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My Dear Boy
- A World War II Story of Escape, Exile, and Revelation
- Narrated by: Kate Mulligan, Traber Burns
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
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My Dear Boy
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Summary
After the death of Joanie Holzer Schirm's parents in 2000, she found hundreds of letters, held together by rusted paperclips and stamped with censor marks, sent from Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, China, and South and North America, along with journals, vintage film, taped interviews, and photographs. In working through these various materials documenting the life of her father, Oswald "Valdik" Holzer, she learned of her family history through his remarkable experiences of exile and loss, resilience and hope.
In this posthumous memoir, Schirm elegantly recreates her father's youthful voice as he comes of age as a Jew in interwar Prague, escapes from a Nazi-held army unit, practices medicine in China's war-ravaged interior, and settles in the United States to start a family. Introducing us to a diverse cast of characters ranging from the humorous to the menacing, Holzer's life story is an inspirational account of survival during wartime, a cinematic epic spanning multiple continents, and ultimately a tale with a twist-a book that will move listeners for generations to come.
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What listeners say about My Dear Boy
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 03-08-22
Brought to life
The author has brought to life her father and other family members in a wonderfully happy and terribly sad story.
He would be very proud of this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- bragasaga
- 26-07-22
Beautifully read and captivating true story
Beautifully read, beautifully detailed; this book does an excellent job of placing you within the web of historical events, contacts and trials of someone fleeing hideous persecution yet still trying to help others less fortunate in a far off land, retaining a humanity that is so important to his loved ones and a core value. His efforts to aid family and friends; his good fortune in meeting the love of his life and everything that follows is brought to life and a worthy tribute.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 26-07-22
A wonderful insight
Such a sad tale but excellently compiled by the author. Opening up history in this manner is amazing. I also enjoyed learning more about the war in China with Japan. Thank you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- toni
- 29-03-19
The sides of WWII you might never have read
The author Joanie Schirm, has taken us on a journey from Moravia/ Bohemia from the First World War through the journey of her father’s life in escaping the Nazis, to wartime China, to the United States. His life
Of service
And continuing to attempt to volunteer or seek employment continually being rejected while maintaining a positive attitude is remarkable. His wife is a pivotal component in his life that keeps the plates spinning all along.
Remarkably engaging and well worth the time. A fast
Read even though it is filled with facts and detail.
Loved it
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- marykk
- 18-03-19
What an adventurous life
Here is a man who was able to overcome life-threatening circumstances and create a new life for himself. It's part travelogue, part history lesson, part love story. You also learn how Czechoslovakia was betrayed by the Allies giving in to Hitler with the mistaken idea that giving away one country to him could create peace. It is hard to imagine how Holzer managed to go from one situation to another when the world was at war. The primary narrator was rather bland, sounding as though he had the book memorized and was narrating by rote.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John
- 24-09-20
Should be required reading in schools
Book puts grim pictures and statistics of Nazi death camps in a family context. Very inspirational a man who lost over 40 of his family mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, aunts and uncle’s wanted to spend the rest of his life serving others.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Keith
- 15-01-21
Listen to the whole book.
After some time in the book, I thought it was simply a anti-climactic story of an individual’s life. However, as it progresses, I began to feel the weight of what he must have suffered though. Excellent book and well done by his daughter, the author.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Linda
- 11-12-20
Excellent book
Excellent book for those of us fascinated by the stories of individuals during WWII. Good writing and an engrossing story both heartbreaking and uplifting.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kate
- 29-11-20
My dear boy is a fascinating insight
A great addition to the story of the 2 nd world war. When paired with the little Dutch girl. And other books about queen elizabeth, Churchill, Roosevelt and others one begins to understand how freedom from tyranny hangs by a thread!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- CQT
- 20-09-21
Yawn
I don’t get all these positive reviews. This book is so boring. I’ve read a lot of WWII memoirs. This one is so boring and uneventful I couldn’t even finish it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- AWright
- 22-03-23
Wooden narration but interesting story
Terrible, staccato narration—flat and unemotional, especially for the wife’s parts. The story was definitely a different view on the war with the China and South American parts, but wouldn’t recommend the audio version.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-02-23
Thoroughly educational
I wasn’t aware of what happened in Czechoslovakia during WWII. This book gave appreciated illumination.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- BARBARA SHAW GIFTS
- 03-02-23
Wonderfully touching and informative history
History is not just facts it is personal history and stories. The book tells the remarkable story of a man and his life journey through history and how harrowing circumstances affected him and his journey through life. Clear and vivid and remarkable. Well worth listening to. Excellent readers. A very unusual story and very personable.
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