus on Latvia of today, not some ever dimmer "ideal".

Initially Prof. Plakans' emphasis was hard to come to terms with. I was disappointed that the first independence period got only 25 pages out of 198 (c.f. Bilmanis' 100 of 408). Bilmanis does of course fill in the gaps to 1942, but his obvious and understandable bias, together with his florid style stand in stark contrast to Plakans' professionalism.

Prof. Plakans' work is of course a _short_ history. Perhaps he will publish a lengthier piece in the future and further share his insights with those of us hungry for them. This is nonetheless a highly recommended and challenging (though brief) introduction to Latvian history.

This is a nice book. It is well written and very informative. There are notes and a 19 page bibliography. This book is part of historiography on Latvia and the Latvians. Most historical writings can be divided as: the interwar period; post WW2 emigre writings; post WW2 Latvian SSR writings; and post 1991 writings.

The book attempts to cover the proto-Balt period to contemporary Latvia. One of the questions the book poses is at what juncture did the Lett tribes/clans consider themselves to be Latvians or "tauta." Unfortunately, unlike our fellow Balts, the Lithuanians, Latvians or Letts took longer to form that identity.

This book belongs in every library. I consider this a must read for those who wonder why their relatives left Courland or Livonia after 1905--discussed in Chapter 6.

The book is organized thus: 1 The Population of the Eastern Baltic Littoral; 2 Invasion, Conquest, the Creation of Livonia;
3 Politics, Economics, and Religion in the Sixteenth Century; 4 The Trifurcated Littoral in the Seventeenth Century; 5 The Baltic Littoral in the Russian Empire; 6 A Century of Reforms; 7 The Latvian Nation Acquires a State; 8 The Loss of Independence; 9 The Reemergence of an Independent Latvia; 10 Continuities and Discontinuities.

Latvian history is so often flawed with political ideology, personnal opinion or blatant ignorance. This is one of the only qualitative objective academic works out there. There is no better review of Latvian history. Even if Plakans himself is a Latvian WWII refugee, his life experience and opinions (whatever they might be) do not seem to color his text. Plakans' book however will not provide readers with profound analysis or long-winded dicussions of political regimes, cultural movements or wartime strategies. It is a simple but thourough review of the events and facts that lead Latvia and the Latvians to their contemporary position, politically, economically, socially and culturally. A recommended, quality read for anyone wanting to learn more about the Latvians.