Jim

Dear Mr. Aronson, I enjoyed your book very much and think it was well written. I liked how you give the reader a story at the beginning of a chapter to set the tone and also appreciate how you would throw in the occasional personal opinion. On the other hand, what is the meaning of what you wrote on page 208 and 209? I read it and re-read it, trying to think of why you wrote that. In the end, I could  think of no reason for you to write those horrible words. While reading, I was very surprised by your sudden and offensive change of tone. In every other part of the book, you try to make the reader feel like your friend, but in those two pages I felt very betrayed by your extremely angry, not to mention hateful, rant against all Germans. You said, “My hatred should never have to be curbed by their apologies or payments.” I am very much disturbed by that. This is especially bothersome considering this is a book about the horrors of racism and prejudice. Throughout the entire book, your voice and style had made you sound opposed to racism, yet these two pages out of the whole book made you sound like a bigot. Just because the Nazis were German doesn’t mean that all Germans are Nazis. The original Nazis are not around anymore, so you shouldn’t have a reason to hate the entirety of the German people, all men, women, and children, who had no part in the Holocaust and no part in World War II. Quite a few of the Germans helped Jews during World War II. I think for anybody to say the words that you wrote, is just a demonstration of racism and hatred toward others. Aside from that major issue, I very much enjoyed your book and can’t wait to talk to you.

Sincerely, James Boyle