Books I love - 'On Hitler's Mountain'

Irmgard Hunt was born in Nazi German in 1934, in Berchtesgaden a village next to Hitler's headquarters.  As a toddler she was photographed sat upon Hitler's knee. At that time both she and her parent's were fervent supporters of Hitler and the Nazi regime.

With the advent of war and as she grew older, Irmgard came to question this belief.

This is a lovely book.  It is wonderful to read of life in a mountain village as it changes due to war and the deprivations of defeat.  It is interesting to read of the insights of life in Germany at that time, as seen through the eyes of a growing child and young woman.

As someone born in England in the late 1960s, Nazi Germany and Hitler to me are, obviously, hate figures. To people in my country and my generation it is not always easy to understand how Hitler and the Nazis could rise to power and how the ordinary people in Germany and Austria could be accepting of it all at that time.

Therefore I found this such an insight into that time.  Not all Germans were supporters of Hitler and some that were soon changed their minds.

I do recommend this book.

On Hitler's Mountain by Irmgard Hunt. Published in 2005 by Atlantic Books, London.  My copy was borrowed from the library. 

Keep Calm and Cast On - Book Review

I have just received Keep Calm and Carry On by Erika Knight, published by Quadrille.

I worked in a bookshop for 8 years and did get a bit tired of all the little gift books that had to be fitted on the counter, to grab the customers' attention. Some of them were dire.

And I am also a bit tired of seeing  'Keep Calm and Carry On' everywhere.

So I was unsure of this book. BUT I was very pleasantly surprised.  It is a lovely little book.

It is full of funny, witty and interesting little quotes from people and from books about knitting. It also has really handy little tips from Erika Knight who knows a thing or two about knitting.

There were a few quotes from members of Stitchlinks whose aims include 'To promote the use of therapeutic knitting and stitching through our research'. And reading through the book, I had to agree that knitting is therapeutic and this is not something I had thought about before.  There are many times when I yearn to knit and happily sit clicking away. And now I know more about why that is.

This is a great book to pop into when you are unable to knit and also a wonderful present. I was visited my mum and showed it to her. She loved it too.

So this Christmas, if you want a little present for a knitting friend, or something for yourself,  then do think about Keep Calm and Cast On.
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Keep Calm and Cast On by Erika Knight
Quadrille Publishing
ISBN 9781849490955